In this episode, we dig into two topics that can provoke feelings of shame: sex and food. But in Chana Porter’s speculative, fictional world, their roles are flipped — eating, not sex, is the cultural taboo. Mayo Clinic expert Dr. Lesley Williams joins us as we discuss disordered eating and the dynamics of restraint, pleasure, shame and desire.

We talked with:

Chana Porter is an author, playwright, teacher, MacDowell fellow, and cofounder of The Octavia Project, a STEM and writing program for girls, trans, and nonbinary youth that uses speculative fiction to envision greater possibilities for our world. She lives in Los Angeles, California, and is the author of the highly acclaimed novel “The Seep.” Her second novel, “The Thick and The Lean” is a 2024 finalist for the Lambda Literary award and was named the Best Science Fiction of the year by The Times of London. 

Lesley Williams, M.D., is a family medicine physician with an expertise in eating disorders at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she resides with her husband and three children. She serves as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer on the Academy of Eating Disorders Board of Directors. She is an advocate for health equity and inclusion and author of a children's book Free To Be Me celebrating size diversity.

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