Wild Card with Rachel Martin

Episode: Padma Lakshmi says she wouldn’t go back to her 20s

Date: November 6, 2025
Host: Rachel Martin (NPR)
Guest: Padma Lakshmi

Episode Overview

In this episode of Wild Card, Rachel Martin sits down with renowned author, TV host, and food advocate Padma Lakshmi for an intimate, card-guided conversation. They explore Padma's experiences with aging, identity, and cooking, as well as deep reflections on grief, spirituality, and self-acceptance. Throughout, Padma’s stories illuminate the complexities of immigrant life, womanhood, and parenting, making for a vulnerable and rich listen.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Joy—and Surprise—of Getting Older

• Padma opens the conversation reflecting on aging
  • [00:41] "How happy it makes me. I was terrified of becoming 30, and then I was terrified of becoming 40, and now I'm 55, and I have to tell you, I feel great. I am the happiest I've ever been. I wouldn't trade and go back to my 20s for all the money in the world." – Padma Lakshmi
  • Padma discusses how, contrary to societal expectations, happiness and self-acceptance have deepened with age.
• Notable insight: Self-worth is now rooted in her accomplishments and sense of self, rather than appearance.

2. Immigration, Identity, and Belonging

• Navigating identity as an immigrant in America
  • [01:17] “I think every immigrant in this country, no matter where they're from, I think we're all trying to navigate that path, that integration, where we feel at home in our lives.” – Padma Lakshmi
  • Padma describes feeling "othered" in America in adulthood, despite the country’s diversity, compared to relative acceptance in parts of Europe.

3. Childhood Memories and Culinary Roots

• Grandmother’s influence and the safety of her childhood home in Chennai
  • [05:53] “My grandmother's house. ... Every summer...I loved it there...And those first lessons in the kitchen were not only about cooking but also about life.” – Padma Lakshmi
  • Cooking was not only about food, but also a way of understanding timing, patience, and the rhythm of life.
  • [06:39] On spices and cooking: “She ground all her spices...she just had the touch. In Tamil, there is a saying, avloda kaika ravasnaya, which means her hand has an aroma.”
• Poignant reflection on her grandmother’s passing
  • [08:58] “She died during COVID unfortunately, and I was able to somehow swing a visa and run to her bedside...she waited for me.” – Padma Lakshmi

4. Turning Points: Integrating Two Worlds

• A significant moment of cultural and personal integration
  • [10:34] The housewarming/office blessing ceremony with a priest from the Ganesh temple.
  • For the first time, Padma felt "my American side and my Indian side were completely reconciled and at ease with each other."

5. Food, Community, and America’s Diversity

• On her new book, Padma's All American Tales
  • [14:59] “It was very important to me that the writing be just as strong [as the recipes]...I wanted to give the reader a snapshot of what it means to be American in our many faces, and not just what you see on primetime, network and cable television.”
  • Discussion of the importance of profiling diverse Americans and honoring the contributions and stories of immigrants.
• Experience with indigenous cuisine and lessons from Twyla Casador
  • [16:37] “I had one of the most moving days of my life at the San Carlos reservation in Arizona...we foraged for every single thing we ate.”
  • [17:23] “...I got a real education not only on food and eating naturally from your environment, but also about how resourceful and knowledgeable these first nations are about how to live in harmony with the land.”

6. On Fear and Vulnerabilities

• Padma’s irrational fears—a surprisingly long list
  • [19:55] “…Which one would you like to start with? I still look under my bed before I go to bed at night…I also have an irrational fear of running on the treadmill…terrified I’m gonna slip and fall…”
• Shared vulnerabilities with Rachel
  • Stories of both falling on or near treadmills and general anxieties as adults.

