Fascinating that CNN, which has become increasingly xenophobic over the years, can only deal with learning about other cultures if you make it ostensibly about food.

Food is the great uniter of people.

Even so, I had no idea how novelty-seeking Bourdain still is.

That quest for excellence is a big part of what's kept Bourdain excited about making a show with the same basic format for the past 14 years. He can be intense, but he constantly pushes the crew to reach toward the new. "We literally sit down and try to figure out, 'What's the most fucked-up thing we can do?' " he says, taking a swig from his industrial-size cup of light-and-sweet deli coffee. " 'What haven't we done that we can try?' "