James Beard Awards are selected by over 600 anonymous judges

The James Beard Awards invited controversy by evaluating character

When the foundation initially asked judges to start considering chefs’ personal conduct in 2018, there was little pushback. By the time the 2023 awards rolled around, that was no longer the case. A chef’s nomination was pulled due to allegations of bullying, causing several previous winners to renounce their awards.

In 2021, the James Beard Awards began focusing on 'equity and sustainability'

Following accusations that the awards’ judges and winners were overwhelmingly white and male, the foundation conducted a 2021 audit focused on “equity and sustainability”; subsequent awards have been notably more diverse.

Thousands of chefs, writers, and broadcasters have won James Beard Awards

The annual awards recognize excellence in food, both in its creation and criticism. Notable past winners include Nina Compton, Ina Garten, and Grant Achatz

The Oscars of food

Every year, the James Beard Awards spotlight the best in food, media, and hospitality—often called the "Oscars of the food world." But behind the prestige is the story of James Beard himself: a failed actor turned culinary icon.

The awards are selected by approximately 50 industry insiders

The judges are required to see every production in a season. The Tony Awards Administration Committee, a self-governing board, selects these nominators, who serve on staggered terms of one to three years.

Why the James Beard Awards finally recognized a coffee professional

Jack Benchakul is the sole coffee maker at Los Angeles' Endorffeine and the first in the coffee world to be recognized by the prestigious food and drink awards. His attention to detail mirrors the level of craft cocktail makers whom the awards have historically praised.

Roughly 830 people are invited to anonymously vote for winners

These anonymous voters must see every show in order to weigh in with their vote, meaning a big part of being a voter is a time commitment: Every season has at least 30 unique productions to see.

James Beard and Julia Child were close friends and collaborators

The duo met when she was promoting her seminal book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” in 1961. They quickly bonded, even referring to themselves as “Jiji,” a combination of Julia and Jim. Child, though, was initially prejudiced against Beard for being openly gay, which was rarer at that time.

What it's like to be a competitive barbecue judge

Follow food writer and barbecue lover Mattie John Bamman as he tries to become a certified barbecue judge. The training is practical and subjective, involving learning the strict Kansas City Barbecue Society standards and the judges’ (literal) tastes.

James Beard completed his first cookbook in 1940

Beard began his culinary life as a caterer, but soon began compiling recipes for a cookbook that he published in 1940. Nine years later, he'd have his own cooking school.

The duties and importance of Grammy expert panels have shifted over the years

The anonymous expert panels were first introduced into the Grammys voting process in the '90s to counteract claims that the awards weren't "with it" anymore—basically, that they were biased toward more traditional music acts. Of course, that was also the argument for disbanding some of them in 2022: Many people thought the panels were introducing their own bias into the nominations. Now, they exist mainly to ensure genre nominations are correctly categorized. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Each Nobel committee sends nomination requests to 3,000 leading academics annually

Each Nobel selection committee consults with experts to create a shortlist of finalists from the hundreds of nominations, which is then sent to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The literature and peace awards also involve nominations from "qualified persons," such as university professors.

How Eurovision selects its winners

Competing acts are judged by a combination of music industry professionals, peers, and viewers, creating a suspenseful on-air tally to reveal the contest's ultimate winner.

Federal juries are selected from voter rolls and driver's license lists

Courts randomly draw prospective jurors from these sources, then mail qualification questionnaires. Those who qualify may be summoned for voir dire, where judges and attorneys question candidates before seating a final jury.

There are roughly 90 Michelin judges around the world

A major reason the Michelin Guide remains prestigious is the extreme secrecy surrounding its inspectors, sometimes assuming fake names and donning disguises, to ensure ratings are not influenced by special treatment.

The Judgment of Paris was organized by Steve Spurrier

The English wine merchant organized the competition with Patricia Gallagher at his Paris wine shop. In this in-depth interview, he talks about how he got into the wine trade, how the Judgment of Paris impacted his own career and the global wine scene, and tells some of his favorite stories from the past.

The Oscars' best picture selection process differs from other awards

While every other award is given to whoever gets the most votes, best picture is selected through a ranked-choice voting process. The winner needs to receive more than half of the total votes to come out on top.

A former grant recipient and reviewer explains how the NSF decides what research to fund

Every year, approximately 50,000 research proposals are evaluated against two merit review criteria approved by the National Science Board: the quality of the project and its potential societal impact. These evaluations are conducted by experts in the fields related to each proposal, identified by NSF program officers from a list of about 50,000 volunteers.

Fiction winners see the most financial gain

The Pulitzer Prize brings prestige, but inconsistent financial benefits. For nonfiction writers, receiving the award does increase sales, but only modestly. The big winners are the fiction writers, some of whom have seen sales double after a win.

Cannes Lions features over 30 different awards

While the classic track is limited to audio and radio, film, outdoor, and print and publishing, Cannes Lions’ many other awards embrace the broad spectrum of the creative fields.

How to dine like they do in 'The Bear'

One of the most exciting aspects of FX's hit show "The Bear" is how it highlights real Chicago restaurants and businesses. This guide to some of the restaurants visited by the show’s characters (and a few that aren’t) includes the real Michelin inspectors’ notes on each spot.

How a Philadelphia soup kitchen taught business students about ethical decision-making

As the St. Francis Inn—a Philadelphia soup kitchen—struggled with decisions about moving its operations to serve more people, a management professor at St. Joseph's University realized his students might have been able to help. Business students used ethical decision-making frameworks to help the soup kitchen serve more people and attract more volunteers.

How March Madness Selection Sunday works

March Madness is one of the most popular American sporting events, but most viewers aren't aware of how its 68 teams are selected for the prestigious national tournament. This official process overview breaks down how the teams are selected, seeded, and placed into the bracket. Knowing the ins and outs might not stop you from disputing the committee's selections, but at least you'll understand how they came to those decisions.

'Jeopardy!' super fans use a specific method to calculate a player's score

In its many decades on the air, “Jeopardy!” has developed a fervent fanbase that likes to play along at home. The Coryat score was developed by Karl Coryat, who appeared on the show in 1996. The equation ignores forced responses on Daily Doubles and Final Jeopardy! Correct responses for Daily Doubles are scored as their natural value.

Images of jumping lemurs and octopus moms promote conservation efforts

Winners and finalists from the California Academy of Sciences' BigPicture Photography Competition showcase the incredible biodiversity of Earth. The striking images are judged by a panel of nature and conservation photography experts.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

Against his wishes, Albert Einstein's brain was removed before his cremation, and the pathologist responsible stored it for decades in mason jars within a beer cooler.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Meet the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence—most of whom didn't put pen to paper until August 2, 1776—and see their original signatures.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

The animatronic shark from Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws,' the first modern blockbuster, was a complex underwater apparatus called 'Bruce.'

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Scientists have struggled to pin down Ebola's natural reservoir species for decades, but the available evidence suggests that it's very likely fruit and insect-eating bats found in Africa.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

During the French Revolution, a botanist's letter asking about "dear Rhus" (poison ivy) was intercepted, leading authorities to suspect he was conspiring with the Russians.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.