Raw Dog

The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs

By: Jamie Loftus

Narrated by: Jamie Loftus

Long-listed, Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year 2023

Long-listed, New York Magazine Best Books of the Year 2023

One of BookPage's Best Audiobooks of 2023

"Loftus is a charming narrator...goofy, engaging, and always game to do a silly voice."—The New York Times

"There’s something terribly irresistible about her narration, which is often incredibly funny."—BookPage

Part travelogue, part culinary history, all capitalist critique—comedian Jamie Loftus's debut, Raw Dog, will take you on a cross-country road trip in the summer of 2021, and reveal what the creation, culture, and class influence of hot dogs says about America now.

“Wise and funny”—ANDY RICHTER • “Gonzo yet vulnerable”—GABE DUNN • “Hot dog Moby-Dick”—BRANSON REESE • “Revealing, funny, sad, horny, and insatiably curious”—SARAH MARSHALL • “A wild ride”—ROBERT EVANS • “Deeply incisive and hilariously honest”—JACK O’BRIEN

Hot dogs. Poor people created them. Rich people found a way to charge fifteen dollars for them. They’re high culture, they’re low culture, they’re sports food, they’re kids' food, they’re hangover food, and they’re deeply American, despite having no basis whatsoever in America's Indigenous traditions. You can love them, you can hate them, but you can’t avoid the great American hot dog.

Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs is part investigation into the cultural and culinary significance of hot dogs and part travelogue documenting a cross-country road trip researching them as they’re served today. From avocado and spice in the West to ass-shattering chili in the East to an entire salad on a slice of meat in Chicago, Loftus, her pets, and her ex eat their way across the country during the strange summer of 2021. It’s a brief window into the year between waves of a plague that the American government has the resources to temper, but not the interest.

So grab a dog, lay out your picnic blanket, and dig into the delicious and inevitable product of centuries of violence, poverty, and ambition, now rolling around at your local 7-Eleven.

“One of the freshest and most insightful new comedic voices of this decade.”—LINDSAY ELLIS

A Macmillan Audio production from Forge Books.

©2023 Jamie Loftus (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Raw Dog will leave you nourished."—BuzzFeed

“Jamie Loftus is a wise and funny storyteller, and her enthusiasm is inspiring. There’s so much about hot dogs that you need to know, and Jamie is here to teach you!”—ANDY RICHTER, actor and writer

“A moving, gorgeously written and lovingly researched dive into the world of hot dogs, American nationalism, in-group scandal, and delicate human relationships. This gonzo yet vulnerable trek is meaty, fun, critical, and evocative all at once. Jamie Loftus is the hot dog generation's Joan Didion.”—GABE DUNN, New York Times bestselling coauthor of I Hate Everyone But You

Love love love love

So interesting, had me listening for hours on end (and I don’t read!) Chuckled a bit too! Well done Jamie :)

I didn’t think I’d care so much about hot dogs

I didn’t think I’d care so much about the world of hot dogs. If you’re a fan of Loftus’ podcasts you’ll enjoy this.

Great read!

Jamie is an incredible writer and voice actor. This book reminds me a lot of "Consider the lobster" by DFW but better in a few ways! Love the activism and reporting slipped into a very fun read.

Much needed, well-written, and timely

This came to me at exactly the right (read: pretty bad) time in my life. For that Jamie Loftus has my deepest gratitude. She brings wit, intellect, and a chronicling of the present U.S. that is poignant, necessary, and hopeful at the same time. For that she has my utmost respect.

Jamie is a genius

Funny when you want it to be and serious when it needs to be. Definitely great to listen to!

I never thought a book about hot dogs would be so horny.

As the title of this review says, this is the horniest book about hot dogs on the market. I'm so glad Jamie read this book herself, because I genuinely don't think anyone else would've gotten the tone right. At any point in this book, I wasn't sure if it was going to make me laugh, cry, vomit, or crave a hot dog.

Kind of Like Fear & Loathing, but with Hot Dogs!

This was great. Kind of like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but with Hot Dogs. The author travels across the USA, from hot dog stand to hot dog stand, in a brilliant deconstruction of America itself. Along the way, we learn some history and get some investigative reporting. It's smart, funny, and insightful.

When an author narrates their own book, it can be hit or miss. This one is definitely a hit. Jamie Loftus is as good a narrator as any I've ever heard. She could be a professional audiobook narrator. Her humor and personality really shines thru in her writing.

I loved this book. As the author goes from a hot dog stand to hot dog stand to the famous "Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest" to finding out what really happens in the "Weinermobile", I'm here for all of it. To quote the press for this book, it's "part travelogue, part culinary history, all capitalist critique".

Brilliant performance

Some of the best food writing out there. Loftus reads like it's a true performance.

rawdogged this bad boy in fewer than 48hrs

one of the best audiobooks i’ve ever listened to. inhaled it in a couple days of a road trip. hilarious and oddly moving.

It’s a pleasure to be Rawdoged by Jamie

The book is great. Jamie Loftus is great. It made me crave hotdogs a lot.