Fat Girl Book Club

Jennifer Radke

You know that bookclub you belong to? The one where the wine flows freely, the laughter is loud and the books are extremely interesting. That is this podcast, in your ears. My name is Jennifer Radke and I am your host and a body image coach. I get my guests to read a book in the Fat Acceptance/Body Positive/Health at Every Size space and I talk to them about it. Throughout these conversations I get them to tell their stories, we go off on tangents and we give you a great idea of the main concepts of the books we are discussing. This is not the author talking about the book they wrote! This is people who are boudoir photographers, influencers, activists and other coaches, talking about life changing books.

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Top 10 Fat Girl Book Club Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Fat Girl Book Club episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Fat Girl Book Club for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Fat Girl Book Club episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

[REPOST] - Fat Activism by Charlotte Cooper with Cat Pausé

Fat Girl Book Club

03/31/22 • 58 min

This week I am re-releasing this episode with Cat Pausé. I didn't know her well, in fact we only met twice. I was on her podcast Friend of Marilyn and she was on mine. But her work was brilliant and I was so honoured to have her on the show. She recently, vey suddenly passed away. I wanted to do something to show how amazing she was and how much of an impact she has had on me. The fact she came onto my growing podcast and gave her limited time to a fledging fat liberationist is a true testimony to her generous nature. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to talk to her about something she clearly had so much passion about. Here is the newsletter notes I released just before the show was available for download:
The episode that is going to be released tomorrow is amazing. Truly. If you have never heard of Cat Pausé, then you need to immediately go here and here and here! I don't think I fangirl enough in this episode but in all honesty, I look up to this woman. I think the things she has done in the world of fat activism are exemplary and worthy of praise. Please don't miss this episode.
Cat and I discuss:

Cat's journey to fat politics and her political activism in New Zealand
Why the key too fat liberation has nothing to do with health
Defining fat activism
The palatability of certain fat activism proxies
The different types of fat activism
The three "defining" events of fat activism
The messiness of activism
Cat's experience with burnout and the direction her radio show took because of it
The dominance of US voices in the movement
What it means to Queer fat activism

Rest In Power Cat

Keep reading everyone

Fat-Talk Nation by Susan Greenhalgh with Amanda Levitt

Fat Girl Book Club

09/01/22 • 82 min

TRIGGER WARNING: Use of the O-words

All good things must come to an end my friends. This podcast has saved me in a multitude of ways. The books I've read for the show, the people I've met have changed my life. I am a different, a better person because I did this show. I am also a more confident speaker and connector to others because I had a podcast. I just feel so grateful for the opportunity to run a show about something I love and connect to you, the listeners. I am so, so grateful you listened, subscribed and enjoyed.
But life has taken me in a different direction and so (at least for now) after episode 80 (stick around for that one!) the show will be on a break. I really do hope to come back in the new year but until then, maybe you wan't to check out my guest's podcast! Amanda Levitt is the host of a podcast called Fat Theory Book Club so not only does she read body liberation books but she also talks to readers and authors alike about the ideas in them. It is worth your time to check it out BUT FIRST (lol), check out my chat with Amanda where we talk about Fat-Talk Nation by Susan Greenhalgh. We cover:

Amanda's journey to activism
Baby steps for baby activists
Why Amanda picked this book
The research in this book and how that compares to fat liberation classic reads
The concept of biocitizenship
Was there a difference between the Obese and the Overweight chapters in terms of experiences and Greenhalgh's analysis
How the War on Obesity's capitalist agenda affects Ivy League universities and their research
Discussing the thin experience
Have there been changes since this book?
Some medical devices for weight loss that you've never heard of! 🤯

Keep Reading Everyone!

Amanda's Links

Fat Theory Book Club Podcast

Whimsical Femme on IG

Fat Body Politics on Twitter

Fat Body Politics on Tik Tok

Fat Girl Book Club Links

Discord group

Instagram

Amanda's Book Recommendations

Unbearable Weight by Susan Bordo

The Embodiment of Disobedience by Andrea Elizabeth Shaw

Can't Buy My Love by Jean Kilbourne

Episode Links

Big Fat Blog

Fat Body Politics Blog

Abundant Bodies

Maintenance Phase Podcast

Fat Activism by Charlotte Cooper

Killer Fat by Natalie Boero

NHANES Survey

Katherine Flegal Study

Fearing the Black Body by Sabrina Strings<...

Your Better Body Image Checklist - Body and Diet Talk

Fat Girl Book Club

08/06/20 • 40 min

If you already have a copy of the Your Better Body Image Checklist, I am going to do a series of episodes which takes the concepts of the checklist to a deeper level. If you don't already have it, this will give you a taste of what kinds of things are on it.

