How Nestlé executives, global health institutions and a very racist white lady seeded a series of nutritional misconceptions we're still living with today. 

Special thanks to John Nott for helping us out with this episode! Here's his papers on the history of protein and the British Empire.

• “No one may starve in the British Empire”: Kwashiorkor, Protein and the Politics of Nutrition Between Britain and Africa
• “How Little Progress”? A Political Economy of Postcolonial Nutrition

Support us:

• Hear bonus episodes on Patreon
• Donate on PayPal
• Get Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more

Links!

• Cicely Williams’ dissertation
• Dariush Mozaffarian's "History of Modern Nutrition Science"
• The Incidence Of Protein-Calorie Malnutrition Of Early Childhood
• An Error of Medicine? Kwashiorkor and the “Protein Gap”
• Childhood Malnutrition In Developing Nations: Looking Back and Looking Forward
• The Politics of Protein
• The Impact of Colonialism on Health and Health Services in Tanzania
• Breast-Milk and the World Protein Gap
• The Influence of Colonialism on Africa’s Welfare: An Anthropometric Study
• Food, Colonialism and the Quantum of Happiness
• Revisited: Is Subclinical Protein Deficiency A Significant Public Health Concern?
• Listening to the Ga: Cicely Williams’ Discovery of Kwashiorkor on the Gold Coast
• “Milking the Third World: Humanitarianism, Capitalism and the Moral Economy of the Nestlé Boycott”
• The Controversy Over Infant Formula
• War on Want’s “The Baby Killer “
• 75 years of Kwashiorkor In Africa
• The Rise and Fall of Protein Malnutrition in Global Health

Support the show

Over the last 30 years, fatness has been defined as a risk factor for disease, then a disease in itself, then a global epidemic. What caused this rapid shift? Who’s gonna join our group of B-roll vigilantes? And did we just hear Morgan Freeman?

Support us:

• Hear bonus episodes on Patreon
• Donate on PayPal
• Get Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more

Books!

• Fat Politics 
• Killer Fat 
• The End of the Obesity Epidemic 
• Folk Devils and Moral Panics 
• Moral Panics 

Links!

• American Obesity Association PSA
• AMA Recognizes Obesity as a Disease 
• Regarding Obesity as a Disease: Evolving Policies and Their Implications 
• For Researchers on Obesity: Historical Review of Extra Body Weight Definitions 
• Obesity task force linked to WHO takes “millions” from drug firms 
• Medicare’s search for effective obesity treatments: diets are not the answer 
• Research: How Americans’ Biases Are Changing (or not) Over Time 
• Satcher: Obesity Reaching Crisis Levels 
• Do Photographic Images of Obese Persons Influence Antifat Attitudes?
• Did the American Medical Association make the correct decision classifying obesity as a disease? 
• What exactly is a disease? 
• The “Childhood Obesity Epidemic”: Health Crisis or Social Construction? 
• Fears of a fat planet overblown, skeptics say 
• An Unjust War: The Case Against the Government’s War on Obesity 
• Expanding Definitions of Obesity May Harm Children 

Support the show

The BMI is EVERYWHERE. But is it scientific or scientif-ish? While many Americans think of the body mass index as an objective measure of health, its history reveals a more complicated story. This week, Mike and Aubrey tackle the first in a two-part series about the BMI and the “Obesity Epidemic.” Along the way they visit 18th century Belgium, learn a gross new acronym and dissect Dracula's facial features.

LINKS!:

• The Bizarre and Racist History of the BMI (Elemental) 
• Adolphe Quetelet, Social Physics, and the Average Men of Science, 1796-1874 (University of Pittsburgh Press)
• Mindful of eugenics’ dark history, researchers are reexamining the genetics of social mobility (Quartz) 
• Adolphe Quetelet (1796–1874)—the average man and indices of obesity (Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation)
• For Researchers on Obesity: Historical Review of Extra Body Weight Definitions (Obesity)
• Quetelet, Adolphe (Canada’s Eugenics Archives)
• Top 10 Reasons Why The BMI Is Bogus (NPR)
• The False Science Linking Body Shape to Personality (The Atlantic)
• Obesity task force linked to WHO takes “millions” from drug firms (The BMJ)
• Impact of weight bias and stigma on quality of care and outcomes for patients with obesity (Obesity Reviews) 

Support the show

This week we're diving into one of the biggest-ever scandals in nutrition research. For nearly two decades, Brian Wansink's Food and Brand Lab told Americans that lower weights, healthier workplaces and better school lunches were just a few small tweaks away. Then, in 2015, he wrote a blog post and it all came crashing down. 

Support us:

• Hear bonus episodes on Patreon
• Donate on PayPal
• Get Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers, face masks and more

Links!

