Commentary

Food Travel USA® with Elizabeth Dougherty airs Friday afternoons at 5 PM Eastern / 2 PM Pacific. And honestly, that time slot feels just about perfect. For years, politicians, agencies, corporations, and their media friends have known exactly what they’re doing when they drop “interesting” stories late on a Friday …

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FOOD TRAVEL USA with Elizabeth Dougherty is an ongoing weekly radio and streaming entertainment program covering food, travel, consumer issues, cruising, recreational vehicles, privacy, self-sufficiency and the stories affecting everyday American life. Hosted by Elizabeth Dougherty, with Executive Producer and Co-host Michael Serio, the show uses food and travel as …

This is the kind of story that takes years to develop in the open and lands like a surprise when it finally hits.

It's complaint day for servers.

Ultra-processed food isn't simply cooked or preserved, it's been fundamentally transformed. Stripped of natural nutrients and rebuilt with industrial ingredients like hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, and chemical preservatives, these products are designed not to nourish you, but to extend shelf life and drive overconsumption. If the ingredient list reads like a chemistry textbook rather than a recipe, that's your first clue. Study after study links ultra-processed food to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and depression. The question is no longer whether it harms us - it's why we keep allowing it to be the cheapest thing on the shelf.

Every seasoned traveler has a hotel story, but Airbnb has introduced an entirely new category of unforgettable - and occasionally unsettling - travel experiences. When you're sleeping in someone else's home, treehouse, converted school bus, or repurposed grain silo, things can get interesting fast. From mysterious locked rooms and unexpected animal roommates to hosts who never quite left and guests who arrived to find their rental didn't exactly match the photos, the world of short-term rentals has generated some truly extraordinary tales. These are ten of the strangest stories from the wild, wonderful, and sometimes deeply weird world of Airbnb.

That quiet label on the grocery shelf might just be the best kept secret in your supermarket. Store brands - also known as private label products - have quietly undergone a revolution, and savvy shoppers are starting to take notice. What most consumers don't realize is that many of these products come off the exact same production line as the name brands sitting right next to them, just with a different label and a friendlier price tag. From pantry staples to personal care products, the gap between generic and brand name has never been smaller - and in some cases, the store brand actually wins. Here's what the food industry doesn't necessarily want you to know.