Health claims about apple cider vinegar are everywhere. But are they true? This week, we hop into the wayback machine for the story of America's first health influencer. (That's not true, but neither is anything else in this episode.) Thanks to David Johnston for providing sources for this week’s episode! Support us: Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks: A Longstanding Legacy of Promoting Healthy LivingAbout Paul (Internet...

How an early-'90s newsmagazine show convinced a generation of Americans to start drinking red wine. For the antioxidants! Special thanks to Susanne Stolpe and Alexander H. Sandtorv for helping us fact-check this episode! Support us: Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more Links! Diet and alcohol in heart disease risk: the French ParadoxAbsorption of three wine-related polyphenols in three different matrices by healthy subjectsFrom...

Do we even need to write a description? It's the Goopisode!  Support us: Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks! How Goop’s Haters Made Gwyneth Paltrow’s Company Worth $250 MillionHow Gwyneth Paltrow took Goop from a homebrewed newsletter to a controversial $250 million wellness powerhouseGwyneth Paltrow Feels Good — and So Can YouIs Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP $1.6M In Debt?Goop and Condé Nast Team Up on a Magazine - The New York...

This week's episode is running late so here's something to tide you over! Last year, we did an episode on Gwyneth-adjacent influencer Amanda Chantal Bacon and her wellness company, Moon Juice. This year we decided to TASTE THE DUST. This episode was originally for our Patreon supporters. Click here if you'd like to sign up!    Support us: Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme...

In 1982 a murder captured America's imagination. Forty years later, two podcasts joined forces to talk about it. Hear more from Sarah at You're Wrong About and You Are Good! Support us: Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more Links! Diana Trilling’s “Mrs. Harris”Shana Alexander’s “Very Much a Lady”"The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet" Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song! Support the show

A dieting book or a how-to guide for an eating disorder? Pourquoi pas les deux ? Support us: Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more Links! The By The Book episode The NYT interview with Mireille GuilianoGabrielle Deydier: what it’s like to be fat in FranceInhaling Their FoodPublishers sell snobbery by the pageChampagne and Pizza'French Women Don't Get Fat': Like Champagne for ChocolateThanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme...

"Celebrity chef Pete Evans has activated his last almond with the Seven Network." Support us: Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks! Pete Evans on COVID-19 restrictions Pete Evans on who gets COVID Introducing the BioCharger Coronavirus treatment spruiked by chef Pete Evans criticised by health associations, to be investigated by TGA - ABC News Pete Evans' company fined for alleged COVID-19 advertising breaches | Therapeutic...

How a beloved TV chef became one of Australia's most polarizing public figures.  Support us: Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more Links! Going Paleo: What Prehistoric Man Actually AteThe Paleo Way (video clip) Paleolithic nutrition for metabolic syndromePaleo diet still lacks evidenceAtherosclerosis across 4000 years of human historyHow to Really Eat Like a Hunter-Gatherer: Why the Paleo Diet Is Half-BakedAncient leftovers show the...

In 1998, a researcher rolled out an innovative approach to education. And in 2015, Methodology Twitter had a big fight about it.  Support us: Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks! The original 2004 paperThe 2015 re-analysisThe 2015 meta-analysisThe Tanzania dissertationDoing Good BetterWorm Wars: The AnthologyDeworming DebunkedWHO advises blanket anti-worming treatment for children despite lack of benefitDeworming Delusions?...

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 PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks! Calorie Labelling Regulations - GOV.UKCalorie labelling: implementation guidance - GOV.UKDo Menu Calorie Counts Actually Change How We...

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 PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks! History of the Calorie in NutritionCaloric Equivalents of Gained or Lost WeightThe Foreign Policy of the CalorieWhy the most popular rule of weight loss is completely wrongTime...

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 PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks! How to Take 20 Pounds Off Your Man by Kalter, Suzy: (1984) | The Book Store Suzy Kalter Gershman ObituaryThe book coverThanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our...

Debunking some of the most widely repeated myths about fat and health. Here's Mike's new video!  Support us: Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreThanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song! Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/maintenancephase)

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 PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks! Julie Guthman's "Weighing In" Rachel Laudan's "Cooking and Empire"Heidi Zimmerman's "Caring for the Middle Class Soul"Joel Salatin’s Unsustainable MythChris Newman’s BlogEverything I Want to Do Is Racist: How America’s favorite farmer lost his...

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, and see you next week!   Support us: Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreThanks to...

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 PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more Links! Joe Rogan Experience #1070 - Jordan PetersonWhy the Left Is So Afraid of Jordan PetersonWhen Your Psychologist...

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 out, we started hearing from listeners that my comment reminded them of fatphobic jokes they’d heard in the past and didn’t feel consistent with...

Aubrey thought she could swear less in this week’s episode. She was wrong. Support us: Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more Links! Super Size Me Trailer"Super Size Me" - CBS NewsWhere's the Beef? The Challenges of Obesity SuitsMorgan 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...

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 PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks! The Woman Who Fooled The WorldWhat we know about Belle GibsonThe mystery of Belle Gibson, who claimed she cured cancer with clean livingFriends and doctors raise doubts over...

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 PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks!: The Karl Lagerfeld DietKaiser Karl: The Life of Karl LagerfeldKarl Lagerfeld: My childhood was very simpleA Look Back at Designer Karl Lagerfeld’s Iconic...

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 PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more Links! The Epic Family Feud Behind an Iconic American Weight-Loss Camp for KidsTwo teenagers placed in foster care after weight loss plan failsCalls to set up fat camps for...

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 PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks! Walker's TED TalkAlexey's blog post: Matthew Walker's "Why We Sleep" Is Riddled with Scientific and Factual ErrorsWalker’s...

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?  Support us: Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks! The Technology of Orgasm by Rachel MainesBuzz by Hallie LiebermanSignior DildoHysteria! trailerVibrators had a long history as medical quackery before feminists rebranded them as sex toysA Failure of Academic Quality...

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 PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more Links! Katherine Flegal’s “The obesity wars and the education of a researcher”Walter Willett's " Evidence does...

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 episode.  Support us: Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks! Positive Moves video on...