We knew what was coming in 2025. Through the conversations on this podcast about food processing and collective health anxiety we got a front row seat to watch how people have moved to extreme views about food and our health. We’ve seen it mobilize groups of people to defy what should be common sense about food safety, and basic science. 

We’ve also seen how people, particularly white men, respond specifically to Jessica when she asks if something is inherently unhealthy if we can’t define it. From those responses we see how so much of this isn’t about food at all. Food is just the vehicle, the distraction. 

Enjoy this trip down memory lane with former guests including Shana Spence, Cara Harbstreet, Dr Selina Wang, Patrille Hernandez, Dr Natalie Ingraham, Dr. Lexi Brown, Jen Jacobs, and Jaye Rachon. Then come back for conversations in 2025, some history lessons and a new series titled “Re-grifting.” Happy 2025!

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Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies

Re-release: Jessica and Lexi share many of the ways their brains work differently and the tips and tools they’ve adopted to navigate a neurotypical world. Lexi shares her experiences with disordered eating and some things that she’s found to be helpful as she works on having less all-or-nothing eating habits.

They share what it was like to be locked down in a small house with three adults and two dogs the first two years of the pandemic. And lastly, Lexi introduces Jessica to the concept of a girl dinner. 

This is a great episode to watch on Spotify and  https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod

How to support this podcast? Follow/subscribe, rate and review! Jessica’s dad will read reviews and comments on the air!

Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies

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A gluten-flugen-dog? Social media has introduced us to those who want the most flavor, texture, color and creativity in their food and, conversely, those who avoid even salt and might not even cook their food to kill pathogens. Tiktok has given us a window into kitchens around the country. From jello salad to quinoa salad and raw chicken to hot dogs impaled with spaghetti noodles, boiled then painted with sauce and two different kinds of cheese before going in a toasted bun (the gluten-flugen-dog), Jessica has watched with amusement.

In more recent times she’s seen people cut alllll the way back on both flavor and food safety and are eating their animal products raw, and this just happens to coincide with the increasing interest in Wellness and a fear of anything processed in any way. She proposes that, especially among white folks, there are maximalists and minimalists when it comes to food. She decided to talk to her dad about her theories and introduce him to the recipes of maximalists and minimalists for his thoughts. The two start by drinking some farmer's coke.

Snickers salad 

Jon Anderson

Raw milk

This is a great episode to watch on Spotify and  https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod

How to support this podcast? Follow/subscribe, rate and review! Jessica’s dad will read reviews and comments on the air!

Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies

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You can contact the show at [email protected]

What is MSG, and what’s with all of the sh*t talking? Jessica gets answers to these questions with the help of dietitian Cara Harbstreet and a few research rabbit holes.  Jessica and Cara talk about how a (maybe fake?) letter to the New England Journal of Medicine kicked off decades of hysteria about “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.” The true author of that letter has been in question for years and the story takes a couple sharp turns. 

Science has largely debunked the negative impacts of MSG–but, sadly, that doesn’t always impact public perception. 

Jessica also has serious questions about how Americans view flavor and she’ll come back to that in later episodes.

Five-Thirty-Eight on MSG and xenophobia

Science History Institute 

New England Journal of Medicine recognizing historical injustices

Know MSG campaign

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You can contact the show at [email protected]

Follow Dietitian, Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson

You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod

How to support this podcast? Follow/subscribe, rate and review! Jessica’s dad will read reviews and comments on the air!

Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies

Jessica sits down with Dr. Selina Wang to chat about seed oil hysteria. Dr. Wang teaches Jessica about the health benefits of different oils and what’s supposedly so scary about seed oils. The two try to define what makes a seed oil and Dr. Wang discusses what happens when people collapse complex science into a sound bite. 

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Different kinds of fats

Podcast about anti-trans bias of the NYT.

Candle commercial from Cheryl Hines, RFK Jr’s wife

RFK Jr on Fox discussing seed oils

You can contact the show at [email protected]

Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson

You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod

How to support this podcast? Follow/subscribe, rate and review! Jessica’s dad will read reviews and comments on the air!

Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies

Jessica sat down with two romance novel reviewers from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books to hear more about the genre and how they got into professional reviewing. They talk about reading romance novels when they were way too young and why they love a happy ending. Jessica asks about the awkward ways that sex scenes can be written and shares what she found when she stepped into the world of dino-human romance which got very spicy.

They also share recommendations for folks who are new to romance reading.

You can contact the show at [email protected]

Follow Jessica on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson

You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod

How to support this podcast?

Follow/subscribe, rate and review!

Jessica's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies

Smart Bitches Trashy Books 

Shana 

Maya

⁠You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty⁠ 

Talia Hibbert's Brown sisters series https://www.goodreads.com/series/271642-the-brown-sisters

Cowboys of California https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/series/5CR/cowboys-of-california

Jackie Lau https://jackielaubooks.com/books/one-bed-for-christmas/

https://marybalogh.com/

Beautiful Wreck https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29415186-beautiful-wreck

RFK Jr could be in charge of this country’s health and it will be…wild. Jessica and Alison Pill sat down to talk about it and who might lead the FDA under a Make America Healthy Again regime. 

The two get into the concern about fertility among MAHA supporters and what this really means: more babies on the pale end of the spectrum please!

Jessica recently consulted her own book for answers about how all of this happened. She realized that the answer is simple, she just forgot. The two discuss the man-of-it-all today.

Alison’s upcoming romcom, Young Werther!

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Follow Jessica on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson

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Jessica's book: ⁠It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies⁠

The popular vote got us. Jessica and her dad reflect on the election and share a few things that may have contributed. Wilson takes issue with many things including non-white people voting for Trump, and what he thinks would happen if he went to a Klan meeting. He also shares why he’s not concerned with RFK Jr and what he thinks this podcast will be talking about in years to come. 

Jessica missed the memo on folks of color voting for Trump and how they must have been promised whiteness. She shares what she will be listening for in the future and how this could relate to the podcast.

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Buy Jessica’s book: ⁠It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's

Dietitian Jessica Wilson is joined by Elizabeth Ayiku to talk about the award winning film Me Little Me, which Elizabeth wrote and directed. The film is based on her experience with disordered eating and the barriers she faced while seeking treatment. The pair get into the mechanics of indie film production including what it’s like to write, direct, cast, and financing a film when the rent is past due. They chat about the realities of many people who need mental health treatment but who aren’t able to press pause on their lives and access the time and funding to make it happen, and the different ways to find support in community. 

Check out Me Little Me beginning 11/8!

Me Little Me trailer

Where to watch

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Follow Jessica on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson

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Jessica's book: ⁠It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies⁠

Making America Healthy Again Part 2! Jessica talks with 3 guests for their reflections and shares email feedback from a listener and her 18 year old daughter. Medical sociologist Dr. Natalie Ingraham joins the show to talk about the people part of all of this and the concept of “again.” She talks about the regulations of the 80s v 90s and has some solutions we could try on if we’re interested in future changes. Jessica talks to Kent Thomas about the men of it all in the MAHA conversation, and he asks Jessica why she’s looking into MAHA in the first place. Lastly Jessica brings you a conversation with her dad about his reflections of the episode. That chat was wide ranging and opened up many future podcast episodes. 

Video of Charlie Kirk

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You can email the show at [email protected]

Follow Jessica on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson

You can watch this episode on Spotify and at ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod⁠

Jessica's book: ⁠It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies⁠