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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.comYou're listening to Burnt Toast!We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay, and it's time for your June Indulgence Gospel!It's time for a mailbag episode, so we'll be diving into your questions about:⭐️ Virginia's online dating adventures

You're listening to Burnt Toast! Today, my conversation is with Lauren Leavell. Lauren is a weight neutral fitness professional and content creator. She focuses on creating inclusive environments for movement and exercise to help clients feel strong and confident, and previously joined us on the podcast back in 2023. Lauren is an oasis in a sea of toxic online fitness and wellness culture. And it has been super toxic lately! So I asked Lauren to come on and chat with us about the recent dramas happening on Tiktok and Instagram.Yes, we get into the girl who said nobody over 200 pounds should take Pilates.We also talk about how to stay grounded when this noise is happening online, and how to seek out inclusive movement spaces—whatever that looks like for you. Today's episode is free but if you value this conversation, please consider supporting our work with a paid subscription. Burnt Toast is 100% reader- and listener-supported. We literally can't do this without you.PS. You can always listen to this pod right here in your email, where you'll also receive full transcripts (edited and condensed for clarity). But please also follow us in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and/or Pocket Casts! And if you enjoy today's conversation, please tap the heart on this post — likes are one of the biggest drivers of traffic from Substack's Notes, so that's a super easy, free way to support the show!Episode 197VirginiaLauren, it's so great to have you back on the podcast! It was one of my favorite conversations. It was two years ago that you were here before, I think.LaurenI know! Honestly, we could have a conversation once a month about toxic fitness stuff. VirginiaThere's always something. For anyone who missed your first appearance and has missed the 72,000 times I say “I love Lauren's workouts,” can you introduce yourself?LaurenI am Lauren Leavell. I am a certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor. I've been doing that for almost a decade at this point, which is so wild. I'm not tired of it yet, which is amazing for me. I have a virtual program online, and Virginia is a member of tat community.VirginiaA groupie.LaurenHonestly, yes. Love that. I teach live classes and on demand classes. All of them are body neutral, and most of them are lower impact, because we're here for a good time and a long time. And I also have private training clients who I program Stronger Together workouts for.When I'm not doing that, I'm apparently complaining on the Internet. Well, I try not to complain too much on the Internet. And stalking cats in my neighborhood.VirginiaYou are my favorite Internet cat lady.LaurenHuge, huge accolades here.VirginiaFavorite Internet cat lady. That should be in your bio. And you are talking to us from France right now! Do you want to talk about that?LaurenI'm really leaning into my Sagittarius lifestyle. I just picked up my life in Philadelphia and decided to move to France. People keep asking me, why? And my answer is, why not? My partner and I are child-free except for our two beautiful cat daughters. But they're pretty easy to move. So we packed up our lives and moved to France. We are still really new here, really getting into it. And I'm genuinely just so excited for all the new stimuli. VirginiaOf course for folks listening to this episode, it is now mid-June, so we're going to talk about something that happened a month ago, and it is forgotten in the attention span of the Internet. But I still think it's very important to record for posterity that this happened. So Lauren, can you walk us through what I'm going to call Pilatesgate.LaurenPilatesgate occurred when a woman decided to come on TikTok, and really just rant. You can tell that she was a little bit amped up. She was talking about how she did not believe that people in larger bodies—specifically, if you are over 200 pounds—you should not be in a Pilates level two class. She was really insistent, and talked about how you should be doing cardio or just going to the gym. And then she followed up with: “You also shouldn't be a fitness instructor if you have a gut.” Like, what's going on? The overall tone of it was she was extremely agitated. VirginiaShe felt this deeply.LaurenShe was very bothered. Mind you, the person saying this, obviously, is not in a fat body. She's not in a larger body. I think the tone of her video and how agitated she was is what really sparked the conversation around size inclusivity and fitness and blatant fatphobia and anti-fat bias. But it all started with someone having a very agitated car rant that I'm sure she didn't think would go the way that it went.VirginiaI think she thought people were going to be like, Hell yeah! Thanks for saying the truth. I think she thought there was going to be this moment of recognition that she had spoken something. But I would love to even just know the backstory. I assume she just walked into a Pilates class and saw a fat person and lost her mind? I can't quite understand what series of events triggered the car rant, because I can't imagine having really any experience in my daily life that I would be like, “That was so terrible I need to take to the internet and say my piece about it,” and to have the experience be…I observed another human being.LaurenRight? I think that from from her follow up video it seems like she's been doing Pilates for a while, and maybe was agitated that someone was either getting more attention or she just maybe felt some type of way in general.VirginiaI wonder if the fat person was better at Pilates than her, and that made her feel bad.LaurenIt could be anything. Just like you said, like the presence of being there, maybe even having a conversation with a teacher—something triggered her. It could have even be been seeing something online of like a fat person doing Pilates as an instructor. I know plenty of fat Pilates instructors.And the apology videos were really like, “I need to work on myself.” And also, you know…you could have worked on yourself before releasing that rant into the internet space.VirginiaI give her one tiny point for how it is a very full apology video. So often an apology video is like, “I'm sorry people were upset,” you know? Like, “I'm sorry that this bothered you.” And she is like, I truly apologize. I have to work on myself. This is bad. She does own it to a certain degree.LaurenI think it's also because she experienced consequences. Her membership was revoked and she either lost her job, or at least is on punishment from her job.VirginiaWhich is correct! She should experience consequences. Plus there was a tidal wave of of videos coming out in response to her first one being like, what is wrong with you? This is a terrible thing. The backlash was quick and universal. I didn't see a lot of support content for her. I saw just a tidal wave of people being like, what the fuck?LaurenI think the people who would have maybe supported that kept their mouths shut because they saw what was happening. There are people who support that message and feel exactly the same. It was almost like she was like, channeling that type of rage. And I think, again, the agitation is what sets this video apart from every other video that's released 500 times a day on my FYP somewhere about people expressing anti-fat bias in fitness spaces, right?VirginiaShe said the thing that is often implied, and she said it very loudly. She also said it so righteously. It was a righteous anger in the first video. That, I think, was what was startling about it, I was glad to see the backlash—although, yes, as you're saying, there is so much more out there. And really she looks like she is 12 years old. I think she's like 23 or something. So this is a literal child who has had a tantrum. That happens every day, that some young 20 somethings says a fatphobic thing, right?LaurenI mean, actually, I was, at one point, a young 20 something saying fatphobic things to myself and out in the ether.VirginiaFrom my esteemed wisdom as a 44 year old, I try to be like, Thank God Tiktok didn't exist when I was 23! Thank God there's no record of the things I said and thought as a 23 year old. So, okay, babygirl, you did this and we hope you really do do the work. But as you're saying, she said something that is frequently echoed and reinforced by fitness influencers all over Al Gore's internet.You sent me a Tiktok by a fitness influencer Melania Antuchas, who posts as FitByMa. We see her leaning into the camera at a very uncomfortable-looking angle, saying, “If you don't like the way I train or instruct, don't come to my class because I'm going to push you to be your best self and you just need to take it,” basically. Can we unpack the toxicity of this kind of messaging? Because I do think this kind of messaging is what begets the angsty 23-year-old being appalled that there's a fat person in her Pilates class.LaurenYes, totally. I think that that person may actually be like an Internet predecessor to the rant, if I'm going to be honest. This person's content, against my own will, has been showing up frequently.VirginiaThank you for your service, by the way, that you have to consume all this fitness content, and see all of this.LaurenI've been seeing a lot of this person's videos, and a lot of Pilates instructors have actually had a lot to say about it, because what she's pitching as Pilates is not traditional Pilates, either mat or reformer. It's inspired by, but we really shouldn't be calling it that. And some people were like, “It seems like more of a barre class.” And I'm like, get my name out of your mouth. What are you talking about?VirginiaYou're like, don't you make me take her! I don't want her!LaurenYes, please don't come over here with this. So I think it's a combination of the fact that maybe her workouts feel a little mislabeled to a lot of people who are professionals in the field, and then her teaching style is extremely intense. And that's really what I would love to get into. Because I think if you've been a casual fitness person, you have experienced these type of intense motivational instructors and and maybe when we rewind to when we were the age of the ranter, that would have worked. That does work on a lot of people. What this person is saying is if you don't like it, don't come to my class. There are always going to be people who love a punishing, intense type of motivation because they never experienced anything else. They don't know how to find motivation or how to exercise without the presence of punishment.VirginiaThis is certainly endemic of a lot of CrossFit culture, a lot of boot camp culture. There are a lot of fitness spaces that are really built around this. Like, “no pain, no gain.” You've got to leave it all on the mat. You've got to always show up and give 200% no matter what. And I guess that is, as you're saying, motivating to some people.LaurenTell me about your childhood, if that's what you like. You know? And it's also a result of the United States culture in general, it is extremely punishing. And if we really stop and interrogate why we enjoy this, and why we only feel motivated by this intensity and someone getting up in our face, then we might have to slowly chip away at all the other places where softness has been denied and love and openness and acceptance have been denied. But it's to make you stronger. It's to make you better.VirginiaIt's like capitalism as a workout. LaurenIt's definitely a reflection of that type of culture, because some people maybe won't be motivated by anything softer, because they've never experienced softness.VirginiaAnd they've never been given permission to exist in a more multifaceted way, like you're either successful or you're not. You can either take it or you can't.LaurenAnd pain leads to success, right? Like, even though we all know—well, many of us know that—a lot of successful people have done no no suffering to get there. Other people have done the suffering for them.VirginiaExactly. It's just where you're born, which family you're born into, that lead to the success. The idea that there are no excuses, which was a recurring theme of her videos. Like, you're going to push yourself to be your best self or I'm going to push you to be your best self. That whole thing was so interesting to me because it was like, so you're not allowed to just have a headache one day? You're not allowed to be a neurodivergent person who has different needs and bandwidth? You're not allowed to be human, really, in this in this context.LaurenNo, not at all. And it really shows. I mean, I get it. And I have seen it over and over. But the ableism that exists in fitness spaces is almost like you're almost unable to, untangle them in so many spaces. And that's part of my job. It's been really, really, really interesting to be someone who's attempting to untangle those because how can I be motivational to people who have never experienced motivation outside of the intensity and the ableism and the pushing past. That's why I'm always talking about how unserious it is. Because this woman is telling me I have no excuses, and I have to go 100%. Like, girl, this is literally a 45 minute class. What are you talking about? This is 45 minutes of my life. Like, yes, with consistency you'll get results from fitness. And those don't have to be aesthetic! You will get your results from fitness if you are consistently doing a 45 minute workout. But consistently doing it doesn't mean doing it 100% every time.VirginiaRight? And let's not forget, we're just rolling around on a floor. LaurenWe're rolling around on the floor! Hopefully in a good class, we're mimicking movements that we would like do in our lives that would cause our bodies to meet those muscles. So if I'm moving furniture, it's usually not intensely at a speed run, I just need to be able to pick up my side of the couch! VirginiaAnd move it three feet and put it back down again.LaurenI think the the intensity of fitness is often overblown. And of course, this is hard to say as a fitness instructor who's not thin, because they'll be like, well, that's why you're fat.I think it's really deeply psychologically baked into fitness for a lot of people, that it has to be horrible. And that's my first experience with working out. Like, I thought it had to be horrible. Because I grew up in a family of women who only worked out when they needed to change their bodies. So it was like, oh my gosh. Remember when I was like, seriously working out for six months? It was always a sprint,VirginiaYou can't sustain the Mean Girl workout. Like, that's not a way to live. Or if you can, it's a warning sign that you can live with that much punishment for that long. LaurenYeah, definitely. Growing up, I thought that that's what all workouts were going to be. I did a lot of Stairmaster in my early 20s.VirginiaThe most Mean Girl of all cardio equipment.LaurenYes, I mean, that should have been a warning sign. But, I do think about this now, you know, I'm walking up a ton of stairs every day. I'm like, okay, well, do I need to go on a stairmaster, or am I able to just live my life and have to carry my groceries upstairs?VirginiaRight? I mean, being able to climb stairs is useful. And it's always really hard.LaurenA number one goal of people when I talk to folks, they're like, “I just want to be not winded when I go up and down stairs.” I'm like, I have horrible news for you.VirginiaIt's never going to happen.LaurenIt's a situational thing. You're dressed in regular clothes, carrying up three bags of groceries after carrying them in from your car, or not being warmed up, or carrying, a baby in a baby carrier, those baby carriers that are 400 pounds. Yeah, you're going to be winded.VirginiaI've lived in a fifth floor walk up in a sixth floor walk up, and I never got better at the stairs in the years I lived in those apartments. And I was a skinny 20 something when I was doing that. It never got easier, not one day.LaurenLiterally being out of breath is a sign that we're working those cardiovascular muscles. Just let them be out of breath real quick.VirginiaThat's a really helpful reframing. We jumped so aggressively into chatting about all of this that we should probably spend another beat for anyone who's confused, explaining that people who weigh over 200 pounds are allowed to do Pilates! Can you just explain why what she was saying was total bullshit? LaurenTotally. I think that people, at any weight, can do whatever workout they want or don't want to do. And I think particularly if you're a woman or socialized as a woman there are always these imaginary limitations on what your weight should be. And I think that that's really where the 200 pound conversation came in, right? Because for a not-fat woman, anything over that weight is really unfathomable to them. I definitely remember conversations around that within my own household of like, oh, we can't possibly weigh over this number. And I'm sitting there, like…VirginiaCan you not? Because I'm doing it. Here I am.LaurenSo I think that that's really where that number came from. She pulled out a number that she thought was just like, beyond anything. And I think it's also important to remember that so often, when people are asked to assess what people weigh, they have absolutely zero idea.It's really hard for people to tell other people's weight based on how they look. So I think that that was why that number was picked.VirginiaIt sounds so scary.LaurenIn her head, 200 pounds is really, really big and really scary. And going back to weighing whatever anybody weighs, I think Pilates is a great workout for people who are in, all different types of bodies and diverse bodies. Pilates is super low impact in a lot of ways, and really good for folks who have chronic illnesses, particularly like reformer, because it could be recumbent and you're not putting a lot of stress on your joints in the same way. So the idea that this workout that's really almost like super in line with disability and rehabilitation, to say that there's like a weight limit—again, fatphobia, joining in with ableism—is like, so so off base. So deeply off base.VirginiaFat people can do any workout, but Pilates in particular happens to be a workout that can be extremely body inclusive when it's taught well.LaurenExactly. I think that that maybe also added to some of the outrage and and honestly, some of me thinking it was very funny. I'm not someone who regularly weighs myself, but I've always been someone who was extremely heavy, as a person. Even as a child, there were stories about me versus my cousin who was three years older than me and a boy, and how he weighed less than me for most of our childhood. I have always been so solid. And I think growing up, many of us heard like, oh, that person has the body of a swimmer. That person should play volleyball or basketball or whatever. I'm like, what is this body type meant for? Like, shotput? And then I'm teaching Barre, you know? I think it's just so made up. And yes, maybe it's good for people who swim to have long limbs, great. But when we close ourselves off to types of movement based on body types and weight limits, then people have a harder time finding things that they enjoy, because maybe they don't enjoy something that they “look like they should.”VirginiaJust because you don't have long limbs doesn't mean swimming can't bring you a lot of joy.LaurenRight? Just because I don't have long lean muscles doesn't mean I can't teach Barre. The language around Barre and Pilates is always “long and lean.” And I just feel that's so funny as someone who's not long and lean. I love