This month we watched Tucker Carlson's documentary "The End of Men" and WE HAVE THOUGHTS. We're tackling the REAL questions posed by this documentary: is this the series finale of men? Is there an entire generation of American children who simply don't know how to walk? And why is anyone talking about scrotal red light therapy??
As always,...
2023-09-29 09:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostEdited to add: we've recorded this episode for release in the next few months! Thank you all so much for sending us your many audacious, impactful wins.
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Hey, dreamboats!
For an upcoming bonus episode later this fall, we want to celebrate the change you all are making in your communities, big...
2023-09-10 18:38:24 +0000 UTC View PostWe miss you! We had to take a break this month because Mike developed a (humiliatingly Zelda-related) hand condition. He's figured out how to research episodes using voice commands but we're still working on a solution for editing. We'll be back on the main feed as soon as we can and of course we'll be here next month with another bonus. Schedul...
2023-08-31 09:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
This month we're digging into a 1965 classic that dares to ask: Have you considered that the reason you don't get boners is that your wife is TERRIBLE? Plus, Aubrey gives Mike a pop quiz about aphrodisiacs.
As usual, you can play the ep...
2023-07-31 09:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostHey, team--
For August's bonus episode, we're taking your questions! If you've got questions for us, send them our way. Send your listener questions to maintenancephase@gmail.com. Please include your pronouns,...
2023-07-19 23:46:25 +0000 UTC View PostAubrey's been on a whirlwind tour the last few weeks promoting "Your Fat Friend" so we decided to turn on our mics and catch up.
As usual, you can play the episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. 2023-06-30 09:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
This month we're using Mike's return to America as an excuse to talk about our experiences with the US healthcare system. How do fat people find a doctor? What's the best way to navigate the weigh-in? And what's the prognosis for a man with Obamacare and a wack skeleton?
You can play the episode directly through Patreon or use our RS...
2023-05-30 09:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostFor this month's bonus episode we watched Gwyneth's sex show and it seemed ... fine? We're as mystified as you are.
You can play the episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. 2023-04-28 09:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Our March bonus episode is a watch club and a "where are they now?" Aubrey's sharing some updates on Pete Evans and walking Mike through "The Magic Pill," the now-infamous documentary that turned Paleo Pete into Keto Kevin. Plus, as a little treat, we're closing with 2023-03-31 09:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
This month, we're taking a tour through Aubrey's ever-expanding diet book collection, starting with politically conservative diet books. That's right—we're taking on The I Heart America Diet (written by the former First Lady of Kentucky), The Love Diet (foreword by king gremlin James Dobson) and Kil...
2023-02-27 10:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThis month we're digging into some of the 700 (!) personal stories you shared about the worst, wackiest and weirdest wellness programs at your jobs. You'll laugh! You'll cry! You'll want to punch a 19-year-old's boss!
You can play the episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. 2023-01-17 10:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
It's the most wonderful time of the year: Mike and Aubrey yell about wellness grifters! In our second annual Grifties, we're honoring (?) the best, worst and weirdest of wellness and weight loss in 2022. We're also bestowing our first-ever LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD on a grifter for the ages. And we're answering a truly groundbreaking...
2022-12-29 10:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostA cornucopia of happenings!
First, for this month's bonus episode we're talking about The Podcast Payola Scandal and taste-testing some of the ~wellness foods~ advertised heavily on podcasts — inc...
2022-11-29 10:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
This month we're taking another deep dive into our inbox for listener questions, little victories and terrible guest pitches. Along the way we discuss 2022-10-31 09:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
It's bonus episode time, and there is news to discuss! This month, we're talking through some recent fat- and diet-related media:
We first covered Moon Juice a couple of years ago and YIKES ARE THERE SOME UPDATES. This month, Aubrey's walking Mike through some new revelations, courtesy of 2022-08-30 09:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Mike has updates for Aubrey on Jordan Peterson, who has been working overtime to be a colossal jerk. Again! This time, he's peddling COVID misinformation and taking aim at fat people and trans people. WHAT A CHILL DUDE.
