Hopperpocalypse: Eating Las Vegas' Grasshopper Swarm

Spicy Eyes

At the end of July, drawn in by an unusually green spring and our city's bright lights, millions of grasshoppers swarmed Las Vegas. Inspiration struck, and your intrepid hosts decided to catch and cook some grasshoppers for ourselves (and you, dear listeners). With the help of artists Mikayla Whitmore and Brent Holmes, we managed to trap a few dozen.

Food writer Kim Foster helped us cook them up the next day. Along the way, we explore bug-eating traditions around the world, why hoppers aren't seen as food in much of the U.S., and why we might all need to take bugs-as-food a little more seriously.

Oh, and we'll tell what grasshoppers taste like, too.

This episode was written by Sonja Swanson, and produced by Kristy Totten and Sonja Swanson. Music by Jeremy Klewicki.