not being long and lean and and enjoying my classes. Some of the outrage did come from that number being named, because it's a misunderstanding of what real people in the real world weigh when you are not around those types of people. But I also think that there are a lot of limitations put on bodies, particularly larger bodies, and what you can and can't do. I have another video that's actually making a resurgence right now, probably because of this conversation that fat people should only do cardio, because if you lift weights, then you might gain more muscle mass, which would increase your scale weight. So you should only do cardio, because that's how you're going to lose weight, which is inaccurate and very boring.VirginiaAnd it's just really drilling into and this was the core of what she was saying. It's the core of that Melania video, that exercise is only a tool for weight management. That you would only exercise to avoid or minimize fatness, and right?LaurenAnd because Pilates “isn't actually good for burning fat,” you definitely shouldn't be doing it if you're fat.VirginiaYeah, you should be at the gym running. And it's completely ignoring the many other reasons we would exercise, the benefits you can actually achieve. Because, as you're saying, weight loss through exercise is a very murky thing for most people. And it's just ignoring all the other reasons you would do it that are more fun.LaurenYeah, like “I like it.” You're allowed to like things! But again, if you're socialized to only know shame and punishment, then the idea that people do things out of pleasure is hard to wrap your mind around.VirginiaSpeaking of shame and punishment, I wrote recently about Andy Elliott, who is actually a sales trainer, but he's also a bodybuilder. He's always cold plunging. He's always recording from a cold thing of water.LaurenAgain, pleasure, right? We can't have warm water. We made this technology, use it.VirginiaNo, no. He's like in Dubai, sitting in a barrel of cold water, posting his rants. And he posted this video showing off his twelve and nine year old daughters and how he had challenged them to get a six pack in less than two months. And they got shredded in two months. Then in this room full of his male sales trainees, he had them take off their sweatshirts and show off their six packs to a room full of men. It's revolting, on so many levels. But one thing I've been thinking about as I had to look at the Andy Elliot crap and then looking at this other crap, these extreme examples of toxic diet culture in some ways, I think, are unhelpful. Because they make us more dismissive of stuff that's not that. It's like, well, it's not that bad. Do you know what I mean?LaurenIt's moving the the spectrum of what's normal and what's not normal.VirginiaSo it's like, “Well, I didn't say 200 pound people can't come to Pilates, so I'm not being fatphobic.” Or “I'm not showing you a nine year old with a six pack, so I'm not being fatphobic.” But it shouldn't have to be that bad!LaurenIt also somewhat negates the fact that most of us are not exposed to the extreme. We're exposed to the more insidious anyway.VirginiaRight? Because the insidious is what your coworker is saying in the break room at lunch about how she's only eating a salad.LaurenIt's the stuff that we get daily exposure to, as opposed to these extremes where most people can point out, like, oh that's wild.VirginiaMaybe don't force your children to get six packs? It's pretty clear cut. On the other hand, I kind of feel like the needle is moving on what is extreme because of the rise of MAGA and MAHA wellness culture. We're unfortunately normalizing a lot of this really intense and harmful rhetoric.LaurenI've been thinking about it a lot, and I think number one, yes. Also the anti-intellectualism. That also helps push these things, because if someone's shouting confidently enough, they could sell anything. You said that person is in a sales job. Like, that's part of that thing. It's psychological. It's not even based in facts. But I think that it's on the rise, for sure, because it's not being checked. And I also think that in that more insidious way, it's on the rise because people are seeking to fly under the radar, and they're seeking safety in their bodies being read as safe.In this super conservative and rise of fascism, falling in line is a way that some people will seek safety, right? But it obviously, when we get into ranking bodies as good and bad and purity testing bodies. Like, if that even exists, that means someone has to be at the bottom. It's very clear that when we're saying take control. Hyper individual. Yeah, I did it, and you could do it, too, applying your situation to other people's. Like, that's not how science works. Number one, that's not how genetics work. And I think that people of all like races, ages, and abilities, you know, will seek safety in flying under the radar in a regime that's getting scarier and more intense. So I think that bodies and fitness is definitely a way that people will get there.VirginiaYeah, it's a logical survival strategy in a really dark time, for sure.LaurenSo I think that that's part of the reason why even people who wouldn't identify as like MAHA are on their health and wellness, and they don't realize how quickly it gets there, but it does pretty instantly. But as someone who is has multiple marginalized identities myself, I often see people who are in similar situations, and I look at them with a lot of compassion because, yeah. Like, if you're disabled, if you're Black, if you're poor, being fat on top of that, you just checked another box for people. And I feel like that is where this intensity comes from all sides. And that's why we're seeing even more diverse voices echoing this type of message, because people are seeking safety, and they might not even know that that's what they're seeking. But I can see it because I get it.VirginiaYes. That breaks my heart, but it is logical when you have those multiple marginalizations. Fatness is the one that you've been conditioned to think you can and should change.LaurenIt's supposed to be fully within your control. And then that's when we dip into disability being within your control. And the idea that you could just take vitamins or do red light or coffee enemas or something, and you're going to cure your your chronic conditions. Like if you haven't tried it, then you know you're not trying hard enough. So I think it's a really slippery slope, and it gets there very quickly.VirginiaYou've mentioned ableism a few times, obviously, because it's really core to this conversation. I'd love to hear a little more about how you think about ability in your classes. Anyone who's taken your class knows how completely different they feel from the Melania version. You've clearly put a lot of thought into how to be inclusive of ability.LaurenI appreciate that. I work really hard, and I try to advertise myself as someone whose classes are many levels or most levels, because I think even saying that something is all levels is not being fully like aware of the scope of people's ability. So I try to be very clear in my communication. I don't know how I got here, personally. Again, the pendulum definitely swung with me. I was someone who I would consider was Orthorexic and all on my organic everything, blah, blah, blah. Particularly when it like was coming down to my PCOS and how much of that was in my control.VirginiaPCOS triggers a lot of rabbit holes.LaurenRight? And, like the fatphobia in my own family mixed with that. But I think at some point it just clicked, like we all have the ability to become disabled if we're not already, you know? We could. And disability is a spectrum. We usually like start checking off more and more boxes towards that. But because ableism is so rampant, most people would never identify something going on as a disability. Wearing glasses, wearing hearing aids, needing captions, needing accommodations. They wouldn't identify those as a disability because it's horrible to be disabled in this world, so we try to avoid saying that.I think realizing I had so many folks coming to me who were burnt out by all the stuff we just spent all this time talking about—and I was burnt out in that world. And that's how I got spit out the other side. I was like, I'm going to do things differently. And more and more and more people started really identifying with that. And I got to know people individually within my memberships, and they shared about what they had going on, and oh my gosh, your classes have been so great because I have POTS, or I have EDS, or I have chronic pain, or I also have PCOS, I have PMDD—all these things.And because I am who I am, and I'm someone who is neurodivergent and I'm a nerd and I want to know what's good for people who have POTS? What's good for people who have blood pressure issues? What would be like a good modification or variation to throw out there to people who might not even know that that's going on with them, because again, our medical system. Like, oh yeah, I get dizzy sometimes. Like, okay, girl, can we elaborate? But I think that just realizing, no matter who it was, every single person in my membership can contribute to my ability to teach better, because if one person says it, 10 people are probably experiencing it. That's why I love the feedback. I love that! That hurt? I have no idea. I have one body. I literally have only this body, right? You have to tell me if something hurts, right? I don't know, that doesn't hurt me. Or that does hurt me, and I don't do it, but that works for you. So you have to tell me. So I think that that's really where it resulted from people being comfortable feeling honest and sharing, and my desire to continue making things feel good and challenging. Because I think that people think you have to sacrifice movement being challenging. Like it can't it can still be challenging and not horrendous and punishing.VirginiaYes, this is what's hard to articulate when I tell people how much I love your classes. This is the needle you're threading. We think of it as so black and white. Either you're someone who wants to go so hard, like the Melania video, or you're someone who's like, exercise needs to feel like a warm bath, or I'm not going to do it. And there is a middle space. There's a huge middle space.LaurenYes. And that's the neutrality of it all, which is yeah, I'm allowed to do this hard thing and and really invest when we're talking about the consistency and no excuses. But if we're talking about a 45 minute workout that you're doing maybe two times a week, and investing in 30 seconds of challenge or discomfort, and investigating how that feels in your body and doing it. And then after six weeks, suddenly, wow, that thing that was uncomfortable six weeks ago is no longer uncomfortable. This new thing was uncomfortable. And that's why I love movement so much. Because I feel like you can not solve, but get to the bottom of, investigate, interrogate and get to know parts of your body. And and I really do feel like the work that we do in 45 minute classes empowers people enough to go out and tell people at their jobs to eff off, you know? Like, it gives people the ability to get to know themselves well enough to know what they're willing to tolerate.VirginiaI feel like when I do your videos, there's always a point where honestly, I might be watering my plants or just lying on the floor, and then there's always a point where I'm actually so in it and pushing really hard. Do you know what I mean? And it's like, it can be both things. I get to choose which is the part that I'm going to be like, yeah, I'm holding this 20 second plank the whole time. I'm going to go for my heavier weights. We're going to do that.LaurenBecause it doesn't need to add up or count for anything, but it always does, even if you're like, I'm just doing this to do something. That just just doing something will still add up and it'll still come up later. And I think it doesn't need to be that serious. It's never that serious.VirginiaAny other fitness trends that are making you especially grumpy right now, or anything good you want to highlight?LaurenI mean, honestly, the backlash to that rant was good, right? There were so many good responses, I actually followed a couple people. I do think people being able to recognize that as blatant anti-fatness was good. It was a good gut check for a lot of people. And I think that that, yeah, it was good for me. That that made me feel, oh, there are seeds of hope.VirginiaNo, we haven't fallen as low as I fear sometimes.LaurenNo, and it's really hard. I've heard Jessamyn Stanley say, like, “Sometimes I don't remember that people act this way.”VirginiaOh God, yeah. You're really still out there being like this?LaurenYes, yes, yes, yes. So I think there was a lot of silly, goofy and and very good responses to that. I love that push and pull that we can hopefully sometimes see and still have this dialog about. I feel like it's really important. And with so many people intentionally losing weight right now, I think it's really important to see people who are not necessarily in traditional fit bodies doing fitness.VirginiaGod, it's so important. ButterLaurenI was going to be funny and say that my Butter is actually butter, now that I'm living in France.VirginiaYou're living in butter country.LaurenI have been trying different butters all the time. Hopefully people who are listening, maybe their weather is getting better. So this is a, this is like a freebie recommendation, but just a little photosynthesis. Now is a really good time to give yourself space, to open up your body again after a winter. Just a little bit of fresh air and a little bit of sunshine and a little bit of phone getting thrown across the room. Which is what I have been trying to do every single day. It really makes a huge difference. So, phone down, photosynthesis up. That is what's getting me through right now. And I hope that other people can enjoy that. Doesn't mean you even have to go outside! Crack a window, allow yourself to be a human being. And it's free. You don't need a discount code for it. You don't need someone to sell it to you on Tiktok shop. You were allowed to be a person existing for completely free.VirginiaYes, so true. That's really good. My Butter, in honor of you, my favorite Internet cat lady is going to be my cats. I'm going to give them a shout out. Licorice and Cheese. We adopted these kittens last year after my kids begged and begged. I mean, I've always been a cat person, but our old man cats had passed away. We had no cats for a while. And they make me so happy. They just are such love bugs. Because the weather is better, I think Cheese has taken your notes about photosynthesis, and so he's regularly trying to jailbreak, to get outside. He's trying to get outside all the time. So we are having a little cat drama in my house where the kids go outside, forget to close the door. Cheese is on it. He's trying to get out there, and we get him back inside. But we have a screen porch, so they do get to go out and live their best life on the screen porch, which makes them really happy.LaurenOh my gosh, I love when they photosynthesize. My new place has lots of big windows and lots and lots of sunshine, and my girls have just been absorbing the sun. And they're both trying to go out on balconies, which we're doing the same thing you're doing, because one pigeon goes by, and my cat's diving.VirginiaAnd I live in the woods where there are a lot of predators. We did have an old man cat who in the final years of his life, we did let outside, because we were like, you've had a good run. And we're thinking quality of life at that point. But these two babies, I want them for many, many years. We can't risk the coyotes. And I think one of them really gets that. Licorice is like the boss of the house, but he's terrified of the outside. I think he recognizes he's a big fish in a little pond, and he needs to stay that way. But Cheese is like, oh, that's my world. I want to get back there?LaurenYes, maybe a harness? Maybe that can be what the kids do this this summer is harness train Cheese.VirginiaWe've never tried the harness with them.LaurenHe's still young. My girls are full grown, and when I put a harness on them, they fall over. They're like, it's the last day they're ever going to live. They're like my bones don't work anymore. What did you do to me? We've been trying to harness train them so that they can go back outside, because we did have a yard before, but I think if he's young and eager to go outside, he might put that harness on. And that's also a good summer project.VirginiaOh, I feel like my 11 year old's going to get really into this. Okay, I'm going to give it a go. I'm going to report back. Well, Lauren, thank you so much. Tell folks where they can find you. How can we support your work?LaurenYou can find me at Lauren Leavell Fitness and I have a membership—the level up fitness membership, where you can join live classes. You can take on demand classes. Again, it's a silly, goofy mood over here. There are classes of different lengths. You don't need a ton of space or equipment. I currently don't have, really any equipment. I have. I have two pound weights.VirginiaI've been enjoying the recent videos where you're like, well, I'm doing this move that I'd normally have a 20 pound weight with a 2 pound weight.LaurenPretend these are 20 pounds! So we really are accepting of all scenarios that you have going on fitness-wise here. And like I said, the replays are there if you're not someone who gets catches live classes, totally get it. Or you just don't want to come to a live class. And then, if you are looking for more, I do have some workout videos on YouTube, which are kind of a sample of my teaching. They're a little less weird than I normally teach. I'm a little bit more polished on YouTube. And then, of course, Lauren Leavell Fitness on Instagram, and Lauren Leavell Fit on TiktokFay, who runs @SellTradePlus, and Big Undies.The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribeThank you so much to everyone who donated to the Me Little Me Virtual Food Pantry! We raised $13,991 with your help — more than double our original goal of $6,000!! These funds, plus the Burnt Toast match, will cover over 3,600 home-cooked meals for multiply marginalized folks in need.Learn more about this project here. You can continue to support Me Little Me by becoming a recurring donor and following their work on Instagram. Thanks so much! So proud of how this community shows up and does the work! xxWelcome to Indulgence Gospel After Dark. This month we asked our favorite question—IS IT A DIET?— about…⭐️ Electrolytes! (Corinne is mad)⭐️ Journaling!⭐️ That viral sweet potato/ground beef/cottage cheese bowl!⭐️ Living without furniture (yes really)!⭐️ And so much more…To hear the whole thing, read the full transcript, and join us in the comments, you'll need to join Extra Butter, our premium subscription tier.Extra Butter costs just $99 per year. (Regular paid subscribers, the remaining value of your subscription will be deducted from that total!)Extra Butter subscribers also get access to posts like:Dating While FatWhat to do when you miss your smaller bodyIs Kids Eat In Color anti-diet?And did Virginia really get divorced over butter?And Extra Butters also get DM access and other perks. Plus Extra Butter ensures that the Burnt Toast community can always stay an ad- and sponsor-free space—which is crucial for body liberation journalism. Join us here!(Questions? Glitches? Email me all the details, and cc support@substack.com.)PS. If Extra Butter isn't the right tier for you, remember that you still get access behind almost every other paywall with a regular paid subscription.The Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, and Big Undies—subscribe for 20% off!The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

