# Maintenance Phase

Maintenance Phase is a health science and pop culture podcast that aims to debunk health and wellness-industry myths and discusses anti-fatness in mainstream American culture. It is hosted by Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbes. Launched in 2020, the podcast has addressed topics such as the Keto diet, the Presidential Fitness Test, Weight Watchers, and various fad diets and diet self-help books.

## About

Aubrey Gordon is an American author and activist who writes about fat liberation. Michael Hobbes is an American journalist and former reporter for the HuffPost. Both of them have written numerous times about the misinformation that originates from the health and wellness industry, as well as anti-fatness in American popular culture.
In each episode, one of the hosts talks to the other about a particular topic and they both discuss and give insight on the subject. The majority of their episodes focus on a particular health product or widely accepted fact that Gordon and Hobbes then discuss.
Many of their episodes focus on debunking scientific misinformation in an easily understandable manner.
The podcast is independently funded, relying on crowd-funding.

## Reception

In 2022, Outside regarded it as "the best podcast we've heard about health". Emma Dibdin of the New York Times wrote, "This is essential listening for anyone who's ever been in the grips of the diet industrial complex, and wants to get deprogrammed."
The same year it also won a Webby Award for best podcast series.

## Episodes
### 2020

| No. | Episode title | Guest | Release Date |
| 1 | "What's Our Deal?" | None | October 11, 2020 (2020-10-11) |
| 2 | "The President's Physical Fitness Test" | None | October 20, 2020 (2020-10-20) |
| 3 | "Fen Phen & Redux" | None | October 27, 2020 (2020-10-27) |
| 4 | "Snackwell's Cookies" | None | November 3, 2020 (2020-11-03) |
| 5 | "Moon Juice" | None | November 10, 2020 (2020-11-10) |
| 6 | "The Twinkie Defense" | None | November 17, 2020 (2020-11-17) |
| 7 | "Anti-Fat Bias" | None | November 24, 2020 (2020-11-24) |

### 2021

| No. | Episode title | Guest | Release Date |
| 8 | "Halo Top Ice Cream" | None | January 5, 2021 (2021-01-05) |
| 9 | "The Biggest Loser" | None | January 19, 2021 (2021-01-19) |
| 10 | "Snake Oil" | None | February 2, 2021 (2021-02-02) |
| 11 | "Dr. Oz" | None | February 16, 2021 (2021-02-16) |
| 12 | "The Master Cleanse" | None | March 2, 2021 (2021-03-02) |
| 13 | "Weight Watchers" | None | March 16, 2021 (2021-03-16) |
| 14 | "Eating Disorders" | Dr. Erin Harrop | March 30, 2021 (2021-03-30) |
| 15 | "Olestra" | None | April 13, 2021 (2021-04-13) |
| 16 | "Diet Book Deep Dive: Ed McMahon's Slimming Down" | None | April 27, 2021 (2021-04-27) |
| 17 | "The Wellness to QAnon Pipeline" | Mike Rothschild | May 11, 2021 (2021-05-11) |
| 18 | "Celery Juice" | None | May 25, 2021 (2021-05-25) |
| 19 | "Oprah Winfrey & The 'Wagon of Fat'" | Kimberly Springer | June 8, 2021 (2021-06-08) |
| 20 | "Oprah Winfrey & 'John of God'" | Kimberly Springer | June 22, 2021 (2021-06-22) |
| 21 | "The Keto Diet" | None | July 6, 2021 (2021-07-06) |
| 22 | "School Lunches, P-Hacking and the Original 'Pizzagate'" | None | July 20, 2021 (2021-07-20) |
| 23 | "The Body Mass Index" | None | August 3, 2021 (2021-08-03) |
| 24 | "The Obesity Epidemic" | None | August 17, 2021 (2021-08-17) |
| 25 | "The Great Protein Fiasco" | None | August 31, 2021 (2021-08-31) |
| 26 | "Marianne Williamson" | None | September 14, 2021 (2021-09-14) |
| 27 | "Rachel Hollis Part 1: Hashtag Relatable" | None | September 28, 2021 (2021-09-28) |
| 28 | "Rachel Hollis Part 2: Girl, Start Apologizing" | None | October 12, 2021 (2021-10-12) |
| 29 | "Diet Book Deep Dive: Angela Lansbury's Positive Moves" | None | October 26, 2021 (2021-10-26) |
| 30 | "Is Being Fat Bad For You?" | None | November 16, 2021 (2021-11-16) |
| 31 | "Vibrators" | None | November 30, 2021 (2021-11-30) |
| 32 | "The 'Sleep Loss Epidemic'" | None | December 14, 2021 (2021-12-14) |

