It’s a pre-Valentine’s Day extravaganza for those of you celebrating– with wine, chocolate and innuendos.
We take you to the heart of Thorne’s Marketplace in Northampton where chocolate dreams are being made real from the worlds of pure imagination. We talk to Dan McKenney of Firetype Chocolate about his unlikely journey into confectionery, the impacts that climate change has on making sweets locally and the many delicious treats you can get from their shop year round.
Then we head up to the hilltown hinterlands to get a taste of an extra special beverage. Headwater Cider is making Ice Wine with their apple bounty, and we chat with proprietor Peter Mitchell about his apples and the many ciders they fashion in Hawley. We also talk with doctoral candidate Elizabeth Garofalo of UMass Extension about the science that helps those apples thrive.
And, Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster, shows us yet another evolution of language and delves into algospeak, including an exploration into the other online-based language variations that got us here.