Before we start the show today…Have you donated to the Me Little Me Virtual Food Pantry? This amazing organization works to get low-income folks (many of whom are in eating disorder recovery) fed — and with the food of their choosing. Meaning yes, ultra processed foods that bring comfort and convenience, and yes to beloved cultural foods…and yes to trusting folks in need to know what they need.We're trying to raise $12,000 and add 50 recurring donors to their rosters by June 1 AND WE ARE SO CLOSE TO OUR GOAL. But we need your help to crush it! Thank you!You're listening to Burnt Toast! Today, my conversation is with the iconic Sarai Walker. Sarai is the author of The Cherry Robbers and Dietland, which came out in May 2015—and is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month.Dietland is one of those books that means so much to me, it's hard to put into words. I consider it a foundational text of the body liberation movement of the past decade. It was adapted as a television series starring Joy Nash for AMC in 2018. It's just one of those books—that inducted so many of us into conversations about fatness, feminism, radical social action. Sarai has also lectured on feminism and body image internationally. Her articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian and elsewhere, and she worked as a writer and editor on an updated version of Our Bodies, Ourselves.I asked Sarai to join me today to reflect on what 10 years of Dietland has meant to her. We also talk a lot about the very mixed experience of being a public fat person, as well as being a woman, and a writer, in midlife. You will love this conversation.And! If you order Dietland and Fat Talk together from Split Rock Books, you can take 20% off the combo with the code FATLAND. If you've already bought fat talk from Split Rock, you can still take 10% off Dietland or any book we talk about on the podcast, using the code FATTALK. Today's episode is free but if you value this conversation, please consider supporting our work with a paid subscription. Burnt Toast is 100% reader- and listener-supported. We literally can't do this without you.Episode 195 TranscriptVirginiaThis is really a big thrill for me. Dietland came out in 2015, we're here to celebrate its 10th anniversary. I read it pretty soon after it came out, and I remember reading about Plum and Calliope House and the Jennifer vigilantes who were killing all the evil men, and just thinking, how is she in my brain? How is she writing my whole heart in this story? So to start us off with what is probably an impossible question: How does that feel, to have contributed something that is so important to the canon? And by canon, I mean the fat feminist literary canon.SaraiIt's funny, as an author, I don't know if I feel it the way you're describing it. Man, I hope that that's the case! I guess it's for other people to decide what a book's legacy is, whether it's important or not. What I can say—you know, the book turns 10 this month, and it has really meant a lot to me over the years that people have just connected with it in such a positive way.People related to Plum's story, they really felt that I put into words something that only they had felt, which was one of the things that I really had to work hard on in the book, because I had all these feelings about my own experience with my own body. And I was like, how do I put that into words? So that was the struggle of writing the book and being able to do that. I was so happy when people really felt that the book could speak for them in certain ways, that it gave them a voice.I still hear from people! I heard from somebody just yesterday who said the book changed their life. We live in an age where so many things just seem disposable, and people forget about things and move on really quickly. Dietland, whatever its legacy may be, it has had a long life.VirginiaWe should say, for folks who don't know publishing: For a book to still be in print 10 years later is incredible. The vast majority of books have a year, two years, and then they're done. It is a huge accomplishment, and a huge contribution.SaraiIt means a lot to me. It's getting a new French publication and a new translation over there. So, you know, my girl keeps on going. And it's funny, because I think one of the things that people enjoyed about the book was the anger and the rage in it, and the revenge fantasy narrative about Jennifer.At the same time, some people were like, oh, well, things aren't that bad. You're exaggerating. Fast forward from 2015 to 2025, and things are worse than I could have ever imagined back then.VirginiaYou downplayed it a little bit.SaraiExactly. So I feel in this weird way, kind of vindicated? That's not a great feeling. But it's just so weird that the 10th anniversary is coming at a time when there's this huge backlash against feminism, against fat. Even something as watered down as body positivity is under attack, you know? It just tells you how bad things are. So in that sense, it's sort of bittersweet to have the anniversary at this time, because things are really just heartbreaking and scary right now.VirginiaBut also: We need the book more than ever. We need the Dietland story more than ever, because things are so scary right now. It gives us a way of articulating that. It gives us a place to put those feelings.SaraiI hope that new readers find the book now in this new climate that we're in and people who read it before might revisit it. I've actually thought of writing some new Jennifer stories. I feel like they would have to be so, so violent and so filled with rage, I don't know if they would be healthy for me, but I've thought about unleashing Jennifer on MAGA.VirginiaI personally am very here for this and yery, very supportive of this idea. I think there would be an audience. I would really love to see Jennifer take on MAGA and MAHA and RFK Jr. in particular.SaraiIf I end up in prison, though, I don't know.VirginiaI'm hearing that concern, as we're saying it out loud. Fictionalized versions of these things, perhaps.SaraiNames changed.VirginiaI mean, you're busy, you're doing lots of things, but it would be a public service.Many more folks discovered Dietland after it became a TV show, which aired in 2018. It was created by Marti Noxon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame. And it starred the incredible Joy Nash. And we only got 10 magic episodes. It's a really great season, but we only got the one season. I would love to hear how you felt about the show? I've always wondered what that feels like, to have a novel go into on the screen. It's got to be such a strange experience.SaraiIt is strange and surreal. Looking back now, it's hard to believe that it happened. I think so many writers do get their book optioned, but to actually have it not just optioned, but then go into production and become a television series is pretty rare. So I feel lucky that I had that.The show premiered three years after the book was published, which is so fast, but that was kind of the golden age of TV, I think.It was a great experience. Marti really welcomed me in. I went out to the writer's room, and I worked as a consultant. I got to visit the set in New York. And basically the the 10 episodes that we got were the whole book. So, I'm really sad that it didn't go on, that we didn't get at least a season two, preferably five seasons would have been great. But AMC just kind of bailed out on it. There was a lot of drama there going on behind the scenes that had nothing to do with the show that contributed to that.When the show was canceled, one of the cast members posted something on social media saying, “I'm so tired of shows about women that try and do interesting and groundbreaking things just being canceled and not given a chance to grow.” It's very hard to build an audience in one ten episode season. So I just felt like the show wasn't given that chance. And so that makes it a little bit bittersweet. But I treasure the ten episodes that we did get. It's an incredible privilege that we got that.Amd the show was pretty faithful to the book, actually, I thought. When I got there to the writer's room, they were already at work and they were using it as their Bible and I was this kind of like goddess of this world. It was really weird.VirginiaThat's amazing.SaraiAll these people working on something that came from my head. It was surreal.VirginiaAnd Joy as Plum—she's amazing and really embodies the character.SaraiShe is so great. I just love Joy. When I was living out in LA we used to go out to lunch, and she's so fun and just so sweet. And, yeah, I really loved working with her, and having her play Plum.VirginiaSo you mentioned feeling like a goddess in the writers room. But putting this out there did launch you as a Public Facing Fat Person, which I put in capital letters. It's an experience that that I've had, a little bit as well. And it is a real mixed bag. It's just really a weird experience to be professionally fat, especially because, in your case, your subsequent work has had nothing to do with fatness. And yet, I'm sure this is still something that comes up.SaraiYeah, I mean, you know what it's like to be publicly fat. Everyone reacts to it differently. I'm a novelist, so I'm very introverted. The book was published in 2015 and then the paperback in 2016 and the British edition, which was a whole wild ride with the media over there.VirginiaOh god, I am sorry. I know and I'm sorry.SaraiYeah. It made our media look okay!VirginiaNo, it's terrible. The British media is so awful in general, and it's so specifically fatphobic. Anytime I've done anything with the British media, it's been a deeply scarring experience.SaraiIt was awful. I had a big newspaper over there wanted me to write this big article for them, and they're like, “You have to put your weight in the article.”VirginiaI mean, what?SaraiAnd then another website, this feminist website, was like “We want pictures of you to use as stock photos for other articles on body positivity.”VirginiaI'm sorry, can you not find other fat people??SaraiI'm the only one that exists. I don't know if you know that, but I'm the only one.And so, I had years of this. I was on NPR, talking about being fat. I was on MSNBC. I was on other radio shows. I mean, that's the game, right? And at that time, “obesity epidemic” rhetoric was a really big thing. So my book had this hook, which isn't common for novels, but I got all these interviews and so I had to go along with it, and go out there.On the one hand, it's really radical to be like, “Yeah, I'm fat,” and to speak about it in a neutral or positive way. It's radical. It's a taboo. And there aren't a lot of taboos left. But it also just was hard to constantly have my body mentioned all the time. I remember Julianna Margulies, who was on the TV show, did an interview on a podcast talking about me and said something like, “Oh, Sarai's a big girl.” Which is fine. I mean, that's the thing, that's what I wrote about. And that's what it was like, actors, radio hosts, journalists, all referring to me as big or fat. And I'm not blaming them at all, but it was just the effect it had on me over time, was like, I started to kind of feel like a fat lady in like a circus or something. But I was reduced to the it was always about my bodyVirginiaAnd you're like, “I'm actually a writer. I have this whole incredible ability to invent a world. Not many people can do that. Could we maybe talk about that?” Just a thought.SaraiIt was really hard for me. I thought I would love being in the spotlight, and it was harder than I thought it would be.VirginiaI appreciate you saying that. I think it is really hard. I've had a smaller experience with it, and that was enough. I don't want more than I've had. I have a friend who says, “You don't really know how you feel about a book until three years after the book came out. You need that time to survive.” The whole experience of launching a book—especially if a book does well—is like you're basically disassociating a lot of the time to get through all the interviews and the press and the backlash and the trolls and whatever it creates. And then your nervous system needs time to slowly absorb what you just experienced. For me, one piece of it is like, okay, that was enough. I don't need more scrutiny on my body or my life. We don't owe the world that. And there's a weird expectation that because you made a thing or wrote a thing that people are connecting with, you somehow owe them more of yourself.SaraiAnd it's like you're saying, if you kind of step back, it's like, am I disappointing people? And I don't want to do that.VirginiaBut I'm still a person with a life and my own needs.SaraiI've always been fat. When I was a kid and growing up as a young adult, I was deeply ashamed of being fat. And I had the kind of the experience of Plum in Dietland, where I eventually experienced liberation about my body. But that trauma doesn't go away. So having everybody talk about me being fat all the time, it kind of triggers off things that you thought you had dealt with, or were at peace with. Then all of a sudden, it's like picking in a scab all the time.Even in the writers room for Dietland, I was the only fat woman in there. So that was my role. I'm the fat person. I have to tell you what it's like to be fat. And it was just always focusing on that. And that's what happens when you put out a book about that subject. I'm not really complaining about it. It was just harder than I thought it would be and it took a toll on me.VirginiaIt's a weird experience, and it's weird that it's a necessary part of getting this conversation into the mainstream.When Fat Talk came out, Aubrey Gordon texted me and was like, “I'm checking in to see how you're doing, because the book's doing well” Because, obviously, she's had lots of experience as a public fat person. And she was like, “Thanks for taking your turn in the trenches.” And that is kind of how it feels. In order to keep this conversation going around fat liberation and body liberation, we do need to keep putting this work out there. Somebody has to go to the front of the line and take all the hits for a while. And you did it at a time when not many people were getting a big stage to do that. And without a network of other people who had done it, maybe. So thank you.SaraiOh, well, you're welcome. And thank you for everything you do. Because I remember after your New York Times interview, I DMed you. I was like, “Are you okay?” Because I know what it's like to write something and the New York Times people go nuts when it's about fat. I'm like, are you all right? Because we have to look out for each other, you know?VirginiaI really appreciated it when you did that. It wasn't the most fun experience in my life. When we were talking about doing this episode, you were also saying how, as a writer you have gone on to write things that don't have anything to do with fatness. It's not like being a journalist on a beat. So I'm sure that's also challenging, that you're like, this can't always be the most interesting thing about me. That's not fair.SaraiYeah. I mean, my second novel, The Cherry Robbers—VirginiaWhich I loved!SaraiOh, thank you. That was historical. The novel took place mostly in the 1950s. I wanted something totally different. I didn't want to be in the contemporary culture. When the book came out, it got a glowing review in The New York Times, and great reviews, but people just weren't interested in talking to me anymore.I mean, part of that's is the publishing world thing, where your debut is like a debutante ball, and everybody wants to talk to you. And then once it's your second or third book, it's like, oh, yeah, we moved on from you. Sorry, I sound really jaded right now! But without that kind of a newsy hook, people