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Maintenance Phase
Aubrey Gordon & Michael Hobbes
5.0
(83)
#9 in the Top 100 Education All time chart
97 Listeners
4 Comments
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Top 10 Maintenance Phase Episodes
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The "Sleep Loss Epidemic"
Maintenance Phase
12/14/21 • 71 min
5.0
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:
Links!
- Walker's TED Talk
- Alexey's blog post: Matthew Walker's "Why We Sleep" Is Riddled with Scientific and Factual Errors
- Walker’s Response
- Trouble With TED
- Does daylight savings kill people?
- Why We Sleep: A Tale Of Institutional Failure
- Is Matthew Walker’s “Why We Sleep” Riddled with Scientific and Factual Errors?
- Up All Night: The science of sleeplessness
- Exploring the Necessity and Virtue of Sleep
- Why Do We Sleep?
- Siesta in Healthy Adults and Coronary Mortality in the General Population
- A Chronobiological Evaluation of the Acute Effects of Daylight Saving Time on Traffic Accident Risk
- Has Adult Sleep Duration Declined Over the Last 50+ Years?
- Americans Are Sleeping More, If Not Necessarily Better
- High-profile sleep researcher loses paper for duplication
20 Listeners
8

The Body Mass Index
Maintenance Phase
08/03/21 • 68 min
5.0
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, learn a gross new acronym and dissect Dracula's facial features.
LINKS!:
- The Bizarre and Racist History of the BMI (Elemental)
- Adolphe Quetelet, Social Physics, and the Average Men of Science, 1796-1874 (University of Pittsburgh Press)
- Mindful of eugenics’ dark history, researchers are reexamining the genetics of social mobility (Quartz)
- Adolphe Quetelet (1796–1874)—the average man and indices of obesity (Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation)
- For Researchers on Obesity: Historical Review of Extra Body Weight Definitions (Obesity)
- Quetelet, Adolphe (Canada’s Eugenics Archives)
- Top 10 Reasons Why The BMI Is Bogus (NPR)
- The False Science Linking Body Shape to Personality (The Atlantic)
- Obesity task force linked to WHO takes “millions” from drug firms (The BMJ)
- Impact of weight bias and stigma on quality of care and outcomes for patients with obesity (Obesity Reviews)
15 Listeners
4

"Super Size Me"
Maintenance Phase
02/15/22 • 62 min
5.0
Aubrey thought she could swear less in this week’s episode. She was wrong.
Support us:
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 Me 2'
- Former Employees Say Morgan Spurlock's Production Company Was 'Fratty Boys' Club'
- Food and Drug Law Journal
- “Cheeseburger Bill” protects food industry - The Lancet
- Meet the science teacher who lost 60 pounds eating nothing but McDonald's three meals a day
- Impressed by the demise of Supersize? Take a closer look
13 Listeners
2

Marianne Williamson
Maintenance Phase
09/14/21 • 57 min
5.0
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 talk nonprofit drama, Eleanor Roosevelt and gays for Marianne. Plus, Mike’s got a message for the twinks.
Support us:
Videos!
- Marianne Williamson on Forgiveness
- A Course in Weight Loss
- A Course in Weight Loss, Chapter Two
- A Course in Weight Loss, Chapter 7
- A Course in Weight Loss, Chapter 8
Links!
- Who is Marianne Williamson? Her 2020 presidential campaign and policies, explained
- The Divine Miss W
- Faith: Marianne Williamson Is Full of It
- The Gospel According to Marianne Williamson
- “No One Decides to Run for President Impulsively”: Marianne Williamson Explains Her Magical Thinking
- Marianne Williamson has almost everything
- Marianne Williamson is a controversial AIDS-crisis figure for gay men.
- Into America's Spiritual Void With Marianne Williamson
- Why Marianne Williamson’s most famous passage keeps getting cited as a Nelson Mandela quote
Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!
Support the show14 Listeners
1

The Keto Diet
Maintenance Phase
07/06/21 • 55 min
5.0
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:
Links!
- What Is the Keto Diet and Does It Work? (NYT)
- The Ketogenic Diet for Weight Loss (Today’s Dietitian)
- Meet the Wackiest Billionaire Ever to Run for President (Money)
- Trailer for "First, Do No Harm"
- Keto Diet History - How the Ketogenic Diet Went Mainstream (Men's Health)
- 7 Dangers of the Keto Diet | Health.com (Health Magazine)
- 15 Keto Diet Side Effects to Know – Possible Keto Diet Dangers (Prevention)
- Ketogenic Diet May Lead to an Increased Risk of Type 2 Diabetes (The Physiological Society)
13 Listeners
2