• A Credibility Crisis in Food Science
• Statistical heartburn: An attempt to digest four pizza publications from the Cornell Food and Brand Lab
• Brian Wansink: Data Masseur, Media Villain, Emblem of a Thornier Problem
• The Wansink Dossier: An Overview
• More Evidence That Nutrition Studies Don’t Always Add Up
• Here’s How Cornell Scientist Brian Wansink Turned Shoddy Data Into Viral Studies About How We Eat
• False-Positive Psychology: Undisclosed Flexibility in Data Collection and Analysis Allows Presenting Anything as Significant
• Death of a Veggie Salesman
• The Strange, Uplifting Tale of “Joy of Cooking” Versus the Food Scientist
• Moms, “Food Fears” and the Power of the Internet
• The science behind Smarter Lunchrooms
• You Can’t Trust What You Read About Nutrition
• Energy balance measurement: when something is not better than nothing
• Scientific method: Statistical errors
• Effect of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act on the Nutritional Quality of Meals Selected by Students and School Lunch Participation Rates
• 9.67 Degrees of Deception

Support the show

So long, root vegetables! This week, we dive into the strange and surprising history of the 100-year-old ketogenic diet. Along the way, we encounter a Victorian bodybuilder, an infamous podcast bro and the possibility of a bad Meryl Streep performance (!). Get in, loser, we're counting macros!

Support us:

• Hear bonus episodes on Patreon
• Donate on PayPal
• Get Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more

Links!

• What Is the Keto Diet and Does It Work? (NYT)
• The Ketogenic Diet for Weight Loss (Today’s Dietitian)
• Meet the Wackiest Billionaire Ever to Run for President (Money)
• Trailer for "First, Do No Harm"
• Keto Diet History - How the Ketogenic Diet Went Mainstream (Men's Health)
• 7 Dangers of the Keto Diet | Health.com (Health Magazine)
• 15 Keto Diet Side Effects to Know – Possible Keto Diet Dangers (Prevention)
• Ketogenic Diet May Lead to an Increased Risk of Type 2 Diabetes (The Physiological Society)

Support the show

Special guest Kimberly Springer joins us to talk about an infamous, dangerous faith healer and his two — two! — appearances on Oprah's talk show. This episode contains, we're sorry to say, detailed descriptions of sexual assault. 

Buy Kimberly's books:

• Stories of Oprah: The Oprahfication of American Culture
• Living for the Revolution: Black Feminist Organizations, 1968-1980

Support us:

•  Subscribe on Patreon
• Donate on PayPal
• Get Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and more

Links!

• Behind the Bastards podcast series on John of God 
• The O Magazine article
• John of God, the Miracle Healer
• Celebrity Healer in Brazil Is Accused of Sexually Abusing Followers
• Oprah’s 2012 article

Support the show

Do you have weird feelings about Oprah? So do we, and so does our guest! Kimberly Springer, co-editor of "Stories of Oprah: The Oprahfication of American Culture," joins us to talk about the rise of Oprah Winfrey and her infamous "wagon of fat" weight loss episode.

Buy Kimberly's books:

• Stories of Oprah: The Oprahfication of American Culture
• Living for the Revolution: Black Feminist Organizations, 1968-1980

Support us:

•  Subscribe on Patreon
• Donate on PayPal
• Get Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and more

Clips!

• Oprah Winfrey Rolls Out A Wagon Of Fat  (Buzzfeed)
• How Oprah's Weight Affected Her Relationship with Stedman (Oprah)
• MadTv - Oprah - Fat Cam (Mad TV)

Links!

• The Importance of Being Oprah (New York Times Magazine)
• Oprah's 'Fattest' Mistake (CBS News)
• 5 awesome objects from the new Oprah exhibit (Washington Post)
• Oprah's biggest on-air mistake? The wagon of fat (Today)
• Diet That Made Oprah Winfrey Slim Demands Discipline, Specialists Say (New York Times)

Support the show

Do you have viruses? Cysts? Cancer? Are you tired sometimes? According to Instagram, the  problem might be a lack of liquefied vegetables! This week, Mike and Aubrey take on a troubling taste test, meet a ghost with bad intentions and encounter the longest list of problematic celebrities we've ever seen.

Plus, we start the show with an announcement: We're doing Patreon-only bonus episodes! Sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/maintenancephase

Support us:

•  Subscribe on Patreon
• Donate on PayPal
• Get Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and more

Links!

• Anthony William on Extra
• Anthony William on Keeping Up with the Kardashians
• Celery Juice Is the Perfect, Probably Pointless Trend for 2019 (Vanity Fair)
• Food Isn't Medicine. Here's Why It's Dangerous to Believe It Is. (Huffington Post)
• Is celery juice a viable alternative to nitrites in cured meats? (McGill University)
• Is Celery Juice a Sham? (The New York Times)
• Today's Diet Fads (Today's Dietitian)
• People think celery juice can protect you from COVID-19. Here's why that's categorically false. (Mama Mia)
  
  

Support the show

Special guest Mike Rothschild tells us how the road to wellness can be an on-ramp to a conspiracy theory. Along the way we debunk oil pulling, explore Instagram aesthetics and bemoan anti-vaxx argumentation tactics . Mike gets the date of the January 6th insurrection wrong and he is sorry.

Mike Rothschild is on Twitter and you can pre-order his book here!

Support us:

•  Subscribe on Patreon
• Donate on PayPal
• Get Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and more

Thanks to Ashley Smith for editing assistance and Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!

Support the show

This week is our first  Diet Book Deep Dive, where we dig into some of the worst and wildest weight loss advice we can find.  First up: Tonight Show sidekick Ed McMahon's pun, alcohol and misogyny-fueled diet plan from the 1970s. Hope you like broiled steak and Sanka!

Clips!

• Ed McMahon & Britney Spears on Star Search
• Ed McMahon for American Family Sweepstakes

Support us:

•  Subscribe on Patreon
• Donate on PayPal
• Get Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and more

Thanks to Lynn Barbera for editing assistance and Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!

Support the show