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Send us Fan Mail September 27, 2026 The news is full of reports of the latest technologies for saving our collective *?*+^! from climate-induced annihilation.  Dr. Peter Schwartz, who is doing a one-year Fulbright in Malawi, working with the faculty and students in the Department of Physics at MZUZU University, is setting the world on fire by developing solar-powered stoves that can replace wood, coal, and propane for cooking meals throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa. I ask Pete about his background, his many projects, his blogs, his educational values.  Please join us.  Here are some links that will explain a lot of what this is all about. Peter’s Blogs Linda Vanasupa Jeffrey Sachs (End of Poverty) William Easterly (critic of Sachs) Ferguson (Anti-Politics Machine) Jason Hickel  Finally, don't forget to check out www.chocolatdesvillages.fr, where you can buy lots of chocolates for the Christmas season.  Write to me for the pdf that describes the products. Support the show Write to me at  [email protected] To learn more, visit  http://www.projecthopeandfairness.org

Send us Fan Mail September 1, 2026 About 62% of American adults call themselves Christians.  Almost all recite the Nicene Creed once a month but virtually none of them know anything about what it  says or where it comes from.  Now, after 1700 years, Dan Brown writes The Da Vinci code which promotes six falsehoods.  Being a former Christian who continues to wonder about the imponderables of the Christian faith, I have recorded this podcast to shed just a little light on an extremely complex and puzzling subject.  Below, please find an order form for Christmas chocolates.  I will be shipping chocolates starting on October 1, allowing the El Niño disaster to calm down a bit.    Listen to Podcast 66-->https://www.buzzsprout.com/1057903/episodes/19732175 Support the show Write to me at  [email protected] To learn more, visit  http://www.projecthopeandfairness.org

Send us Fan Mail The title of today’s podcast is “Uranium, a Rosetta Stone to Modern Physics.”  It is based on an old lecture by Richard Feynman. Uranium has revolutionized the energy business because it served as an experimental window into the energy potential associated with splitting atoms rather than merely oxidizing them. For example,  1 Kg (2.2 pounds) of coal will theoretically produce 30 million times more energy than if you had just burnt the coal in a furnace.  This of course is merely an example, as nuclear power plants never split atoms fully and they attempt to split coal.   Nevertheless,  life was about to change when the mystery of radioactivity was elucidated a little over a century ago. Enjoy!  Tom Neuhaus, Project Hope and Fairness Please visit www.projecthopeandfairness.org and help us develop a chocolate brand that actually increases the sustainability of cocoa farming by donating to our cause. To listen to this podcast, click---> https://www.buzzsprout.com/1057903/episodes/19584642 New Items for Sale!  Check out these five 100g bars featuring people involved in making our chocolate!  You can order them as Christmas presents.  I will be shipping starting October 1.  I will be selling them in packs of 5, tied together with red and green ribbons.  Go to www.chocolatdesvillages.fr and click la Boutique at the top, then on Big Bars for individual 100g bars or Seasons for Christmas presents.  This item will be active by mid-August. Support the show Write to me at  [email protected] To learn more, visit  http://www.projecthopeandfairness.org

Send us Fan Mail As promised in the last podcast, number 63, here is my English version of Chocolat des Villages’ website.  I am hoping to increase business.  I cannot ship from May 1 through October 1, but this web site will allow people to order product and pick it up at the store.  My goal is to increase my list of clients so that they will consider driving to Cordes and picking up their orders. In the summer months, I also sell a lot of homemade ice cream and sorbets.  My goal is to develop knowledge of the brand, Chocolat des Villages locally and across Europe. Enjoy!  Tom Neuhaus, Project Hope and Fairness Before turning on this podcast, go to www.chocolatdesvillages.fr.  Then follow along in English. Support the show Write to me at  [email protected] To learn more, visit  http://www.projecthopeandfairness.org

