Fat Joy with Sophia Apostol

Sophia shares why she's pausing the podcast, her biggest a-ha moments from 100 episodes, and how to stay connected to Fat Joy.

This episode's poem is Mary Oliver's "Wild Geese."

Mentioned in this episode:

Fat Joy Newsletter- subscribe for free to receive the newsletter to your inbox.

Fat Joy Writing Workshop- it's currently full, but if you're interested, let Firefly know and we'll offer it again soon.

Keep connected with Fat Joy:

Fat Joy Instagram

Fat Joy website

A bonus minisode where each guest answers 10 surprising questions with unexpected results. Hilarity ensues.

Aubrey Gordon (she/her) is back! We’re talking about the amazing success of the film Your Fat Friend, how it changed her family relationships, and what it’s like being filmed over six years. Aubrey and Sophia share their experiences having conversations with non-fat folks about how to be good allies. Spoiler: not all of these conversations go well.

Aubrey Gordon stars in the documentary film Your Fat Friend, is the author of You Just Need to Lose Weight and What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat, and co-host of the Maintenance Phase podcast. Aubrey started writing as Your Fat Friend in 2016. She published exclusively under the pseudonym for four years, writing anonymously about the social and cultural realities of moving through the world as a very fat person.

Please connect with Aubrey on her website and Instagram.

This episode’s poem is called “my mother says kissing a man without a mustache is like eating eggs without salt” by Joy Sullivan.

Connect with Fat Joy on the website, Instagram, subscribe to the Fat Joy newsletter, and watch full video episodes on YouTube.

Want to share some fattie love? Please rate this podcast and give it a joyful review.

Our thanks to Chris Jones and AR Media for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.

A bonus minisode where each guest answers 10 surprising questions with unexpected results. Hilarity ensues.

Sophia has created a workshop called Fat Joy- specifically for listeners of this podcast who are interested in exploring the fat experience through writing. Please go to Firefly Creative Writing to learn more about the Fat Joy workshop. For $50 off the workshop, use code: FATJOY

Kate Manne (she/her), philosopher and author of Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia, shares her thoughts on why we struggle to see through diet culture, how the ‘thought-terminating cliche’ ends liberatory conversations, and if it’s possible to be anti-diet and also pursue intentional weight loss.

Kate Manne is an associate professor of philosophy at Cornell University, where she’s been teaching since 2013. Before that, she was a junior fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows. Manne did her graduate work in philosophy at MIT and works in moral, social, and feminist philosophy. She is the author of three books, Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny, Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women, and Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia, which came out in 2024. She writes a newsletter, More to Hate, canvassing misogyny, fatphobia, their intersection, and more.

Please connect with Kate through Instagram, X, her website, and her newsletter.

This episode’s poem is called “to approach” by Raquel Salas Rivera.

Connect with Fat Joy on the website, Instagram, subscribe to the Fat Joy newsletter, and watch full video episodes on YouTube.

Want to share some fattie love? Please rate this podcast and give it a joyful review.

Our thanks to Chris Jones and AR Media for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.

A bonus minisode where each guest answers 10 surprising questions with unexpected results. Hilarity ensues.

Tiana Dodson (she/her) explores how liberation consciousness requires hope and imagination, even when they feel impossible. Part of that exploration is rooted in exploring the ‘science of less’ and how being subtractive rather than additive can unlock new levels of awareness and help dismantle oppression.

With a decade as a body liberation facilitator and a lifetime of lived experience as a fat, biracial, queer, neurodivergent person, Tiana Dodson is well-versed in what it is to exist in a multiply-marginalized body. As an active co-creator of the syllabus for liberation, her work addresses how personal, community, and global liberation depend upon each other. Through her consulting services, group offerings, and public speaking, Tiana highlights the ways these systems of oppression are bound together and how we can push back against them.

Please connect with through her website, Instagram, Facebook, and tiktok.

This episode’s poem is called “The Broken” by Alberto Rios.

Connect with Fat Joy on the website, Instagram, subscribe to the Fat Joy newsletter, and watch full video episodes on YouTube.

Want to share some fattie love? Please rate this podcast and give it a joyful review.

Our thanks to Chris Jones and AR Media for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.

A bonus minisode where each guest answers 10 surprising questions with unexpected results. Hilarity ensues.

Sophia has created a workshop specifically for listeners of this podcast who are interested in exploring the fat experience through writing. Please go to Firefly Creative Writing to learn more. For $50 off any Firefly workshop, use code: FATJOY

Elle Baez (she/her) is the brilliant singer-songwriter of the runaway hit “I Love My Body.” Elle shares her own journey to body positivity, including being bullied, being sent to fat camps, and struggling with eating disorders. Music became a way to heal from fatphobia, and Elle reflects on how making the music videos with fat actors was a deliberate way to showcase body diversity and representation. And, she sings for us, too!!

Trailblazing Latina singer-songwriter Elle Baez is taking over with her innovative pop-soul music and message. Real, authentic, and relatable, Elle is a representation for womxn who have been craving seeing themselves in the spotlight. She empowers and inspires others through her captivating hooks, body positive music videos, versatile writing style, and motto of self-love. Her newest hit song “I Love My Body” has gone viral on social media with with over 2.5 Million Hits. The song along with her summer 2023 hit “Fuego” were both featured in Rolling Stone’s “Songs You Need To Know," and she was named 2023 Entertainer of The Year at the Full Figured Industry Awards. As a songwriter, Elle has been featured by the Grammy’s. She has opened for charting artists Bea Miller and Leah Kate, been featured in Pop Sugar Magazine, NPR and went on a VS Pink Sponsored Tour.

Please connect with Elle on her website, Instagram, TikTok, and the Curvy Artists Collective.

This episode’s poem is called “For Keeps” by Joy Harjo.

Connect with Fat Joy on the website, Instagram, subscribe to the Fat Joy newsletter, and watch full video episodes on YouTube.

Want to share some fattie love? Please rate this podcast and give it a joyful review.

Our thanks to Chris Jones and AR Media for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.

A bonus minisode where each guest answers 10 surprising questions with unexpected results. Hilarity ensues.