7. Beauty, Modeling and Acceptance

• Modeling, self-worth and unlearning perfectionism
  • [23:38] “When you are a model...so much of what you do is tied to your physical self...it's very hard to compartmentalize...and that takes a lot of fortitude—fortitude that you really don't have at the time.”
• On her arm scar becoming pivotal to her career
  • [27:02] “I have a very large scar on my right arm...[Helmut Newton] shot me because of my scar. And then overnight, my career took off...it was a great lesson very early in my 20s that showed me that our standards of beauty are arbitrary.”
• Body confidence in her 50s
  • [28:44] “I feel better now. I mean, I would have killed to do Sports Illustrated when I was actually a model, but I'm glad it happened in my 50s because I appreciate it more…”

8. Grief and Spiritual Presence

• Profound story of loss, her daughter, and a sense of the divine
  • [31:38] “Have you ever experienced a divine power?”
  • [33:00] Padma recounts the morning of her lover’s passing, and her daughter Krishna as a toddler announcing “Poppy’s here” and saying, “He says, hello. I’m fine. Goodbye.”
  • [33:35] “For the first three years after Teddy died, I would still talk to him out loud...I could feel him...Is that wishful feeling? I just know that for me, it's a blessing and a positive, steadying feeling. And I’ll take it.”

9. Can People Truly Change?

• Thoughtful, conflicted response
  • [35:24] “I've seen people change. I have, and I've seen, surprisingly, people completely not change. ... Maybe it's painful to change, but there's always pain when there's growth. There's no growth without some destruction.”
  • [36:11] “I like to think that I'm the latter. You know, I don't want to stay the same. I don't. That's unnatural. Something either atrophies or grows.”

10. The Memory Machine: Nostalgia for Childhood Motherhood

• If she could relive one moment
  • [37:31] “I really miss my daughter as her younger self...gosh, she was so juicy when she was 5 and 4...Those bedtimes, those bath times, her singing in the bath...”
  • [38:24] Song lyric shared between Padma and her daughter:
    • "I love you mommy. Oh yes I do. I love you, mommy that much is true..."

Memorable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• “I wouldn’t trade and go back to my 20s for all the money in the world.” – Padma Lakshmi [00:41]
• “Every immigrant in this country...we're all trying to navigate that path, that integration, where we feel at home in our lives.” – Padma Lakshmi [01:17]
• “She used cooking as a way to teach me about life, saying, just like life, everything has its time, everything has its moment. You don't want to rush anything and you don't want to wait too long.” – Padma Lakshmi on her grandmother [06:24]
• “…For the first time, I felt like my American side and my Indian side were completely reconciled and at ease with each other.” – Padma Lakshmi [11:00]
• “It's really difficult...when you are a model and an actor...so much of what you do is tied to your physical self.” – Padma Lakshmi [25:38]
• “Our standards of beauty are arbitrary.” – Padma Lakshmi [27:18]
• “There's always pain when there's growth. There's no growth without some destruction.” – Padma Lakshmi [35:24]
• “I really miss my daughter as her younger self...she was so juicy when she was 5 and 4...Those bedtimes, those bath times, her singing in the bath...” – Padma Lakshmi [37:31]
• “I don't feel guilty when I take any pleasure, but what is my guilty pleasure is having five hours to put my feet up on a Saturday and just read.” – Padma Lakshmi [29:47]

Segment Timestamps for Reference

• Aging & happiness: [00:41], [23:34], [23:38]
• Immigrant experiences: [01:17], [12:08]
• Childhood & grandmother: [05:45]–[08:58]
• Religious & cultural integration: [10:34]
• Cookbook & American diversity: [14:14]–[19:44]
• Fears & vulnerabilities: [19:48]–[23:19]
• Beauty & acceptance: [23:31]–[29:45]
• Spiritual experiences & grief: [31:38]–[34:46]
• Change & growth: [35:19]–[36:49]
• Favorite memory as a mother: [37:01]–[40:11]

Tone & Atmosphere

Padma and Rachel maintain a candid, warm, and humorous tone, openly sharing vulnerabilities, joys, and deep insights. The conversation flows naturally, combining playful moments (fears about treadmills and mandolins) with emotional honesty (grief, motherhood, fitting in). The overall spirit is one of connection, wisdom, and mutual curiosity.

Conclusion

This Wild Card episode offers listeners an enriching glimpse into Padma Lakshmi’s layered identity and personal evolution. Through card-prompted questions, she unreels stories of overcoming and embracing difference, settling into her authentic self with age, and finding magic in both the kitchen and human connection. With memorable anecdotes and heartfelt reflections, Padma’s conversation provides comfort, encouragement, and a “grounding reminder of our shared humanity.”