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Debunking the junk science behind health fads, wellness scams and nonsensical nutrition advice.
An interview podcast about why we are the way we are by comedian, author and campaigner Sofie Hagen, co-host of Bad People on BBC Sounds and Secret Dinosaur Cult and author of 'Happy Fat'.
The Liz Cast is a podcast that features real conversations with real people -- about all the things that fascinate me. Listen in for stories and conversations about living, loving, and striving in 2021.
This year, the UK implemented a law requiring chain restaurants to list calorie counts on their menus. Where did these policies come from? What impact do they have? And why is a Julia Roberts quote from 1990 the best way to describe them? Support us: Hear bonus episodes on Patreon Donate on PayPal Get Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more L…
Weight loss is as simple as “calories in, calories out,” right? Or — gasp — could the reply guys be wrong!? This week, we dig in on the surprisingly complex science behind a seemingly simple calculation. Support us: Hear bonus episodes on Patreon Donate on PayPal Get Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more Links! History of the Calorie in Nut…
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Diet Book Deep Dive: “How To Take 20 Pounds Off Your Man”
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This week, Mike and Aubrey take on a manual for creep behavior masquerading as a diet book. Along the way, we cover shopping guides, journalism salaries and the proper preparation of Cornish game hens. We love our curvy husbands. Support us: Hear bonus episodes on Patreon Donate on PayPal Get Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more Links! How…
Debunking some of the most widely repeated myths about fat and health. Here's Mike's new video! Support us: Hear bonus episodes on Patreon Donate on PayPal Get Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song! Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/maintenancephase)…
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Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma"
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How a liberal journalist entrenched a libertarian fantasy. Thanks to Sarah Taber for helping us with the research for this episode! Support us: Hear bonus episodes on Patreon Donate on PayPal Get Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more Links! Julie Guthman's "Weighing In" Rachel Laudan's "Cooking and Empire" Heidi Zimmerman's "Caring for the …
This week's show is still in the oven so we're releasing one of our first Patreon bonus episodes. We asked our listeners for the wildest and wackiest fad diets they've ever tried and ended up doing mini-deep dives into The Rotation Diet, The Shangri-La Diet, The Special K Diet, Bethenny Frankel's "Naturally Thin" plan and the Blood Type Diet. Enjoy…
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Jordan Peterson Part 2: The Moscow Diaries
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In 2019, Jordan Peterson disappeared from public life. One year later, he re-emerged with a diagnosis, a story and no self-reflection whatsoever. Thanks to Katelyn Burns and Talia Lavin for help fact-checking this episode and Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song! Support us: Hear bonus episodes on Patreon Donate on PayPal Get Maintenance Phas…
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Jordan Peterson Part 1: The Carnivore Diet
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Oops all meat: How a '50s bodybuilder, a Grateful Dead roadie and an unreadable professor accidentally launched one of America's wildest fad diets. Here's Mike's "Cancel Culture" video! Note: In our discussion of Jordan Peterson’s political correctness lecture, I made a sarcastic comment about looking “slim in this dress.” After the episode came ou…
Aubrey thought she could swear less in this week’s episode. She was wrong. Support us: Hear bonus episodes on Patreon Donate on PayPal Get Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more Links! Super Size Me Trailer "Super Size Me" - CBS NewsWhere's the Beef? The Challenges of Obesity Suits Morgan Spurlock on Sexual Misconduct Confession, 'Super Size…
In 2015, Belle Gibson was an Australian "eco-preneur" with a vegetarian cookbook, a blockbuster wellness app and a terminal cancer diagnosis. Today, she's one of the most hated figures in the country. Support us: Hear bonus episodes on Patreon Donate on PayPal Get Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more Links! The Woman Who Fooled The World W…
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Diet Book Deep Dive: The Karl Lagerfeld Diet
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Who’s that Bond villain stroking a cat and yelling at beloved public figures? It’s Karl Lagerfeld! This week, Mike and Aubrey go in on fashion’s favorite turbo troll and his fancy, joyless diet. This episode serves four. Support us: Hear bonus episodes on Patreon Donate on PayPal Get Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more Links!: The Karl La…
How America's oldest fat camp — and the inspiration for Disney’s "Heavyweights" — became the symbol of a health intervention that enjoys worldwide popularity despite no evidence that it improves anyone's health. Support us: Hear bonus episodes on Patreon Donate on PayPal Get Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more Links! The Epic Family Feud …
Matthew Walker's "Why We Sleep" was one of the most popular and acclaimed wellness books of 2017. There's just one problem: Much of it isn't true. Thanks to University of Ottawa Postdoctoral Fellow Dylan Smith for helping us with the research! Support us: Hear bonus episodes on Patreon Donate on PayPal Get Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and m…
It's a sexual health episode! This week, Mike and Aubrey dive into the hotly debated medical history of vibrators and ask: who fact-checks the fact-checkers? Note: A previous version of this episode included language that referred to “the female downstairs,” implying both that gender is linked to genitals (it isn’t) and that vibrators were used pri…