You can play the episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. 2022-07-28 09:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
This month, Aubrey takes Mike on a guided tour of one of pop culture's weirdest internet corners: Harpers Bazaar's "Everything I Eat In A Day" video series.
This episode features detailed breakdowns from
It's bonus episode time! This month we're talking about "Wall-E," a peak moment in anti-fatness on film. And then, as a palate cleanser, the Melissa McCarthy classic "Spy." It's a weird combination!
You can play the episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. 2022-05-31 09:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
For this month's bonus episode, we assigned each other some homework. As years-long Gwyneth obsessives, we've always been curious about the content of her Netflix show, "The Goop Lab." It's advertised as a kind of Consumer Reports for woo-woo health treatments, a quasi-reality show where Goop staffers try to figure out whether energy healing, ju...
2022-04-28 08:57:17 +0000 UTC View Post
You've got questions, we've got answers! On this month's (well, last month's) bonus episode we answer listener inquiries about former-fat allyship, "fatshion" and 2017's infamous internet kerfuffle about Curvy Wife Guy. Thank you all for asking such great questions and making this so much fun!
You can play the episode directly throug...
2022-04-12 09:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey gang, just a quick note to let you know that this month's bonus episode is delayed by a few weeks. We wish we had a better excuse, but the month just got away from us. Mike ended up going down a deep rabbit hole (you'll know what we mean when you hear our next few main-feed episodes) and Aubrey's been on a book deadline.
We recor...
2022-03-29 04:10:01 +0000 UTC View Post
On the heels of our Belle Gibson episode, we're talking about the many "illness influencers" Mike came across while researching Australia's most infamous cancer grifter. This includes the Warrior Eli hoax, a "cancer bride" and Jess Ainscough, a friend and contemporary of Gibson's — with one major difference.
You can play the episod...
2022-02-22 10:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
It's January bonus episode time! This time, we're going through our inbox. Mike responds to common questions from listeners; Aubrey roasts publicity firms that clearly don't know what the show is about. There's something for everyone!
You can play the episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app....
2022-01-27 16:03:20 +0000 UTC View Post
It's December bonus episode time and we've got a real treat for you: The 2021 Grifties!
As promised, we're celebrating the best and worst (mostly worst) of the wellness and weight loss industries this year. This episode's got it all: Adaptogens! Krispy Kremes! Parasites! Plus celebrity cameos from Aaron Rodgers, Ashton Kutcher and, of cour...
2021-12-28 10:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey gang, just a little announcement that this month's bonus episode is going to be an AWARDS SHOW where we where we (dis)honor the influencers, trends, diets and grifters that defined 2021.
We're looking for nominations in the following categories:
It's November bonus episode time!
In our Marianne Williamson episode we touched on some classic (terrible) nonprofit dynamics and we got a flood of requests to talk about our experiences in the NGO world. So this month, we're talking about grassroots lobbying, corporate social responsibility and how to give and advocate more effectively fo...
2021-11-29 10:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Hot off the presses, and by very popular request, it's our October bonus episode!
HBO Max's The Way Down tells the story of Gwen Shamblin Lara, who they introduce as a charismatic and controversial cult leader who demanded piety and thinness of the members of Remnant Fellowship. Despite its focus on abusive weight loss tacti...
2021-10-28 05:51:35 +0000 UTC View PostIt's September bonus episode time!
Fat suits are having a weird renaissance--and so is criticism of them. As a follow up to our August bonus episode on Shallow Hal, this month, we're talking fat suits. Mike talks through what Gwyneth Paltrow had to say about her experience in a fat suit for Shallow Hal, and the stran...
2021-09-30 19:11:16 +0000 UTC View Post
It's August bonus episode time, dreamboats!
You know how good people are always hideous and hot people are always terrible? The Farrelly Brothers sure do, and they made a whole movie about it! This month we watched the "Citizen Kane" of anti-fatness, "Shallow Hal," and spent more than an hour talking about Hollywood repres...
2021-08-30 08:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post