Send us Fan Mail June 2, 2026.  I was planning on doing the next podcast on developing an assortment of chocolates.  Instead, I ran into a conversation on YouTube between Carl Sagan, a liberal and famous astrophysicist, and Dennis Prager, a conservative talk show host with a beguiling sense of humor This podcast treats six questions that Dennis Prager asks of Carl Sagan, who instead of being forgotten, is more timely and more important than ever. In the podcast, I mention what progress we are making.  This includes developing a new and very exciting web site for Chocolat des Villages, France.  My next podcast will include a link to it. As always, please join PH&F in its efforts to empower the Ivorian cocoa farmer!  Tom Neuhaus Write to me at  [email protected] To learn more, visit  www.projecthopeandfairness.org Listen to Podcast 63—>https://www.buzzsprout.com/1057903/episodes/19272182 Support the show Write to me at  [email protected] To learn more, visit  http://www.projecthopeandfairness.org

Send us Fan Mail This podcast treats a phenomenon that has always intrigued me:   human memory, which is a gift thatt differentiates us from other life forms.   The most enduring type of memory is called the “flashbulb memory”,  using photography as a metaphor to highlight its enduring nature. Memories of food, perhaps our greatest passion, entrain five sensory aspects:  taste, aroma, texture, vision, and sound.  And it is these five senses combined with emotions that make flashbulb food memories so durable and interesting. In this podcast, number 61, I have described fourteen food memories that have endured in my brain.  I hope you enjoy hearing them.   Please join PH&F in its efforts to empower the Ivorian cocoa farmer!  Tom Neuhaus Support the show Write to me at  [email protected] To learn more, visit  http://www.projecthopeandfairness.org

Send us Fan Mail April 14, 2026 On Sunday, April 12, I gave a talk to 11 Loubersians, people from the village of Loubers.  I covered the following: My backgroundThe cocoa tree, fruit, and seedImportance of fermentation to flavorTasting chocolate for three attributes:  smoothness, roastiness, fruitinessHow to temper, enrobe, dip,  and mold chocolateTasting three truffles with red wineSupport the show Write to me at  [email protected] To learn more, visit  http://www.projecthopeandfairness.org

Send us Fan Mail Carl Sagan didn’t believe in them.  Nor does Elon Musk.  Do UFOs and aliens exist?  If so, will we ever meet them? In this podcast, I begin by grounding my interest in the questions with a bit of family history concerning the spectrophotometer, which , in combination with the development of more powerful telescopes made it possible to appreciate the sheer size of the universe. I then proceed to discussing why we may never actually know the answers to the two questions I just posed.  BTW, have you noticed that the two historical periods when we were most interested in UFOs were periods when we have been unsure of our continued existence on this planet—in the 50s, when the hydrogen bomb was developed and now when wars are breaking out all over. Besides this grim existential issue, I talk about the chocolate Easter assortment that I have developed, which I guarantee actually exists.... Enjoy!  Tom Neuhaus Support the show Write to me at  [email protected] To learn more, visit  http://www.projecthopeandfairness.org

Send us Fan Mail Tom (I) went to Amsterdam on February 19th to attend the CHOCOA Conference.  I spent three days there, sold chocolate bars, speculoos, chocolate-coated crystallized cocoa beans, and other items.  I also gave out 200 tasting cards with samples of three chocolates and asked the participants to indicate their preferences.  It was a blind tasting and the results showed that cocoa farmers can produce a quality of chocolate competitive with the Big Boys. In this podcast, I also describe the five factors that cause price volatility.  Only three months ago, cocoa was trading at close to $12,000 per metric ton.  In February, it plunged to $2,300. Please join PH&F in its efforts to empower the West African cocoa farmer! Support the show Write to me at  [email protected] To learn more, visit  http://www.projecthopeandfairness.org

Send us Fan Mail May 3, 2024 Cocoa is trading at $9,000 per MT.  The price outlook remains bullish (positive price pressure).  For farmers to make the best profits, they need to produce the highest quality beans possible.  If cocoa is fermented properly, the beans develop the maximal.  There are three determinants. First Determinant of Quality:  proper harvesting.  If the pod is too ripe, it lacks the sugars to drive a proper fermentation. Second Determinant of Quality:  dry the beans properly.  For best results, dry under the sun.  Artificial heating tends to lock acetic acid inside the beans.  Third Determinant of Quality:  triage.  This means removing material that will add bad flavors.  Small and insect-riddled beans burn easily, for example. Support the show Write to me at  [email protected] To learn more, visit  http://www.projecthopeandfairness.org