### 2022

| No. | Episode title | Guest | Release date |
| 33 | "Fat Camps" | None | January 4, 2022 (2022-01-04) |
| 34 | "Diet Book Deep Dive: The Karl Lagerfeld Diet" | None | January 18, 2022 (2022-01-18) |
| 35 | "'Illness Influencer' Belle Gibson" | None | February 1, 2022 (2022-02-01) |
| 36 | "Super Size Me" | None | February 15, 2022 (2022-02-15) |
| 37 | "Jordan Peterson Part 1: The Carnivore Diet" | None | March 1, 2022 (2022-03-01) |
| 38 | "Jordan Peterson Part 2: The Moscow Diaries" | None | March 15, 2022 (2022-03-15) |
| 39 | "Bonus: Fad Diets" | None | March 29, 2022 (2022-03-29) |
| 40 | "Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma" | None | April 5, 2022 (2022-04-05) |
| 41 | "Zombie Statistics Spectacular!" | None | April 19, 2022 (2022-04-19) |
| 42 | "Diet Book Deep Dive: How To Take 20 Pounds Off Your Man" | None | May 10, 2022 (2022-05-10) |
| 43 | "The Trouble With Calories" | None | May 24, 2022 (2022-05-24) |
| 44 | "Calorie Menu Labeling" | None | June 7, 2022 (2022-06-07) |
| 45 | "The Worm Wars" | None | June 28, 2022 (2022-06-28) |
| 46 | "Pete Evans Part 1: The Paleo Way" | None | July 12, 2022 (2022-07-12) |
| 47 | "Pete Evans Part 2: COVID & Consequences" | None | July 26, 2022 (2022-07-26) |
| 48 | "French Women Don't Get Fat" | None | August 9, 2022 (2022-08-09) |
| 49 | "The Scarsdale Diet Murder" | Sarah Marshall | August 23, 2022 (2022-08-23) |
| 50 | "BONUS: Moon Juice Taste Test" | None | September 6, 2022 (2022-09-06) |
| 51 | "Goop" | None | September 13, 2022 (2022-09-13) |
| 52 | "The French Paradox" | None | September 27, 2022 (2022-09-27) |
| 53 | "Paul Bragg & The Rise of Apple Cider Vinegar" | None | October 11, 2022 (2022-10-11) |
| 54 | "Mini-Sode: The Dr. Oz Campaign" | None | October 18, 2022 (2022-10-18) |
| 55 | "The Daily Harvest Food Poisoning Scandal" | None | November 1, 2022 (2022-11-01) |
| 56 | "Bonus: Mike's New Podcast!" | None | November 8, 2022 (2022-11-08) |
| 57 | "The Food Pyramid" | None | November 15, 2022 (2022-11-15) |
| 58 | "Workplace Wellness" | None | December 20, 2022 (2022-12-20) |

### 2023

| No. | Episode title | Guest | Release date |
| 59 | "'Glorifying Obesity' And Other Myths About Fat People" | None | January 3, 2023 (2023-01-03) |
| 60 | "Diet Book Deep Dive: Elizabeth Taylor's Elizabeth Takes Off" | None | February 13, 2023 (2023-02-13) |
| 61 | "Doctors Have a New Plan for Fat Kids" | None | February 28, 2023 (2023-02-28) |
| 62 | "The Instagram Fiber Feud" | None | March 14, 2023 (2023-03-14) |
| 63 | "Forks Over Knives: Is a Vegetarian Diet Better For You?" | None | March 28, 2023 (2023-03-28) |
| 64 | "The Trouble With Sugar" | None | April 11, 2023 (2023-04-11) |
| 65 | "The 10,000 Steps Myth" | None | April 25, 2023 (2023-04-25) |
| 66 | "Oprah v. Beef, Part 1: The Rise of 'Veggie Libel'" | None | May 9, 2023 (2023-05-09) |
| 67 | "Oprah v. Beef, Part 2: Apocalypse Cow" | None | May 23, 2023 (2023-05-23) |
| 68 | "BONUS: The Conservative Diet Books of Yore" | None | June 6, 2023 (2023-06-06) |
| 69 | "Brittany Dawn" | None | June 20, 2023 (2023-06-20) |
| 70 | "Pilates" | None | July 4, 2023 (2023-07-04) |
| 71 | "RFK Jr. and The Rise of the Anti-Vaxx Movement" | None | July 18, 2023 (2023-07-18) |
| 72 | "RFK Jr. and The Mainstreaming of the Anti-Vaxx Movement" | None | August 1, 2023 (2023-08-01) |
| 73 | "BONUS: Soy Boys" | None | September 12, 2023 (2023-09-12) |
| 74 | "Ozempic" | None | October 10, 2023 (2023-10-10) |

### 2024

| No. | Episode title | Guest | Release date |
| 75 | "COVID Conspiracies" | None | March 7, 2024 (2024-03-07) |
| 76 | "Jamie Oliver" | None | April 4, 2024 (2024-04-04) |
| 77 | "'Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria' Part 1: The Cooties Theory of Transgender Identity" | None | May 9, 2024 (2024-05-09) |
| 78 | "'Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria' Part 2: Panic! At The Endocrinologist" | None | June 18, 2024 (2024-06-18) |
| 79 | "BONUS: Breaking Down the Latest Anti-Trans Victory Lap" | None | July 1, 2024 (2024-07-01) |
| 80 | "The Myers-Briggs Personality Test" | None | September 12, 2024 (2024-09-12) |