This first episode is about how destructive negative body talk and diet talk is to how we think about our own bodies. I focus on TV, social media and real life relationships.

Next episode will be an interview episode! This episode though is just me.

Grab your copy of the checklist here

A Body Shame Spiral Story

Fat Girl Book Club

06/25/20 • 36 min

A shorter episode! Some people might be happy about that. Others may wonder why no guest? You'll have to listen to find out!

This is about something that happened to me. Maybe it has happened to you too? I am standing in front of my closet, pulling out clothes that should fit but don't. How do I stop myself going into diet mode? I will take you through an exercise to help connect with your own diet story and I will talk about tools that if done regularly can help you to avoid regular spiralling.

Tools I talk about include:

Prioritizing Rest with a discussion of Caroline Dooner's The Fuck It Diet
Mantra Mediation with a discussion of Sonya Renee Taylor's The Body is Not an Apology
Media Literacy with a discussion of Renee Engeln's Beauty Sick
Compassion and Honoring your Feelings with a discussion of Sofie Hagen's Happy Fat

My website for the Your Better Body Image Checklist, to book your free coaching call and to give feedback about the book club

Happy Fat by Sofie Hagen with Ameya and Pallavi from the Fat. So? podcast

Fat Girl Book Club

06/11/20 • 98 min

I am an avid podcast listener and when I found Fat. So? the podcast, I was in love. I have binge listened to the first season of Fat. So? twice! You will realize why I am in love, by listening to my interview with Ameya and Pallavi, the hosts of Fat. So?. We have a long discussion using Happy Fat by Sofie Hagen as the springboard. No topics are off the table in this discussion as we touch on:

Their different fat liberation journeys
How books have impacted their journeys
What it means to grow and have break throughs in fat liberation
Fat in three different languages
Slurs and the word "Fat"
Disagreement about the words overweight and morbidly obese
Micro-aggressions toward fat people and why these are just so wrong
Self-care and self-preservation as a fat woman
A discussion about how there are more raped and murdered women on TV than there are fat women. Representation!!!!
Why thin allies need to open their mouths when people make fun of fat people
How they learned to love and appreciate their bodies
Sex. Guys, we talk a lot about sex!
Being fat in India

I learned a lot from these two amazing ladies. Their vulnerability and laughter just made my day. I hope you enjoy this conversation.

Links

Happy Fat by Sofie Hagen

Fat Shame by Amy Erdman Farrell with Amanda Martinez Beck

Fat Girl Book Club

05/28/20 • 66 min

Check off another first for the pod! Amanda Martinez Beck is my first return guest and I am delighted to chat to her again. She brought Fat Shame by Amy Erdman Farrell to me and I loved this academic read. We get into the weeds of what fat stigma is and how it connects to racism and feminism. Hold onto your hats ladies and gentlemen, this is a deep dive into some big concepts. Here is a brief list of what we discuss:

How Amanda found this book
The importance of the footnote
Why do we as a culture have such a problem with bodies that are larger?
The intersection of fat acceptance and racial discrimination
The use of privilege
What is fat stigma and how does if affect our everyday lives
Historical hierarchies of people and what this means in terms of power dynamics
Weight loss surgery studies as junk science
Feminism and fat acceptance
Why cancel culture is destructive
The pressure on Oprah and the Obamas to be concerned with weight
The future of fat acceptance
The four levels of fat liberation

LINKS:

My last episode with Amanda

Fat Shame by Amy Erdman Farrell

My Website

Beauty Sick by Renee Engeln with Vania Phitidis Part 1

Fat Girl Book Club

05/14/20 • 46 min

My discussion with Vania Phitidis about this amazing book went long. I didn't want to cut it so in another first for this podcast, I am releasing this conversation in two parts. In this part of the conversation we:

Discuss Vania's body acceptance journey
Talk about the turning point and the pivot that helped her to break up with diet culture
Dive deep into health as a value
Hear about how Vania's beauty routine has changed over the years
Get into the importance of having support

I love this conversation and I know you will too. Make sure to subscribe to this podcast to get the second part the minute it is released.

Links:

Vania's website
https://peacefuleating.co.uk

Vania's Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/peacefuleatinguk/

Vania's Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/PeacefulEating/

Renee Engeln's Ted Talk
https://youtu.be/63XsokRPV_Y

Jenn's Website
www.iwishiwereme.com

Hunger by Roxane Gay with Nicola Haggett

Fat Girl Book Club

04/30/20 • 69 min

Nicola Haggett and I jumped into this Roxane Gay memoir and all its messiness. I loved this discussion because it really emphasizes how we can all become more empathetic to everyone who has a body, whether they are on a journey of body liberation or not.

