padma Lakshmi Discusses Discernment, Travel, and TV Judgement on Critics at Large Live Taping
NEW YORK, NY – Padma Lakshmi, celebrated host of Top Chef and Taste the Nation, recently shared insights into her evolving career and refined palate during a live recording of The New Yorker’s podcast, Critics at Large, at the New Yorker festival.The episode, featuring New Yorker writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz, explored Lakshmi’s journey from fashion to food and now, stand-up comedy, offering a unique outlook on the nature of taste itself.
Lakshmi’s career trajectory-spanning modeling, food writing, television hosting, and now comedy-demonstrates a consistent pursuit of understanding and articulating quality. The conversation delved into the distinction between discernment and pickiness, the broadening influence of travel on her culinary perspective, and her considered approach to critique as a television personality. With the podcast consistently offering in-depth cultural analysis, this episode provides listeners with a nuanced look at how expertise is developed and applied across diverse fields, resonating with anyone interested in the creative process and the pursuit of excellence.
During the taping, Lakshmi articulated her philosophy on offering constructive criticism, stating, ”I see my job as helping. I see my job as being the person in the kitchen who’s saying, ‘does this need a little salt?’ ” The episode also highlighted several works that have shaped or been shaped by Lakshmi’s career, including Top Chef (2006-), Taste the Nation (2020-23), her cookbook Padma’s All American, and Helen Rosner’s New Yorker profile, “Padma Lakshmi Walks Into a Bar.”
Listeners can find new episodes of Critics at Large every Thursday, wherever they get their podcasts. Additional recommendations discussed on the episode include RuPaul’s Drag Race (2009-), american Idol (2002-), project Runway (2004-), ”Art in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” (a New Yorker podcast episode), and Dijon‘s song “Baby.” The upcoming film Frankenstein (2025) was also mentioned.