just weren't interested really in talking to me anymore about the book. I think you could be tempted to say, “Okay, well, I'm going to write another book about fatness so I can get back in the media attention.” But no. As you say, other people have stepped up in their writing about it, and they're doing the work on it now. I had my time, I had my voice. I'm not saying I'll never write about being fat again. I'm sure I'll write an essay or who knows what, but I am just doing other things now. I've tried to carve out my space as a writer who is fat and who writes about all different kinds of things.VirginiaNo one needs a thin writer to keep writing about thinness. No one needs a male writer to keep writing about the experience of being a man. It's only when you have some kind of marginalization that people then expect that to be everything you write and think about. As opposed to saying, this is a person who writes and thinks about lots of different things. And happens to be this identity, and cares a lot about that identity and has thoughts about it. But every piece of work doesn't need to be defined by that.SaraiYeah. I mean, I live as a fat person. That's my reality. I'm not running away from it. It is who I am. It's inextricably linked to who I am. But I as a as a writer, as a person, I get bored easily. I want new challenges. I want to write new types of stories.In my next novel, the narrator is fat. But I only mention it once in the novel, so it's sort of like playing around with, yeah, this character is fat, but that's not really that relevant to the story that I'm telling. It's there, and it kind of comes up in other ways, but it's not the whole story. So kind of an evolution, I guess, too, of how I'm writing about fat, at least in fiction.VirginiaThat's where we need to get with representation—where every story about a fat character should not be just about their experience of fatness. That's so reductive. We need more characters that happen to be fat, that are doing other things. SaraiYeah, I think that that's the ultimate goal. I don't think we're there yet in any kind of medium. But, yeah, that would be the dream.VirginiaWe're working towards it.You were also saying that you feel like just a very different kind of writer now than when you wrote Dietland, which is a book with so much anger and fire in it. It's a gauntlet thrown. You described yourself as feeling “less fiery and more muted now,” but I also wonder if this is just being older and wiser and maybe a little more jaded— but also clearer about which mountains you're willing to die on now.SaraiI wrote Dietland in my 30s. But it was published when I was 42 because it took forever to find an agent. Then when we sold it, it took forever to come out. Publishing is quite slow. But that was the novel of my 30s. And I look back now at this anniversary, and I was so fired up. I was so passionate. I was bold and fierce and brave.Some of the things I wrote, I don't know if I would write now, if I'd be brave enough. So I look at that person who wrote Dietland, and I'm not exactly that person anymore. And it's something that's been bothering me for a while.And recently, I listened to an interview with Zadie Smith on the NPR Wildcard podcast. She and I are about the same age, 50-ish, going through all the hormonal changes of this time of life. And she was talking about her earlier books and how she thinks about herself when she was younger versus how she is now. She was talking about how now, at midlife, she feels kind of quieter inside. Her big personality has sort of retracted a little bit. And when I heard her say that, I just was blown away, because that's what I've been experiencing too. And I haven't really heard a lot of other people talking about it, and I hadn't really put it into words or myself. I think because it was upsetting to feel a bit more low key, a bit more apathetic.I'm not really an apathetic person. I've never thought of myself that way. But I kind of feel that way now, so it's a weird time in my life. And I've had women who are older say it gets better. Like, just wait, ride this out, and you're going to come out on the other side of this older and wiser and happier. But right now, I'm just kind of in this weird space where I just feel different. I'm a different person in some ways. I have the same values, but I'm a different kind of a writer, different kind of a person. I'm settling. That's where I am right now. I'm kind of in the thick of it. VirginiaI think we don't often hear this nuance from people after they do something that has the kind of impact and success that Dietland has. We often think, well that person just continues to soar and it's all the next peak and the next peak. And that's not every experience. Probably that's not most people's experiences after having a big success. It's okay that there are valleys and different paths and different twists and turns to it.My other thought is: How could you not be feeling that way right now, given what the world is? Given what it means to be a woman right now? And everything that we're up against. I think there's a some universal—maybe it's apathy, maybe it's… I don't know what it is, exactly. But this feels deeply relatable to me on a lot of levels.SaraiI think going through midlife and perimenopause, at a time when the whole world seems to be a disaster makes it a lot worse. Everybody is coming off the pandemic and Roe v Wade being overturned, and now Trump in office again. Our baseline is just really bad, you know? It's just kind of everything piled on at once.But it is true, I talked to some other women I know my age, who who've written novels in the past and have success and then can't get published anymore once they get into their 50s. You expect you're going to go on forever like you do at the beginning. And you have to deal with the publishing industry. It's a corporate industry. And there are lots of things at play that have nothing to do with whether books are good or not, or whether readers want certain books, or whatever.You start out having these expectations about how your career will go, and then you don't realize that it's, it's always a struggle. Unless you're some massive superstar writer who could have their grocery list published. But for the rest of us, it's a struggle that just kind of peaks and valleys, and that has been a kind of wake up call ten years into being a novelist, for sure.VirginiaThe industry is so complicated. I think the ageism is very real in our industry. I mean, and everywhere. I just turned 44 so I'm kind of getting into this zone that you're talking about. Perimenopause is definitely with me. It has begun. And I think a lot there is an invisibility that's starting to kick in, compared to what I experienced as a woman in my 20s or 30s being out in the world. I can, sort of slip by unnoticed a little more sometimes. And sometimes I really like that, and sometimes it makes me angry. Kind of depends on the day. And I don't even just mean male attention. I just mean the way people interact with you. I'm starting to notice some of those shifts.SaraiI think that's one of the things that's so strange about this time of life. There are a lot more adults who are younger than you all of a sudden. So all of a sudden, you've got 20 or 30 years worth of adults that are younger than you that start to see you as not important anymore.VirginiaMy kids like to remind me that Taylor Swift is 35. as if that's an entire different generation from me. That's not that much younger, guys! Okay, anyway.SaraiI mean, yeah, 35, she's getting up there. But it's kind of like you don't matter as much anymore, in a way. Like that's what society wants you to believe. That you're kind of fading. I think that's one of the things that you kind of have to push back against.And, you know, I'm Gen X. VirginiaI'm elder millennial, but I'm one year off of Gen X or something.SaraiI do think Gen X, despite all of our problems and flaws, are writing more about menopause and perimenopause and aging. And your generation will pick up that mantle and do even more with it. So I feel like, we're trying to change things at least and make it so that we're not fading away. I'm in my 50s now. I'm not going anywhere. And I'm still going to write. You're not going to silence me. It's kind of like just insisting that we're still here, we still have a voice. But, yeah, it's hard.VirginiaIt's hard, and when you're feeling that kind of personal, muted thing you were talking about and then it's getting reinforced by the cultural perceptions of being a midlife woman. Then it's like, am I going to summon up all the energy I need to push back against that? Or am I going to take some of that as, like, it's a little bit liberating. I don't have to be the young, shiny superstar reaching for the brass ring right now. It's kind of a mixed thing, I think.SaraiWith Dietland, I was idealistic and passionate and fiery. And I'm different now, but I'm not putting as much pressure on myself either. I'm not saying everything I write, I have to change the world. That's what I wanted before. And now I'm older, and I realize you're not really going to change the world. You might change a few people, and that's great. But one novel is not going to change the world. And I don't need to aim for that anymore. I want to write different things. I want to not put that kind of pressure on myself. So yeah, there's a kind of liberating part to it as well. I think when I'm not so taking myself as seriously and putting so much pressure on myself, I kind of loosened up a little bit. So that's kind of the flip side of the more negative stuff I was talking about a minute ago.VirginiaI appreciate how honest you're being about the struggle, because I just think it is deeply relatable. And then to this end of what you're working on now, we want to hear all about the next book. You have an announcement for us?SaraiYes, so last year, I sold my third novel. But we didn't want to announce it till I had all the edits done and we had the manuscript ready to go. So summer 2026, my third novel is going to be published. It's called Furious Violet, and it's a suspense novel, which is something I always wanted to do. Like a detective story.It's different from what I've written, but I do think there's a little bit of the spirit of Dietland in it, just in the voice, maybe. I guess, because The Cherry Robbers was in the 50s mostly, whereas I'm back and writing about contemporary culture.So I'm really excited about it. I've always wanted to write a book like this, and it's the most fun I've ever had writing a novel.VirginiaI love that.SaraiMy main character, is 49 almost 50, going through perimenopause. I got to write about that experience in a sort of darkly comedic way, which is a medium that I really like, like that dark comedy that Dietland had. She's a true crime writer. She's writing a book about a serial killer, but she's also the daughter of this very famous poet who is deceased, but like a giant of American poetry. This woman who has this cult following, and sort of is always a shadow over my my character's life.So she has that, but she's a true crime writer, and she kind of embraces her mediocrity. She's not a genius like her mom. She's just a true crime writer. And when the book begins, somebody starts stalking her and telling her, “You're my mother.” And she doesn't understand what's going on, because she doesn't have kids. And so it's this mystery about what does this mean, who is this person, and what do they mean? And it's all entangling all of that and all of the other aspects of her life, and how they all intersect. VirginiaI can't wait to read it. I'm riveted just hearing you talk about it.SaraiI had so much fun working on it. It was a wild ride. So thank you. I'm excited.VirginiaI hope you'll come back next summer when it comes out and talk to us about it some more. And I just have to say, I am filled with so much admiration for how you've evolved as a writer and how you like are going in. This book feels so different from Cherry Robbers feels so different from Dietland.SaraiThank you. I don't like to get bored. I want to do new things.SaraiI think publishing kind of wants to put you in a box, and I don't want to be in that box. I wanted to do something different.VirginiaIt's awesome. I can't wait to read it. I'm so excited.SaraiOh, thanks, thank you.ButterVirginiaSarai, do you have any Butter for us right now?SaraiI just came off months and months of edits, and when I'm doing that, I can't read. I can't read other people's stuff. So I don't have any book recommendations. But I'm really excited to start reading again. But I was listening to a lot of music. I often listen to music while I'm writing, but it can't have lyrics, has to be instrumental.I discovered this Canadian classical violinist named Angèle Dubeau. She plays the work of a lot of contemporary composers. And I don't know a lot about classical music. I'm not plugged into the contemporary classical music scene. But through her, I've discovered all these different composers. And she has one piece in particular called Experience. So if you're on Spotify or Apple Music or wherever, I would recommend looking this up. This piece I just absolutely love it. It's so beautiful, and I listen to it so many times. As I was editing, and then I keep listening to her work, and I don't know it just meant a lot to me during this time. So yeah, it was really exciting to discover that.VirginiaThat's incredible. It's so fun to discover an artist and realize there's more and more of their work, and you can go down the rabbit hole of everything they've done. I find that so satisfying.SaraiShe's introduced me to so many different composers, and I really love it.VirginiaThat's so cool. I'll do a music rec as well, although it's not nearly as sophisticated as that. But my seven year old and I are currently on a big kick with the Hamilton soundtrack. Obviously Hamilton, the musical, had its moment a minute ago. Like, it's been around for a while. But it stands the test of time, and it's very fun to listen to with kids. I end up having to answer a lot of strange questions, because for a seven year old, it's just a lot of things that she doesn't know, that she needs translated. So we have some very funny conversations. It's still a banger of a show and really great and fun to listen to a kid. It's our little bedtime ritual. Before we read, she's a kid who needs to really get her energy out. And we have a swing that she likes to swing on, and we play the Hamilton soundtrack and do three or four songs, and it's just like a fun end of day ritual that I'm really enjoying right now.SaraiI love that. I'm still listening to the Xanadu soundtrack or something for my childhood.VirginiaThese things, they're classics for a reason.Obviously, we want everyone to go pick up a 10th anniversary copy of Dietland!Get it if you haven't read it, or if you read it and loved it, but you've lost your original copy, you probably need another one. It's a great gift for someone else, some friend, mom, sister, whoever. Tell folks anything else about where we can find you, how we can support your work.SaraiSo I have a website, and, you know, I'm on Instagram, I'm on Blue Sky, and I do have a Facebook page I don't update very much. I do have a TikTok account that I don't really know what to do with, but I've done a few videos. So I'm out there, pretty easy to find. My next novel coming out next summer, but that's got a ways to go on that.VirginiaWell, we will keep people posted about that for sure. Thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it.SaraiThanks. It was so much fun. So thank you, Virginia.The Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, and Big Undies.The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe

Before we start the show today…Have you donated to the Me Little Me Virtual Food Pantry? No, it won't prevent any of the MAHA shenanigans we're about to discuss. But it will get low-income folks (many of whom are in eating disorder recovery) fed — and with the food of their choosing. Meaning yes, ultra processed foods that bring comfort and convenience, and yes to beloved cultural foods…and yes to trusting folks in need to know what they need.We're trying to raise $12,000 and add 50 recurring donors to their rosters by June 1. And we can only do that with your help! Thank you!You are listening to Burnt Toast! Today, my guest is Jessica Wilson, MS, RD.Jessica is a clinical dietitian and host of the podcast Making It Awkward. Her critiques of American food hysteria have been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, and other outlets, and Jessica's ultra processed food experiment received coverage in Time Magazine last fall. Jessica was last on the podcast to celebrate the release of her book, It's Always Been Ours: Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies, which explores how marginalized bodies, especially black women's bodies, are policed by society in ways that impact body autonomy and health.Jessica is one of the most incisive thinkers I know about wellness and diet culture, as well as food policy and nutrition. So I asked her to come back on the podcast today just to help us make sense of what is happening right now in public health. We're going to get into RFK. We're going to get into MAHA, we're going to get into processed foods. I know you will find this conversation both hilarious and helpful.Today's episode is free but if you value this conversation, please consider supporting our work with a paid subscription. Burnt Toast is 100% reader- and listener-supported. We literally can't do this without you.And don't forget, you can take 10 percent off It's Always Been Ours, or any book we talk about on the podcast, if you order it from the Burnt Toast Bookshop, along with a copy of Fat Talk! (This also applies if you've previously bought Fat Talk from them. Just use the code FATTALK at checkout.)The Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, and Big Undies.The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribeWelcome to Indulgence Gospel After Dark. This month we are talking about… seasonal color analysis!We'll be getting into:⭐️ The complicated legacy of Color Me Beautiful⭐️ Is color analysis a little bit racist?⭐️ Is color analysis…a diet?⭐️ What colors can Virginia wear, and why are there so many shades of taupe?To hear the whole thing, read the full transcript, and join us in the comments, you'll need to join Extra Butter, our premium subscription tier.Extra Butter costs just $99 per year. (Regular paid subscribers, the remaining value of your subscription will be deducted from that total!)Extra Butter subscribers also get access to posts like:Dating While FatWhat to do when you miss your smaller bodyIs Kids Eat In Color anti-diet?And did Virginia really get divorced over butter?And Extra Butters also get DM access and other perks. Plus Extra Butter ensures that the Burnt Toast community can always stay an ad- and sponsor-free space—which is crucial for body liberation journalism. Join us here!(Questions? Glitches? Email me all the details, and cc support@substack.com.)PS. If Extra Butter isn't the right tier for you, remember that you still get access behind almost every other paywall with a regular paid subscription.The Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, and Big Undies—subscribe for 20% off!The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

