Read "Never Home Alone" before eating, not afterwards

Now that you’ve likely enjoyed a sumptuous meal, are you ready to think about all the invisible things from your kitchen, on your plate, and in your food?

Ecologist Rob Dunn has a whole book about it, if so. Never Home Alone explores the “wilderness” in our homes — not just the bugs we can see, but also the microbes, bacteria, and yeasts that we can’t.

Dunn even conducted an experiment with fellow ecologist Anne Madden to analyze the relationship between bakers’ hands and the bread they make.

Read about the results of their sourdough bake-off on NPR’s website or listen to Dunn's entire interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air.