"Illness Influencer" Belle Gibson
Maintenance Phase
02/01/22 • 66 min
5.0
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:
Links!
- The Woman Who Fooled The World
- What we know about Belle Gibson
- The mystery of Belle Gibson, who claimed she cured cancer with clean living
- Friends and doctors raise doubts over 'Healing Belle' cancer claims
- Mega-blogger Belle Gibson casts doubt on her own cancer claims
- Melbourne mum Belle Gibson on taking the world by storm with her app The Whole Pantry, while fighting terminal brain cancer
- The Belle Gibson scandal: The rise of lifestyle gurus as micro-celebrities in low-trust societies
- Belle Gibson: "My lifelong struggle with the truth"
- Catalog of Belle’s posts and timeline
- Bad Influencer: The Great Insta Con
- Cosmo: An honest account of our experience with Belle Gibson
- Julia Watson's "Breakfast, School Run, Chemo"
13 Listeners
1

Fat Camps
Maintenance Phase
01/04/22 • 59 min
5.0
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:
Links!
- The Epic Family Feud Behind an Iconic American Weight-Loss Camp for Kids
- Two teenagers placed in foster care after weight loss plan fails
- Calls to set up fat camps for obese children in Scotland
- Childhood obesity: are new treatment centres the solution?Weight-loss Camps and Their Effect on Childhood Obesity
- Psychosocial outcomes in a weight loss camp for overweight youth
- Inside Britain’s First Ever Residential “Fat Camp”
- Working at Camp Shane: Employee Reviews
- Missing campers, falsified documents and other issues revealed in CT weight-loss camp investigation
- Kids Weight Loss Camp That Closed Has History of Violations
- Weighty Problems by Laura Backstrom
- The Actually Terrible Things that Happen at Fat Camp
12 Listeners
3

Rachel Hollis Part 2: Girl, Start Apologizing
Maintenance Phase
10/12/21 • 67 min
5.0
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:
Links!
- The infamous Tik Tok
- Savy Writes Books' video essays
- The Rise & Fall of Rachel Hollis
- The Divine Rise of Multilevel Marketing
- Kaitlyn Luckow's "Girl, It’s Okay To Be Dirty: A Look At Toxic Self-Help"
- Multilevel-marketing companies like LuLaRoe are forcing people into debt and psychological crisis
- Jesus never called us to chase after power, money, and fame
- “Girl, Wash Your Face” Is A Massive Best-Seller With A Dark Message
- Your Brain Is Not an Onion With a Tiny Reptile Inside
- Influencer Rachel Hollis Is Facing Accusations She Is Plagiarizing On Her Instagram
12 Listeners
2

Dr. Oz
Maintenance Phase
02/16/21 • 55 min
5.0
This week we're dissecting "America's Doctor." How did a smart, hardworking surgeon become one of TV's leading purveyors of junk science? Along the way we debunk green coffee bean extract, raspberry ketones, conversion therapy (!) and a salad dressing skincare regimen.
Support us:
Links:
- Transcript of the infamous Congressional hearing
- The Making of Dr. Oz
- Columbia and the Problem of Dr. Oz
- The FTC lawsuit against green coffee bean extract sellers
- The Oz craze: The effect of pop culture media on health care
- The BMJ content analysis of the Dr. Oz show
- Ageing, fitness and neurocognitive function
- Real-world doctors fact-check Dr. Oz, and the results aren't pretty
- Dr. Oz may be America's most influential — and controversial — physician
Thanks to Ashley Smith for editing assistance and Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!
Support the show11 Listeners
1

Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma"
Maintenance Phase
04/05/22 • 65 min
5.0
How a liberal journalist entrenched a libertarian fantasy.
Thanks to Sarah Taber for helping us with the research for this episode!
Support us:
Links!
- Julie Guthman's "Weighing In"
- Rachel Laudan's "Cooking and Empire"
- Heidi Zimmerman's "Caring for the Middle Class Soul"
- Joel Salatin’s Unsustainable Myth
- Chris Newman’s Blog
- Everything I Want to Do Is Racist: How America’s favorite farmer lost his way.
- Clean Food: If You Want to Save the World, Get Over Yourself.
- The USA lags behind other agricultural nations in banning harmful pesticides
- Governing food: Media, politics and pleasure
- Michael Pollan's Misguided Food Nostalgia
- A Plea for Culinary Modernism
- The French Terroir Strategy, and Culinary Modernism
- The Dark Side of Local
Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!
Support the show11 Listeners
2