In this After Hours continuation of the Underground Lounge's sit-down with NBA legend Paul Pierce and creator Azar Farideh, the energy gets more personal, more intimate, and even more unfiltered. Picking up where Part 1 left off, Lou Williams and Spank Horton peel back deeper layers as Paul and Azar open up about how they met, their chemistry, and the real-life moments that sparked their late-night podcast Truth After Dark.Paul shares how dating, therapy, and spirituality are reshaping his views on love, manhood, and purpose. He talks about healing after fame, struggling with addiction, rediscovering his faith, and reaching a new phase in life where vulnerability is power—not weakness. Azar brings her signature wit and transparency, pushing the conversation into bold territory—everything from tantric intimacy and orgasms to gender dynamics, emotional wounds, and why some women are tired of faking it (in more ways than one).The group also reacts to Paul & Azars recent guest on their show, an energy coach teaches women how to connect to their bodies and spirit ( Amongst other things) . From papaya metaphors to post-pregnancy healing and “pierced by love” matchmaking ideas, nothing is off the table.This After Hours session is brutally honest, deeply human, and often hilarious. It's also a powerful reminder of how much men carry quietly, and how necessary these spaces are. Whether you're here for the jokes, the growth, or the raw truth, Part 2 delivers all three.

You are listening to Burnt Toast! Today, my guest is Elizabeth Ayiku. Elizabeth is a food justice organizer and founder of the Me Little Me Foundation, a nonprofit committed to advancing food equity and providing free, culturally competent support services for marginalized communities. Based in Los Angeles, Elizabeth works to dismantle the systemic barriers that affect mental health and wellbeing, emphasizing the importance of meeting basic needs first. Elizabeth's foundation draws its name from her debut feature film Me Little Me. The Me Little Me Foundation offers a free virtual food pantry for folks in need—with a focus on helping people with multiple marginalized identities, folks of color and folks in eating disorder recovery.And Burnt Toast, we have a challenge for you! We want to raise $6,000 to support the Me Little Me Foundation.If we hit that goal by June 1, Burnt Toast will match it with another $6,000 grant. You're going to hear more from Elizabeth in this episode about why this work is so important. Please share this episode widely, and donate if you can! Today's episode is free but if you value this conversation, please consider supporting our work with a paid subscription. Burnt Toast is 100% reader- and listener-supported. We literally can't do this without you.Episode 192 TranscriptElizabethSo I was born in the prairies of Canada to a Caribbean mother and West African father. I'm currently Los Angeles based. And I'm a filmmaker, a food justice organizer and a nonprofit founder.VirginiaThat is a lot of very hard jobs that you have! You sound extremely busy.ElizabethI am. It's a lot.VirginiaWell, we'll start with the film, because that's how we first got connected, when you were looking for sponsors for your really incredible film called Me Little Me. It came out in 2022, and it is available to stream on Amazon Prime and Apple TV. You were working on this for quite a long time. It was a the labor of love project for sure.ElizabethOh my goodness, 100 percent. It's based on my own lived experience. So, in 2009 I went to treatment for eating disorder recovery. I went to IOP—an intensive outpatient program—and I was also working full time while I did it.Being in eating disorder treatment became this kind of double life, and this big secret I had to hide. Because life couldn't stop, you know? And I guess that's something that I just never saw portrayed in any mainstream media, film, TV. It was always the person checked into inpatient. They had unlimited resources.VirginiaThousands and thousands of dollars per day for treatment.ElizabethAnd no mention of where this money was coming from. It was just this really nicely packaged perception of what recovery is. And I was just waiting and waiting to see something that had any semblance of what I'd gone through. And I just couldn't wait anymore! One day, I was like, “Okay, they're not doing it. I'm going to have to be the one to make it.” And that's what I did.Like you said, it was a labor of love. This is an indie film, 100 percent. We didn't have a studio backing us or anything like that. I just literally went to as many organizations as I could, and was like, “Look, I'm trying to make this. Can we have some money?” And it took a long time. We started shooting maybe the end of 2018 and 2019, before the pandemic. We started shooting principal photography, just getting the shots in. We ran out of money multiple times. There were so many challenges. So when I reached out to you, I was looking for finishing funds.I took a shot and submitted to South by Southwest as my work in progress. That means the sound wasn't done, the color wasn't finalized. It was 2021, by this time. And I was like, “You know what? I'm just going to shoot my shot and say I did it.” I was 100 percent sure nothing was going to come of it. But just to say that I did it. So end of 2021 I submitted and January 2022 is when they told me we were accepted. Still, I have to remind myself—I'm like, Oh my gosh, that happened.VirginiaYeah, you did it! You did the thing.ElizabethI did the thing! And then there were a whole bunch of other expenses that came with that. They needed a digital cinema package as a way to show the movie professionally, which was like a minimum $1500+. Plus, it still wasn't finished. So I just needed someone to do a quick color and sound pass. Because, my God, I couldn't just show the the work in progress. So we just did a quick, rough color and sound pass. And I had to hire someone to do that.I was grasping at straws. So when I reached out to you, I was just like, “This is what's happening. This is what the my need is. Any help would be so so appreciated,” and you were like, absolutely, let's do this.VirginiaThe story really resonated with me. As a journalist who's written about eating disorder recovery for two decades now, I'm very aware of that mainstream narrative that you were talking about and just how many people it doesn't represent. There is this whole eating disorder industrial complex that's built to sell a certain kind of recovery and center a certain thin, white girl narrative. And it just perpetually frustrates me, because everybody I know, whether personally in my own life, or people I've interviewed for work who has gone through recovery, is like, “Yeah, it doesn't look anything like that.”ElizabethNope. Not even a little bit.VirginiaAnd we're doing such a disservice to people! So the fact that you were going to tell this much more complex story, centering a Black woman—I was like, yes, thank you so much. ElizabethWhat you described is what I was up against, just this, all of those things. Trying to sell that story to the public, and if that's all people are offered, that's that's what they think the reality is.VirginiaAnd then that just pushes recovery so much further out of reach for people who wouldn't have access to that kind of treatment. Meaning the expensive inpatient treatment options, which also aren't even necessarily the best treatment! It doesn't work for everybody! Okay. We could have a whole other show about that.ElizabethWe really could. VirginiaThe point is, the film's incredible. It's out. I want everyone to go stream it now that they can. And what we really want to talk about today is how working on that film then led you to launch the Me Little Me Foundation.ElizabethWhile I was working on finishing the film, it was the middle of the pandemic. It was a hard time. The racial uprisings were happening all around us, and almost everyone I knew was traumatized by the world they were witnessing. And that combination — There was so much need, and people in my community and people I didn't know, people online were like. “I need resources, I need assistance, but I don't know where to turn.” It was too much to just ignore, you know? So that the subject matter of the film, plus the world that was happening at the time—I just knew there needed to be something in place that was different than the current resources out there.So I came up with the idea for a virtual food pantry where folks are approved up to a certain amount. They make a list of what they need. I shop for them online from a local grocery store that offers delivery, and the groceries are shipped to them for free. So you don't need to have a vehicle, you don't need to live in the correct zip code to get to the food pantry—because that's a thing. And you also get to choose how you want to nourish yourself, because that was important to me, too. Because there's dignity in being able to choose.VirginiaYes, and not just being handed a bag of food like, “This is what you get.”ElizabethYeah. “Be grateful, now move along.”So I wanted to help with the trauma, and the lack of resources. Cultural needs aren't taken into account at any food pantry I've ever used. I've been to so many pantries in my life, and it's a lot of white foods. Like, I don't know how else to describe them. And when you're having mental health issues because of trauma, because of the world around us, for whatever reason, just because you're struggling to make it, your cultural foods can be so comforting. They can just be so so comforting, and just what you need. And I just wanted to take that into consideration. So that's why I set it up the way I did, where folks tell me what they need, and that's what they get.VirginiaThere's such dignity in that, and empowerment for people. I think about the power of choice all the time, even just at the level of feeding my own kids. The idea that I would know what someone else needs to eat on any given day seems wild? I don't know what you're hungry for! I don't know what what you need right now. You know what you need right now. The fact that so many of our aid systems are not set up to honor that is a huge problem. So I love that you built that into into how you're doing this.You're focusing on folks of color who need assistance, and you're also focusing on folks in eating disorder recovery.ElizabethYeah, so basically folks who hold multiple marginalized identities are really who we serve the most. That's just how it honestly just started happening because of the people I'm connected with onlin,e and the places I was advertising this pantry. So many folks in recovery struggle with food security. Because the recovery models we were talking about earlier really emphasize “You need to always have food available.” You need to have snacks. So Recovery has been hard for them because that. Recovery has been hard for me because of that. I don't always have a cupboard full of snacks and multiple choices even though that's something in recovery that we're told to do. I'm laughing because they say, “Just make sure you fill your pantry.” Like everyone has a pantry! They're like, “fill your pantry with all the food you can.”VirginiaFirst, we need to get a pantry.ElizabethNumber one.VirginiaWhen does that get delivered?ElizabethExactly! So there are so many people in the recovery community telling us, “Oh my goodness, this is what I needed. Like, thank you so much. It's impossible to keep myself nourished without this assistance, this has been amazing.”Coming from that world, I couldn't have asked for a better outcome. It's beyond hard to recover in this world we're living in without assistance. So maybe 65 percent of who we serve are actively in recovery or currently have an eating disorder.And there is also a large population of folks with disabilities. People who are mobility impaired, or even young people and youth who don't have a car to get somewhere. There are so many folks with multiple marginalized identities who rely on us. It's beyond what I even thought.VirginiaAre you focusing on a particular geographic area?ElizabethGood question. It's nationwide. Because it's virtual—that's another thing I wanted to not be a barrier. If you can apply online, if you have access to computer at work—I'm trying for accessibility purposes to have another way to apply as well, but as of now, you apply online, and you can be anywhere. As long as you live somewhere that has a local grocery store that delivers, then you can use our services.VirginiaThat's really, really great. So as you're working in this food justice space… what you're doing is meeting an immediate critical need. People need to eat today. People are working on their recovery, they need access to food. And the reason this need is so dire is because of many larger structural failings in our systems. So how do you think about like, “Okay, I'm trying to put out this immediate fire. But we need so much larger change as well.” How do you kind of hold that together?ElizabethSometimes it does make me sad, because I'm like, “Oh, is this just a band aid for something systemic.” But I believe that what we're doing can eventually be just the way folks are given the resources they need. It doesn't need to be what we've always had. Why can't you just pick? Why does it have to be food that might not be good anymore? Expiring, not fresh, food that's offered? Why is that the only thing that we're saying is acceptable? So I'm really trying to get the word out that, hey, we're doing something that's working. And yes, it's for folks who are facing food insecurity now but you know, all these organizations that have these elaborate setups where they're pre-boxing things, you can do it a different way.VirginiaSo you're creating a new model that hopefully other organizations will replicate.ElizabethAbsolutely.VirginiaAs your organization continues to grow, this is something you can scale up, because of the way you've designed it. You're helping connect people to their local grocery store. This isn't you needing to build some whole infrastructure of warehouses, right?ElizabethExactly. That's eliminated. We don't have to pay rents to store a bunch of boxed items. I don't think people are looking at things like that with the current systems that are in place.VirginiaAnd obviously, it would be amazing if programs like SNAP and welfare were providing more resources for folks. But given the current political climate, we're going to be lucky to hold onto any social safety net we have left. ElizabethLike, any. And that's the same how I was saying earlier. Like, middle of pandemic, people were just so traumatized. People were just kind of numb. And like, “I don't know what to do, I need food to eat, though.” I'm seeing it now again, like this year the same. I'm like, whoa. This is history repeating.VirginiaI think people are feeling a lot of the same panic, embarrassment, and uncertainty about what's happening next. Everything is feeling extremely unstable.ElizabethAbsolutely.VirginiaSo making sure people have a way to feed themselves today—it's something we can do. There is all this bigger change that needs to happen, and we can contribute to that however we can. But this kind of direct aid to people getting fed today is something that we can do, and really is crucial right now. We can't do the rest if people aren't eating. This is the starting point.I mean, I've worked on pieces about childhood hunger over the years, and I know you're focusing more on adults, but it blows my mind how often organizations that work on hunger have to show research to convince people that kids can't learn if they're hungry. And it's just like, why did we need to have to do a study? Why did you need data?ElizabethYes, they need to see the numbers. It's fascinating to me. When I tell folks stuff based on my lived experience of going to pantries, not having enough, or not having access in the area. They're like, “Oh, okay, we just need you to type that all up, and we need to see where you got that data.” And I'm just like…where I got that data? From my life! And so many people I know! That blows my mind, the amount of data folks are requesting when it comes to food insecurity.VirginiaWe shouldn't have to explain it or justify it. It should just be obvious that people need enough food to eat. That's the baseline.So Burnt Toast, we have a mission!Our goal is to raise $6,000 by June 1 for the Me Little Me Foundation to support the virtual free food pantry project. When we reach that $6,000 goal, Burnt Toast (the newsletter and podcast) will match that with another $6,000. So we have a chance to raise $12,000 for Me Little Me to help them make a big push on this work.Elizabeth, tell us a little bit about what those funds will mean for your organization. What are we going to help you do? And then, of course, what do folks need to do to donate?ElizabethOh, my goodness. It would just help us so immensely. Just to break it down: $100 worth of groceries means folks can make a minimum of 20 home cooked meals. So if we raise $6,000 that's literally 1200 home cooked meals that we could provide.VirginiaThat's awesome.ElizabethIt would help us so much, because we always have more applications than the resources. It's crushing. Applications will be open for 24 hours and we have to shut them down because we're just so overwhelmed. And say, “I'm so sorry. Please try back next quarter.” I'm trying to raise more money. I'm not going to let you all down. So it would help us immensely. I'm trying to play it cool. This is my cool and collected voice, but I'm sort of squealing inside.VirginiaWell, I think what you're doing is so important. And we have over 65,000 people on the Burnt Toast list! This is not a big ask for anyone. A few bucks will cover one of these meals that we're trying to raise money for. If you have 100 bucks, great! That's 20 meals you've covered. This is the kind of community effort that is giving me hope right now, that's making me feel like the entire world's not falling off a cliff. We can get this done. And I think actually, we can exceed this goal.The second piece of our challenge is: If you're able, please become a monthly donor! Whether that's $5 a month or $100 a month—which would buy 20 meals a month! Do it! We are setting a goal to add 25 new recurring donors to the Me Little Me rosters. Burnt Toast is already a recurring donor, but we want 25 of you to sign up to be a recurring donors, too. So take whatever gift you were going to give and divide it by 12; break it up monthly and donate that. Because recurring donations are really critical to organizations like this. Elizabeth, you can speak a little bit to why that matters so much.ElizabethBecause the need is ongoing. We're inundated every time we open the pantry, and the recurring donations will help us reach our ultimate goal of being able to see real systemic change and have this just be something that's in place. So of course, yes, please if you're able to just give a few dollars we would love that. But if you can support us on a monthly basis in any capacity, it'll just be such a big weight off of the shoulders of so many folks who rely on these services.VirginiaRecurring donations help nonprofits plan. It's money they can rely on and actually look ahead and not just be scrambling. ElizabethScramble—that's the perfect word. I get a little stressed every time we open the pantry.VirginiaWell, I am really excited. I really appreciate you reaching out and giving us this opportunity to support what you're doing. I think it's so meaningful and so important. And, Burnt Toast, let's get it done. This section contains affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Burnt Toast when you shop our links! ButterElizabethSomething I discovered, I think by accident, is painting on burlap—like the material that they make sacks out of. It's so random. They sell it at craft stores. And there was just some on sale. So I have just regular paints at home from ages ago that I just didn't want to throw away. And, yeah, I just started. I stuck some burlap on a piece of wood, and just started painting it. And it just was so soothing. Just the surface of it, the texture, just painting over the burlap. And I was like, oh my gosh. Do people know about this?VirginiaI did not! This is amazing.ElizabethSo not painting on canvas, but on burlap material. Even if you make a mistake, it still looks nice. VirginiaWhat kind of paint are you using?ElizabethIt was literally paint that you would get at a hardware store, like if you were painting a wall in your house. They have specific fabric paint—because I'm going down a rabbit hole with it now—but that works just fine. Like, if you go to a hardware store and get a sample size, that's what I had. I had a bunch of little samples. so I just started painting words on the burlap and making little gift things. And it was just so soothing. So that's just a really random activity.VirginiaThat's a great Butter. Thank you. I've been noticing a little trend with guests lately, where a lot of the Butters are people are really drawn to something that gets them off their phone, off the computer, kind of like an absorbing project. Absorbing projects have been a trend in butters, and I am a big fan. I'm a big jigsaw puzzle person and gardener. Like these tactile things that get us out of our heads a little bit are just great.ElizabethOh, wonderful. Oh, I'm so glad to hear that.VirginiaMy Butter is going to be somewhat related, and it's a repeat Butter. I've recommended it before, but we have this great bird feeder. It's called the Bird Buddy, and it has a camera in it, so it takes pictures of the birds for you and sends them to your phone. It's not cheap, but they do go on sale from time to time. I will link to it. But anyway, we moved the feeders to a new part of the garden, and we hung up our hummingbird feeder and another type of feeder—and just all of the birds that are coming now are making me so happy.ElizabethI can imagine!VirginiaI'm That Mom now. I'm like, “Guys, there are more goldfinches! Have you seen the goldfinches??” And one of my kids loves birds, and one of them doesn't care. So I'm being a little excessive, and they're like, okay, yes, we see. But I think it's the same thing of — I'm needing beauty that's not in the Internet. That's taking me away. And they're so soothing to watch. So bird feeders, specifically, the camera one is really fun, but bird feeders in general, is my Butter today.ElizabethOh, now I want to see the photos of the birds.VirginiaOh, I'll send you some. It's pretty exciting. Elizabeth, thank you so much. Let's just remind everyone again, how to support you, how to donate to Me Little Me. ElizabethYou can go to MeLittleMeFoundation.org and there's a donate page where you can make a one time donation or become a recurring donor. You can get updates on our Instagram. You can also get updates about my film at Me Little Me Film on Instagram.The Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, and Big Undies.The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe

In this revealing episode of the Underground Lounge, NBA Hall of Famer Paul Pierce and podcast co-host Azar Farideh pull up for an unfiltered conversation that hits deep—and takes wild turns. Hosted by Lou Williams and Spank Horton, the episode kicks off with Paul reflecting on his championship legacy with the Celtics, the rise of the Big Three, and his genuine brotherhood with Tony Allen and Kevin Garnett. But it quickly goes beyond basketball.Paul opens up about his post-retirement struggles—mental health battles, therapy, and adjusting to “real life” after the spotlight. He shares hard truths about fame, fatherhood, divorce, and navigating public controversy. Azar brings vulnerability and humor to the mix, recounting her powerful weight loss journey after surviving a traumatic robbery and deep depression. Together, they share how their friendship—and now co-hosting their podcast Truth After Dark, was born from transparency and shared healing.From Paul addressing the “wheelchair game” conspiracy to Azar explaining why love doesn't need paperwork, the energy is raw, hilarious, and unexpectedly emotional. The group dives into marriage, masculinity, growth, and even gross habits they'd make socially acceptable.With plenty of jokes, shots, and a few heartfelt “f**k yous” to wrap it all up, this episode is more than entertainment, it's therapy disguised as comedy.And this is just Part 1. Catch the continuation of this wild and unfiltered conversation with Paul Pierce in the next After Hours episode of the Underground Lounge.

You are listening to Burnt Toast!Today, my guest is Jessica Slice, a disabled mom and author of the brilliant new book, Unfit Parent: A Disabled Mother Challenges an Inaccessible World.Jessica is also the co-author of Dateable: Swiping Right, Hooking Up, and Settling Down While Chronically Ill and Disabled, and This Is How We Play: A Celebration of Disability and Adaptation, as well as the forthcoming This Is How We Talk and We Belong. She has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Alice Wong's bestselling Disability Visibility and more.As Jessica puts it, she originally wrote this book for disabled parents because their stories are not told or centered. But Jessica soon realized she was writing a book for all parents, because becoming a parent is its own kind of experience with disability.There are so many important intersections between disability, justice and fat liberation. One that I think about a lot is how both groups come up against the question: Don't we owe it to our kids to be healthy? Jessica's perspective on these issues is expansive, inclusive and enlightening. I know you will get so much out of this conversation and from reading unfit parent.You can take 10 percent off Unfit Parent, or any book we talk about on the podcast, if you order it from the Burnt Toast Bookshop, along with a copy of Fat Talk! (This also applies if you've previously bought Fat Talk from them. Just use the code FATTALK at checkout.)PS. If you enjoy today's conversation, please tap the heart on this post — likes are one of the biggest drivers of traffic from Substack's Notes, so that's a super easy, free way to support the show!Follow Jessica: Jessicaslice.com. I'm on Instagram @JessicaSlice, I have a Substack where I send monthly notes about Disabled Parenting, and then usually try to get people to read whatever poem I'm fixated on that month.The Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, and Big Undies.The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe

No longer a dirty little secret, romance readers are flocking to dedicated book boutiques and publicly embracing their literary kinks. Smut connoisseur Farideh (who read 380 racy novels last year) and romance authors Jennifer L. Armentrout and Victoria Koops talk about the craft and the desire for happy endings. 

