On this episode of the root simple podcast I talk to Kendra Gaeta about something you probably don’t think about too much–your sense of smell. As usual with the podcast, I have a bad habit of turning off the recorder too soon. After I recorded this interview with Kendra, who is a board member of the Institute for Art and Olfaction, Kendra pulled out a box of scents in tiny vials and proceeded to blow my mind.

Smelling all those vials was a reminder of the sheer range of smells we might encounter and, most likely, ignore in the course of a day. Paying attention to our sense of smell opens up a whole new reality. We think a lot about things we see, hear and taste but don’t give a lot of thought to the way we experience the world through our noses. Kendra will change what you know about your nose! During the conversation Kendra mentions:

• The Institute of Art and Olfaction
• Beyond perfume–who works with scent
• The Smelly Viles
• Ghost Hunters of Urban Los Angeles
• Perfumers Apprentice + Flavors Apprentice (An amazing source for small quantities of scents and flavors)
• The smell of the International Space Station

If you’d like to leave a question for the Root Simple Podcast please call (213) 537-2591 or send an email to [email protected]. You can subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store and on Stitcher. Closing theme music by Dr. Frankenstein. A downloadable version of this podcast is here.