Send us Fan Mail March 25, 2024. The Dividing Line--between country and city, between commodity and product. Principe island--where chocolate started in Africa.  Fitzwilliam Owen, the man who established a cocoa producing colony on Fernando Po (Bioko).  Tetteh. Quarshie.  ICCO. Importance of certifications (NOT).  PH&F solution:  remove the city-country division.  Importance of the FFGCCC to the international chocolate market.  Will the PH&F model remove the existential barrier?  No if chocolate is only sold locally.  Yes if chocolate is sold to the FFGCCC countries. Other barriers:  transportation, customs, certification of facilities. My store in Cordes sur Ciel, a French non-profit.  Breeching the barrier--shipping in refrigerated containers. Local fund-raising efforts:  (a talk at Chateau de Bouscaillous. Support the show Write to me at  [email protected] To learn more, visit  http://www.projecthopeandfairness.org

Send us Fan Mail February 4, 2024 Components of Taste: Flavors:  perinasal and retronasal.  Neural cells in the two olfactory regions.  Identification of aromas.  The role of the amygdala in the Proustian Effect.   Taste buds.  Umami.  The four Aristotelian tastes.  Mixtures of tastes. Texture.  Resistance to bite, size of particles causing grittiness.  How fat makes gelato taste smoother.  Chocolate notes (roasty, fruity, nutty).  Crystallization of cocoa butter:  how it affects the texture of chocolate.  Why does "young chocolate" melt in the mouth but "old chocolate" has a waxy texture? News about PH&F:  sales numbers for  Depa and Pezoan and N'Douci Support the show Write to me at  [email protected] To learn more, visit  http://www.projecthopeandfairness.org

Send us Fan Mail December 14, 2023 An interview with Dave Congalton on KEBC in San Luis Obispo.  Peggie Pappathakis and I talked about the industry, including worst forms of child labor, child slavery and the poverty of the. cocoa farmer. We also talked about the Bean To Bar industry.   Support the show Write to me at  [email protected] To learn more, visit  http://www.projecthopeandfairness.org

Send us Fan Mail November 5, 2023. The current chocolat revolution is called "The Bean-to-Bar Revolution". Here are six Interviews with pioneers who contributed to it.  I interviewed them at the 2023 Salon du Chocolat in Paris. Andal Balu (USA): how she contributed to the use of the Indian wet grinder to enable the bean-to-bar revolution. Maxime Elegbede (Benin):  a Beninien banker who dove into chocolate after trying to sell teak trees.  He started a business, Okochoko (chocolate farm). Ndeh Dieudonné (Cameroon):  director of Soctracao in Cameroon. He has trained many women and men in cocoa transformation in 7 villages in the main cocoa production area.  Women have particularly benefitted by becoming economically independent. Neal Kelsall (Madagascar):  developing strategies to reduce cost of transportation.  Superiority of small-batch cocoa butter.  Strategy to be the best.  Message to consumers:  fresh.  Short line between the farm and the producer. Michael Poole (USA):  a chef who does corporate gifts, Seattle, WA.  Teaches chocolate making. Alain D'Aboville (France):  building a small chocolate factory in Haiti.  Making chocolate at the origin is a fascinating proposition because bringing the farmer up the value chain can effect change. Support the show Write to me at  [email protected] To learn more, visit  http://www.projecthopeandfairness.org

Send us Fan Mail October 3, 2023 Interview with Evariste Plegnon.  2005-2008:  Evariste and I visited 12 villages. Interviews with Anna and Katie Nakayama.  She raised about $2,000 from her church to buy four dryness meters.  Part of the 5,000 Villages idea;  solving two problems, weight and dryness.  Interview with Katie Nakayama, Anna's sister.  Her impressions. Interview with Bob Peak, an Osage Indian.  Changing the idea:  building a rice hulling center and a small chocolate room in Pezoan.  The anger of Pezoan's chief. Building the building in Pezoan.  Interview with Servando, the manager of the Pezoan facility.  Teaching Servando how to make chocolate.  Formation of the cooperative.  Description of his hopes to become a chocolate-producing facility. CONCLUSION:  there is no reason for the cocoa farmer to remain a victim of the marketplace. Support the show Write to me at  [email protected] To learn more, visit  http://www.projecthopeandfairness.org