Debunking the junk science behind health fads, wellness scams and nonsensical nutrition advice.
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Oprah Winfrey & "John of God"
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 CultureLiving for the Revolution: Black Feminist Organizations, 1968-1980Support us: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and moreLinks!Behind the Bastards podcast series on John of God The O Magazine articleJohn of God, the Miracle HealerCelebrity Healer in Brazil Is Accused of Sexually Abusing FollowersOprah’s 2012 articleSupport the show
Oprah Winfrey & The “Wagon of Fat”
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 CultureLiving for the Revolution: Black Feminist Organizations, 1968-1980Support us: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and moreClips!Oprah Winfrey Rolls Out A Wagon Of Fat (Buzzfeed)How Oprah's Weight Affected Her Relationship with Stedman (Oprah)MadTv - Oprah - Fat Cam (Mad TV)Links!The Importance of Being Oprah (New York Times Magazine)Oprah's 'Fattest' Mistake (CBS News)5 awesome objects from the new Oprah exhibit (Washington Post)Oprah's biggest on-air mistake? The wagon of fat (Today)Diet That Made Oprah Winfrey Slim Demands Discipline, Specialists Say (New York Times)Support the show
Celery Juice
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: We're doing Patreon-only bonus episodes! Sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/maintenancephaseSupport us: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and moreLinks!Anthony William on ExtraAnthony William on Keeping Up with the KardashiansCelery Juice Is the Perfect, Probably Pointless Trend for 2019 (Vanity Fair)Food Isn't Medicine. Here's Why It's Dangerous to Believe It Is. (Huffington Post)Is celery juice a viable alternative to nitrites in cured meats? (McGill University)Is Celery Juice a Sham? (The New York Times)Today's Diet Fads (Today's Dietitian)People think celery juice can protect you from COVID-19. Here's why that's categorically false. (Mama Mia)Support the show
The Wellness to QAnon Pipeline
Special guest Mike Rothschild tells us how the road to wellness can be an on-ramp to a conspiracy theory. Along the way we debunk oil pulling, explore Instagram aesthetics and bemoan anti-vaxx argumentation tactics . Mike gets the date of the January 6th insurrection wrong and he is sorry. Mike Rothschild is on Twitter and you can pre-order his book here!Support us: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and moreThanks to Ashley Smith for editing assistance and Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show
Diet Book Deep Dive: Ed McMahon’s “Slimming Down”
This week is our first Diet Book Deep Dive, where we dig into some of the worst and wildest weight loss advice we can find. First up: Tonight Show sidekick Ed McMahon's pun, alcohol and misogyny-fueled diet plan from the 1970s. Hope you like broiled steak and Sanka!Clips!Ed McMahon & Britney Spears on Star SearchEd McMahon for American Family SweepstakesSupport us: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and moreThanks to Lynn Barbera for editing assistance and Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show
Olestra
In 1996, Proctor & Gamble launched an artificial fat substitute that promised all of the taste but none of the calories. There was just one problem. Support us: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and moreLinks!Marion Nestle’s The Selling of OlestraJeffrey Steingarten's The Man Who Ate EverythingThe 1996 Federal RegisterThe Trouble With FriesReduction of the body burden of PCBs and DDE by dietary intervention in a randomized trialReview of the effects of dilution of dietary energy with olestra on energy intakeAuthors’ Financial Relationships With the Food and Beverage Industry and Their Published Positions on the Fat Substitute OlestraPostmarketing Surveillance of New Food Ingredients: Results from the Program with the Fat Replacer OlestraEffects of wheat bran and olestra on objective measures of stool and subjective reports of GI symptomsThe effect of ingesting olestra-based foods on feeding behavior and energy balance in humansEffect on Body Weight of Replacing Dietary Fat with Olestra for Two or Ten Weeks in Healthy Men and Women Thanks to Ashley Smith for editing assistance and Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show
Eating Disorders
Fat people have them too! This week, special guest Erin Harrop tells us about one of America's most under-diagnosed and misunderstood problems. Along the way we talk about elbow bumps, Twitter etiquette and '90s sweatpants. Our content warnings are becoming increasingly threatening.Here's Erin's faculty page and a bunch of her research!Support us: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and moreThanks to Mitra Kaboli for production support and Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show
Weight Watchers
Get your flex point calculators and food scales! This week, Mike and Aubrey are talking about one of America's most iconic diet programs: Weight Watchers. Along the way, we encounter The Rock, the mating habits of straight people and a new James Bond villain. Support us: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and moreLinks!Jean Nidetch, a Founder of Weight Watchers, Dies at 91 Mass Firing on Zoom Is Latest Sign of Weight Watchers Unrest Weight Watcher's Kurbo app slammed for targeting kids. Makers defend it What's gone wrong at Weight Watchers? Weight Watchers Is Offering Teens Free Memberships and People Aren't Happy Americans’ new way of losing weight has left Weight Watchers behind How the Oprah effect helped Weight Watchers regain Americans' trust Deal Master Debbane The Population Cost‐Effectiveness of Weight Watchers with General Practitioner Referral Compared with Standard Care Weight Watchers on prescription: An observational study of weight change among adults referred to Weight Watchers by the NHS The Problem With 'Fat Talk' 'Fat Talk' Compels but Carries a Cost Thanks to Ashley Smith for editing assistance and Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show
