I believe that the podcast Maintenance Phase is one of the best health-related bodies of work available to those who desire casual knowledge surrounding the issue of societal anti-fat bias and other hysterias. Antifatness permeates society with a shockingly high concentration, even in the year 2024. This podcast, one cohost of which is Aubrey Gordon, a fat author, provides new and enlightening perspectives into the issue. The reason that this bias is so common societally is because there are harmful myths that so many still believe. The most prevalent of these is the assumption upon viewing a fat person is that they are “unhealthy” and that shaming this person contributes to a healthier society at large. Maintenance Phase debunks these myths and provides insight into the effects of being so quick to judge.
The other portion of this podcast is devoted to covering historical health-related controversies. These range from Michael Kremer’s “worm wars” to the interjurisdictional battle for control of the US food pyramid. Such coverage is important because it is imperative to remind oneself that health is not a perfect science and that health research can often be bastardized before it reaches the public imagination. This allows the listener to connect to dismantling of anti-fat bias with the imperfections of public health.