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Forensic Psychotherapist Dr Gwen Adshead - Working with murderers, empathy, gender and violence
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Sofie talks to Dr Gwen Adshead about meeting people in the middle of their stories, attachment, working with violent patients, evil states of mind, shadow sides, cruelty, mistakes, gender, identity, group therapy, life development studies, Broadmoor, and rehabilitation. Content Warning: COVID, mental health, postnatal depression, violence, murder, …
For nearly four decades, Americans have heard a simple story about health, longevity and obesity. This week, we learn it's a little more complicated. Thanks to Katherine Flegal, Paul Campos, Jeff Hunger and Jason Salemi for helping us research and fact-check this episode! Support us: Hear bonus episodes on Patreon Donate on PayPal Get Maintenance P…
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Attorney Rabia Chaudry - The Adnan Case, justice and resilience
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Sofie talks to Rabia Chaudry about boundaries, saying no, marriage, shame, courage, Serial, advocacy, podcasts, law school, innocence cases, faith, justice, navigating trolls, true crime, change, activism, and getting religious inspiration from female scholars. Content Warning: COVID, criminal justice system, medical system, death, bereavement, the…
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Episode 42: Reading recap - Aubrey Gordon & Isabel Wilkerson
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In this week's episode of What Did Liz Read This Week? I talk about Aubrey Gordon's book What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat and Isabel Wilkerson's book Caste. Y'know. Some light reading. Aubrey Gordon formerly wrote exclusively under her internet handle Your Fat Friend. She's a fat activist and co-host of the incredibly popular podcast…
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Episode 41: Reading recap - Radical Candor (part 2) and Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y. Davis
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This week, I talk about key insights from the second half of Kim Scott's revised edition of Radical Candor: How to Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity. See the four quadrants that undergird Scott's arguments here: https://www.radicalcandor.com/our-approach/ And read more about Kim Scott here: https://www.radicalcandor.com/ I also share …
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Comedian David Morgan - Coming out as nonbinary, rejection and mental health
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Sofie talks to David Morgan about Magic Mike Live, performing, dating, rejection, heartbreak, charisma, boundaries, coping mechanisms, gender identity, not being a boy, coming out, experimentation, change, comfort, and not knowing left from right. Content Warning: COVID, disassociation, social anxiety, sex, sexuality, negative self image, insecurit…
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Diet Book Deep Dive: Angela Lansbury's "Positive Moves"
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At the height of her "Murder She Wrote" fame, Angela Lansbury released a home workout video full of synth music, peach jumpsuits and ~sensuality~. This week, we’re exploring the anti-Goop-ness of Angela’s fitness book and video, "Positive Moves."! It gets a little heavy toward the end, but we promise: No one was canceled in the making of this episo…
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Episode 40: Reading recap - Radical Candor by Kim Scott (part 1)
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It's been a long time since my last episode, mostly because COVID sucks and my anxiety has been spiraling for a while. But I'm back! And starting what I hope will become a regular (or semi-regular) Sunday offering -- a short episode each week (ish) recapping what I've been reading that week. This week, I talk about key insights from the first third…
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Fat Activist Tigress Osborn - Fat parties, questioning the system and The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance
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Sofie talks to Tigress Osborn about race, fat activism, intersectionality, The Fat Underground, books and media that have changed her perspective, NAAFA, The Bay Area, talk shows, fat media representation and fat people dancing. Content Warning: COVID, slavery, fatphobia, racism, diet industry, trauma, weight loss surgery Produced by Dave Pickering…
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Rachel Hollis Part 2: Girl, Start Apologizing
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In the sequel (sorry) to our first installment, we take a deep dive into Rachel's wildly problematic books and deeply weird downfall. Along the way we discuss allyship etiquette, MLMs and Ronald Reagan. We remain convinced that getting matching tattoos was the right decision for us. Support us: Hear bonus episodes on Patreon Donate on PayPal Get Ma…
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Actor Andi Osho - Trusting the world, writing novels and body/mind connection
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Sofie talks to Andi Osho about writing her novel Asking For A Friend, her relationship with time, being present, inspiration, boundaries, friendship, thinking, acting, dating, letting parents off the hook, Frozen, and googling 100 words for "said". Content Warning: trauma, therapy, somatic experience therapy, depression, guilt, absent parents, nega…
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Rachel Hollis Part 1: Hashtag Relatable
