# Bringing Home the Bacon: From Shakespeare to the Baconator

An episode of [Gastropod](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/918896288), 23 Jun 2026, 48 min.

Audio: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP5608011855.mp3

For many Americans, bacon is an essential element of the perfect breakfast—not to mention a welcome addition to everything from cheeseburgers to doughnuts. But bacon hasn't always been beloved. Ancient Egyptians elites looked down on pork, Judaism and Islam banned it entirely, and in Shakespeare’s time, calling someone “bacon brains” was a serious insult. So how did we go from bacon shaming to today's full-on baconmania? We’re calling in the bacon experts to uncover how pigs domesticated themselves before becoming the key to world domination, what Sigmund Freud has to do with the ascendance of bacon and eggs as a breakfast staple, and why "bringing home the bacon" is the key to marital bliss. Listen in now for the salty story of humanity's on-again, off-again love affair with these streaky strips! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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