The Master Cleanse
Are your moods too stable? Is your face free of cold sores? Get your lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper ready, because this week we're talking about celebrity favorite THE MASTER CLEANSE!Along the way we roast New Atheism, praise Gwyneth Paltrow (!) and endorse garbanzo bean salads. Mike wishes to clarify that he adores Kate Bush and quips with the utmost affection.Support us: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPal Get Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and moreLinks!:The Master Cleanser by Stanley BurroughsI Heard It Through the Diet Grapevine (New York Times)Improving Ourselves to Death (The New Yorker)Cleansing's Dirty Secret (Marie Claire)Mr. Clean: Jeffrey Steingarten Puts the Master Cleanse to the Test (Vogue)The Dubious Practice of Detox (Harvard Health)Thanks to Ashley Smith for editing assistance and Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show
Dr. Oz
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: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and moreLinks:Transcript of the infamous Congressional hearingThe Making of Dr. OzColumbia and the Problem of Dr. OzThe FTC lawsuit against green coffee bean extract sellersThe Oz craze: The effect of pop culture media on health careThe BMJ content analysis of the Dr. Oz showAgeing, fitness and neurocognitive functionReal-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 show
Snake Oil
The world of dieting and wellness is full of so-called snake oil salesmen—but what IS snake oil? This week, we take a wild ride through the history of health scams and discover a startling twist about an everyday idiom. Along the way, Aubrey delivers fun facts about sanitation from memory and Mike roasts the state where most of his family lives. Support us: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and moreLinks:Snake Oil, Hustlers & Hambones by Mary AndersonA History Of 'Snake Oil Salesmen' : Code Switch (NPR)How Snake Oil Got a Bad Rap (Hint: It Wasn’t The Snakes’ Fault) (Collectors Weekly)Thanks to Ashley Smith for editing assistance and Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show
The Biggest Loser
This week we dissect the content and impact of one of America's most harmful TV experiments. Support us: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPal Get Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and moreLinks! Aubrey’s article on The Biggest Loser That's not reality for me': Australian audiences respond to the Biggest Loser "Cheapening the struggle:" obese people's attitudes towards the Biggest Loser The Effects of Reality Television on Weight Bias: An Examination of The Biggest Loser'It's a miracle no one has died yet': The Biggest Loser returns, despite critics' warningsThe Retrograde Shame of The Biggest LoserAnalysis of all contestantsNeoliberalism And The Realities Of Reality TelevisionThe “Reality” of Health: Reality Television and the Public HealthLife after NBC's "The Biggest Loser": The Experiences and Perspectives of Former Reality TV Contestants Thanks to Ashley Smith for editing assistance and Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show
Halo Top Ice Cream
WE’RE BACK! A new diet ice cream is taking your grocery store by storm. But what even is it? This week, Mike and Aubrey talk biohacking, dieting for straight dudes and the extremely ill-advised "Halo Top diet."Support us: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPal Get Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and moreLinks!What is biohacking? The new “science” of optimizing your brain and body. (Vox) Halo Top Is Now the Most Popular Pint of Ice Cream in America (Food and Wine) What It's Like to Eat Nothing but This Magical, Healthy Ice Cream for 10 Days (GQ) Is Halo Top Good For You? The Truth About Low-Calorie, Low-Fat Ice Creams (HuffPost)Seven in 10 young people would eat whole tub of low-cal ice cream (The Grocer UK)Thanks to Ashley Smith for editing assistance and Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show
Anti-Fat Bias
To celebrate the release of her new book, Aubrey takes Mike on a tour through the statistics and debates surrounding weight bias. Anyone interested in body positivity, airline seats, 'skinny shaming' or the sugar content of melons is legally obligated to join us.Support us: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPal Get Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and moreGet Aubrey's book in the U.S.:Powell's BooksBookshop.orgBeacon PressBuy from your local bookstore on IndieboundGet Aubrey's book outside the U.S.Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show
The Twinkie Defense
The Twinkie Defense has become a shorthand for disingenuous legal defense strategies. But was it disingenuous? (Yes, but not in the way you think!)Thanks to Ashley Smith for editing assistance and Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support us: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPal Get Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and moreLinks!Mike's "Victim's Rights" episode on his other show!The Trial of Dan White: The Diminished Capacity ("Twinkie") DefenseHarvey Milk: His Lives and DeathThe Myth of the Twinkie Defense: The Verdict in the Dan White Case Wasn’t Based on His Ingestion of Junk FoodPsychiatric Testimony and the Insanity DefenseCalifornia’s Proposition 8 (1982)Support the show