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Girl, stop reinforcing the status quo. Support us: Hear bonus episodes on Patreon Donate on PayPal Get Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more Videos! The infamous Tik Tok Momfession: I get up at 5 am The "bikini mom" talk How To Start A Podcast Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/maintenancephase)…
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Fat Activist Aubrey Gordon - Purity activism, fatness and authenticity
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Sofie talks to Aubrey Gordon about her book What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat, her podcast Maintenance Phase, becoming un-anonymous, talking into microphones, self deception, fucking up hard, consensus based decisions, change, anger, and her childhood bathroom scales. Content Warning: COVID, fatphobia, diet culture, trauma, discomfort…
Last year, spiritual leader Marianne Williamson made headlines when she ran for president. But 10 years earlier, she wrote a bestselling book that promised to teach readers how to “surrender" their weight forever. This week, Mike and Aubrey take a deep dive into Williamson’s life story and her 2010 book, “A Course in Weight Loss." Along the way we …
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Author Hazel Hayes - Trauma and PTSD recovery
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Sofie talks to Hazel Hayes about her book Out of Love, mental health, highs and lows, executive dysfunction, therapy, triggers, relationships, trust, communication, telling stories, boundaries, the good stuff, and how trauma is like thrush. Content Warning: COVID, mental health issues, depression, anxiety, CBT. suicidal ideation, medication, abuse,…
How Nestlé executives, global health institutions and a very racist white lady seeded a series of nutritional misconceptions we're still living with today. Special thanks to John Nott for helping us out with this episode! Here's his papers on the history of protein and the British Empire. “No one may starve in the British Empire”: Kwashiorkor, Prot…
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Neuroscientist Dean Burnett - Grief, mental health and brains
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Sofie talks to Dean Burnett about mental health, brains, uncertainty, emotions, masculinity, crying, science, subjectivity, parenting, processing, awareness campaigns, the somatic marker hypothesis, and the difference between cabins and sheds. Content Warning: COVID, mental health issues, grief, bereavement, death, losing a parent, loss, fitness, m…
Over the last 30 years, fatness has been defined as a risk factor for disease, then a disease in itself, then a global epidemic. What caused this rapid shift? Who’s gonna join our group of B-roll vigilantes? And did we just hear Morgan Freeman? Support us: Hear bonus episodes on Patreon Donate on PayPal Get Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and …
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Writer Matilda Ibini - Disability (and fuck the government!)
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Sofie talks to Matilda Ibini about living with disability, writing, control, guilt, afrofuturism, daydreaming, being present, navigating the pandemic, "the little things" and Scooby-Doo fanfic. Content Warning: COVID, mental health issues, anxiety, therapy, ableism, religion, disability, disassociation, trauma, medication Produced by Dave Pickering…
The BMI is EVERYWHERE. But is it scientific or scientif-ish? While many Americans think of the body mass index as an objective measure of health, its history reveals a more complicated story. This week, Mike and Aubrey tackle the first in a two-part series about the BMI and the “Obesity Epidemic.” Along the way they visit 18th century Belgium, lear…
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Anti-Racism Advocate Sophie Williams - Privilege, antiracism and control
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Sofie talks to Sophie Williams about being an advocate, business, writing books, instagram, the murder of George Floyd, proximity to whiteness, taking 14 years off from chocolate and biscuits, talking to different audiences, the glass cliff and the glass ceiling. Sophie has written two books that you should check out: Millennial Black and Anti-Raci…
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School Lunches, P-Hacking and the Original "Pizzagate"
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This week we're diving into one of the biggest-ever scandals in nutrition research. For nearly two decades, Brian Wansink's Food and Brand Lab told Americans that lower weights, healthier workplaces and better school lunches were just a few small tweaks away. Then, in 2015, he wrote a blog post and it all came crashing down. Support us: Hear bonus …
So long, root vegetables! This week, we dive into the strange and surprising history of the 100-year-old ketogenic diet. Along the way, we encounter a Victorian bodybuilder, an infamous podcast bro and the possibility of a bad Meryl Streep performance (!). Get in, loser, we're counting macros! Support us: Hear bonus episodes on Patreon Donate on Pa…
Special guest Kimberly Springer joins us to talk about an infamous, dangerous faith healer and his two — two! — appearances on Oprah's talk show. This episode contains, we're sorry to say, detailed descriptions of sexual assault. Buy Kimberly's books: Stories of Oprah: The Oprahfication of American Culture Living for the Revolution: Black Feminist …
Do you have weird feelings about Oprah? So do we, and so does our guest! Kimberly Springer, co-editor of "Stories of Oprah: The Oprahfication of American Culture," joins us to talk about the rise of Oprah Winfrey and her infamous "wagon of fat" weight loss episode. Buy Kimberly's books: Stories of Oprah: The Oprahfication of American Culture Living…
Do you have viruses? Cysts? Cancer? Are you tired sometimes? According to Instagram, the problem might be a lack of liquefied vegetables! This week, Mike and Aubrey take on a troubling taste test, meet a ghost with bad intentions and encounter the longest list of problematic celebrities we've ever seen. Plus, we start the show with an announcement:…