Some of the things we talk about included:

Nicola's body liberation journey
Why the Body Trust philosophy appealed to Nicola
Why Nicola loved this book
Being ok with wanting your body to change even with the knowledge of weight science
All the different meanings of hunger
How we relate to fullness
What it means to write your body story
How Nicola found safety in her body
Why this book is not a betrayal of the fat acceptance community

Links:

Nicola's website
https://nicolahaggett.com

Nicola's Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/nicolahaggett/

Hunger by Roxane Gay
https://www.amazon.ca/Hunger-Memoir-My-Body/dp/B071J95QC4/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Hunger+by+Roxane+Gay&qid=1588195904&sr=8-1

Be Nourished
https://benourished.org

I Wish I Were Me Website
http://iwishiwereme.com

Lessons from the Fat-o-Sphere by Kate Harding and Marianne Kirby

Fat Girl Book Club

03/05/20 • 64 min

Normally my guest and I love the books we read but in this case, Debbie Lesko had some challenges with this book and I am so glad she did. Debbie Lesko runs the Facebook page and group, Diets Don't Work and some of the points she made about this book were valid and really important. We get into why just focusing on weight gain as the main problem with dieting is wrong and how the Health at Every Size movement has progressed since the writing of this book. We also talked about:

Deb's eating disorder recovery journey
The negative consequences that come from dieting beyond weight gain
Buying clothes in a larger body
Living life now and not waiting until you're thin
Finding hobbies after dieting
Why Deb keeps fighting too hard
The concept of Baby Steps in our journeys
Why mental health is something we should be talking about more
Social media tips for curating your feed
Updating the resources in the book

Links:

Diets Don't Work Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/DietsDontWorkditchdietculture/

Diets Don't Work Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/405546927065186/

Diets Don't Work Website
http://diets-dont-work.net

Diets Don't Work on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/diets_dont_work_haes/

Diets Don't Work on Twitter
https://twitter.com/deblesko

Books Mentioned:
Lessons from the Fat-o-Sphere
https://www.amazon.ca/Lessons-Fat-sphere-Dieting-Declare-ebook/dp/B002361KAI/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Lessons+from+the+Fat-o-Sphere&qid=1583101487&s=books&sr=1-1

Body Respect
https://www.amazon.ca/Body-Respect-Conventional-Health-Understand/dp/1940363195/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Body+Respect&qid=1583101518&s=books&sr=1-1

The Body Is Not an Apology
https://www.amazon.ca/Body-Not-Apology-Radical-Self-Love/dp/1626569762/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2X04ZSIVSX706&keywords=the+body+is+not+an+apology&qid=1583101552&s=books&sprefix=The+Body+Is+%2Cstripbooks%2C198&sr=1-1

Anti-Diet
https://www.amazon.ca/Anti-Diet-Reclaim-Well-Being-Happiness-Intuitive/dp/0316420352/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Anti-Diet&qid=1583101575&s=books&sr=1-1

Embrace Yourself
https://www.amazon.ca/Embrace-Yourself-Taryn-Brumfitt/dp/0143787055/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Taryn+Brumfitt&qid=1583101718&s=books&sr=8-1

Dietland
https://www.amazon.ca/Dietland-Sarai-Walker/dp/0544704835/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Dietland&qid=1583101744&sr=8-1

Social Media
Virgie Tovar
https://www.instagram.com/virgietovar/

The Body is Not an Apology
https://www.instagram.com/thebodyisnotanapology/

Daring Fat
https://www.instagram.com/daringfat/

Your Fat Friend
https://twitter.com/yrfatfriend

The Kangaroo Sanctuary
https://www.facebook.com/thekangaroosanctuary/

Cats of Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/cats_of_instagram/

Podcasts
Its Not about the Food
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/stefani-reinold/not-the-typical-momtm-show-with-stefani-reinold

Trust your Body Project
https://whitneycatalano.com/podcast/

Confidently She
https://www.rebekahbuege.com/the-podcast

Food Psych
https://christyharrison.com/foodpsych

The Fat Lip
http://thefatlip.com

Fat and Faithful
https://fatandfaithful.libsyn.com

I Wish I Were Me
http://iwishiwereme.com

Please connect with me on social media
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/I-Wish-I-Were-Me-463401447370876/?ref=bookmarks

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/iwishiwereme/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/iwishiweremetwt

The Hundred Year Diet by Susan Yager with Emily Lubin

Fat Girl Book Club

12/09/21 • 78 min

I have never thrown out my questions when talking to a guest before, but I just had so much fun talking to Emily Lubin about The Hundred Year Diet by Susan Yager that I lost track of time and didn't ask anything I'd planned to! This book also provided us with lots to discuss. The 100 Year Diet was really problematic and triggering, so we were able to dive deep into some pretty nuanced discussion. Here are some of the things we talked about: