Why we fight over who makes the best pizza

Issue 28: The link between food and identity; the 'bias blind spot'; partisan misperceptions; and an invitation to our book launch party

In 2013, Jon Stewart, then the host of The Daily Show, set aside the program’s usual focus on politics to talk about something more important: pizza, specifically Chicago-style deep-dish pizza. “Deep-dish pizza is not only not better than New York pizza,” Stewart explained. “It’s not pizza.”

Then, after several more minutes railing against the dish, he concluded, “Here’s how I know I’m right: You call it ‘Chicago-style pizza,’ ‘deep-dish pizza,’ ‘stuffed pizza.’” The New York City–born comedian pulled a thin slice of pizza from under his desk. “You know what we call this? Pizza.”

The perennial debate about who has the best pizza has raged for years. It was triggered again in 2021 when the City of Chicago announced on Twitter that it was “Proud to be the pizza capital of the world”.