Thinning hair got you down? You're not alone—and we've got the fix.Join Dr. Durst and Farideh in today's episode as we tackle the BIG question:“How do I actually get my hair to GROW back?!”We're getting into: ✨ What PRF is and why it works

Thinning hair got you down? You're not alone—and we've got the fix.Join Dr. Durst and Farideh in today's episode as we tackle the BIG question:“How do I actually get my hair to GROW back?!”We're getting into: ✨ What PRF is and why it works

You're listening to Burnt Toast!We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay, and it's time for your March Indulgence Gospel!Indulgence Gospel episodes are usually only for paid subscribers but we're releasing this one for free! If you like it, you can get even more Virginia by becoming a paid Burnt Toast subscriber — and then you'll get even more Corinne, because paid Burnt Toasties can take 20% off their Big Undies subscription!Today we're chatting about:⭐️ Navigating fitness spaces designed for smaller bodies!⭐️ Feelings about hair color!⭐️ Do Virginia and Corinne like sports now?

You're listening to Burnt Toast!I'm Virginia Sole-Smith, and today my guest is Amy Palanjian.Amy is my work wife and best friend of over 20 years. She's also the creator of Yummy Toddler Food and author of the nationally bestselling cookbook Dinnertime SOS: 100 Sanity-Saving Meals Parents and Kids of All Ages Will Actually Want to Eat.Amy joined me last month at Split Rock Books to celebrate the launch of FAT TALK in paperback. They also host the Burnt Toast Bookshop for us, and are forever the place to get my books signed and personalized however you like!So we talked about the book, of course, but we also got into how family dinners have changed for us post-divorce, why cooking with kids is terrible, and then Amy outed my (not so) secret love of protein powder.

Today Virginia is chatting with Brianna Campos. Bri is a licensed professional counselor and body image coach who works with folks recovering from eating disorders, and finding body acceptance through grief. You may know Bri from Instagram, or from her newsletter, Body Image with Bri.Bri and I talk about why this concept of body grief is so important—and yet so often overlooked in this work. And she shares how doing her own body grief work has led her to have a happier relationship with her body and to start dating again—confidently and with a lot of joy as a superfat person. If you find today's episode valuable, please consider supporting our work with a paid subscription!Guest interviews are always free on Burnt Toast, but paid subscriptions enable us to pay guests for their time, labor and expertise. (This is extremely rare in the world of podcasting, but key to centering marginalized voices!)To tell us YOUR thoughts, and to get all of the links and resources mentioned in this episode, as well as a complete transcript, visit our show page.If you want more conversations like this one, please rate and review us in your podcast player! And become a paid Burnt Toast subscriber — subscriptions are just $7 per month! —to get all of Virginia's reporting and bonus subscriber-only episodes. And don't forget to check out our Burnt Toast Podcast Bonus Content! Disclaimer: You're listening to this episode because you value my input as a journalist who reports on these issues and therefore has a lot of informed opinions. Neither my guest today nor I are healthcare providers, and this conversation is not meant to substitute for medical or therapeutic advice.FAT TALK is out in paperback! Order your signed copy from Virginia's favorite independent bookstore, Split Rock Books (they ship anywhere in the US!). Or order it from your independent bookstore, or from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, or Kobo or anywhere else you like to buy books. You can also order the audio book from Libro.fm or Audible.CREDITSThe Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay. Follow Virginia on Instagram, Follow Corinne  @SellTradePlus, an Instagram account where you can buy and sell plus size clothing and subscribe to Big Undies.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.comYou're listening to Burnt Toast!We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay, and it's time for your February Indulgence Gospel.Today we're updating you on our great experiment: How did we do with 30 days of NO AMAZON? We're going to get into:⭐️ Why did we quit Amazon in the first place?⭐️ Is quitting Amazon a diet—or at least, diet culture-adjacent?⭐️ What was our biggest fail?⭐️ Will we keep going???To hear the full story, you'll need to be a paid Burnt Toast subscriber. Subscriptions are $7 per month or $70 for the year.To get all of the links and resources mentioned in this episode, as well as a complete transcript, visit our show page.Also, don't forget to order Fat Talk: Parenting In the Age of Diet Culture! Get your signed copy now from Split Rock Books (they ship anywhere in the USA). You can also order it from your independent bookstore, or from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, Kobo or anywhere you like to buy books. (Or get the UK edition or the audiobook!) Disclaimer: Virginia and Corinne are humans with a lot of informed opinions. They are not nutritionists, therapists, doctors, or any kind of healthcare providers. The conversation you're about to hear and all of the advice and opinions they give are just for entertainment, information, and education purposes only. None of this is a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice.CREDITSThe Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, and Big Undies—subscribe for 20% off! The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.comYou're listening to Burnt Toast!We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay, and it's time for your January Indulgence Gospel.It's time for another mailbag episode, so we'll be answering questions like:⭐️ Is it anti-fatness to care that your partner eats faster than you?⭐️ What ultra processed foods can we not live without?⭐️ What should you do when your friend starts weight loss drugs for “wardrobe” reasons?⭐️ Did Virginia buy the air fryer and if so, what is she air frying?To hear our answers, you'll need to be a paid Burnt Toast subscriber. Subscriptions are $7 per month or $70 for the year.If you're already a paid subscriber, you can add on a subscription to Big Undies, Corinne's newsletter about clothes, for 20% off.To get all of the links and resources mentioned in this episode, as well as a complete transcript, visit our show page.Also, don't forget to order Fat Talk: Parenting In the Age of Diet Culture! Get your signed copy now from Split Rock Books (they ship anywhere in the USA). You can also order it from your independent bookstore, or from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, Kobo or anywhere you like to buy books. (Or get the UK edition or the audiobook!) Disclaimer: Virginia and Corinne are humans with a lot of informed opinions. They are not nutritionists, therapists, doctors, or any kind of healthcare providers. The conversation you're about to hear and all of the advice and opinions they give are just for entertainment, information, and education purposes only. None of this is a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice.PS. You can always listen to our episodes right here in your email, where you'll also receive full transcripts (edited and condensed for clarity). But please also follow us in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and/or Pocket Casts!This episode contains affiliate links. Shopping our links is a great way to support Burnt Toast! You'll find all of the links aggregated here.The Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, and Big Undies—subscribe for 20% off!The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

Who else remembers their first day on the job? Dr. Durst and Farideh take you behind the scenes of medicine with raw, hilarious stories from their early careers.

Who else remembers their first day on the job? Dr. Durst and Farideh take you behind the scenes of medicine with raw, hilarious stories from their early careers.

You're listening to Burnt Toast!We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay, and today we're getting into our Ins and Outs for 2025.Most Indulgence Gospel episodes are paywalled, but we're releasing today's conversation for free as a January-has-been-a-lot-aleady treat!If you enjoy this conversation, please consider supporting our work with a paid subscription.You can also subscribe to Corinne's newsletter, Big Undies, for 20% off using this special link. To get all of the links and resources mentioned in this episode, as well as a complete transcript, visit our show page.Also, don't forget to order Fat Talk: Parenting In the Age of Diet Culture! Get your signed copy now from Split Rock Books (they ship anywhere in the USA). You can also order it from your independent bookstore, or from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, Kobo or anywhere you like to buy books. (Or get the UK edition or the audiobook!) Disclaimer: Virginia and Corinne are humans with a lot of informed opinions. They are not nutritionists, therapists, doctors, or any kind of healthcare providers. The conversation you're about to hear and all of the advice and opinions they give are just for entertainment, information, and education purposes only. None of this is a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice.The Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, and Big Undies—subscribe for 20% off!The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe

Saskatoon is a hub of creativity and culture, but is also grappling with the same problems roiling other Canadian cities. In November, Matt Galloway hosted a special show at a packed Broadway Theatre to meet the people that make life great in the Paris of the Prairies.First up, singer-songwriter Jeffery Straker performs some music from his new album Great Big Sky, and shares how he recently found out he has a new fan: King Charles III.Then, literary power couple Yann Martel and Alice Kuipers only intended to live and work in Saskatoon for a year, but they fell in love with the “land of living skies” — and never left.Plus, Saskatoon's new Mayor Cynthia Block shares how she's going to tackle a growing housing and homelessness crisis, and what it means to be the city's first female mayor.Also, social media comedy star Farideh lands some laughs about women's health and being a (sometimes under-appreciated) mother. And Indigenous-led tourism is inviting the world to Saskatchewan, telling the province's stories through the eyes of Indigenous communities. Jenni Lessard and Honey Constant-Inglis tell us about the power and understanding that can come from sharing a story — and a meal.

You're listening to Burnt Toast!We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay, and we're dropping in today with your Burnt Toast Podcast Year In Review.Don't forget! Burnt Toast subscriptions are 20% off right now — but that deal ends tomorrow night. Don't miss it!And if you haven't donated to our NAAFA fundraiser yet, we could really use your help funding fat.You can always listen to our episodes right here in your email, where you'll also receive full transcripts (edited and condensed for clarity). But please also follow us in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and/or Pocket Casts!The Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, and Big Undies—subscribe for 20% off!The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.comIt's time for your December Indulgence Gospel. Today's episode is both holiday and sex-themed, which seems right! We're getting into:️ How diet culture and anti-fatness show up during the holiday season. Comments from relatives! Fitness equipment as gifts! Matching family PJs! Etc.️ Our NEW Ask Corinne segment, where Corinne answers your fat sex and dating questions, like: What do you do when certain positions just don't work for your body?To hear the whole conversation or read the whole transcript, you'll need to become a paid Burnt Toast subscriber. Subscribe here.If you are already a paid subscriber, you'll have this entire episode in your podcast feed and access to the entire transcript in your inbox and on the Burnt Toast Substack. You can also subscribe to Corinne's newsletter, Big Undies, for 20% off using this special link. To get all of the links and resources mentioned in this episode, as well as a complete transcript, visit our show page.Also, don't forget to order Fat Talk: Parenting In the Age of Diet Culture! Get your signed copy now from Split Rock Books (they ship anywhere in the USA). You can also order it from your independent bookstore, or from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, Kobo or anywhere you like to buy books. (Or get the UK edition or the audiobook!) Disclaimer: Virginia and Corinne are humans with a lot of informed opinions. They are not nutritionists, therapists, doctors, or any kind of healthcare providers. The conversation you're about to hear and all of the advice and opinions they give are just for entertainment, information, and education purposes only. None of this is a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice.CREDITSThe Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, and Big Undies—subscribe for 20% off! The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribeWelcome to Indulgence Gospel After Dark! It's time for your December Extra Butter! Today, we're talking about bellies—and how we've been taught to dress them. You need this conversation if you have feelings about:SpanxHorizontal stripesThe Millennial structured camisole era + long, flowy topsAlways tucking in your shirt/never tucking in your shirtAnd so much more.If you are already an Extra Butter subscriber, you'll have this entire episode in your podcast feed and access to the entire transcript in your inbox and on the Burnt Toast Substack. To get all of the links and resources mentioned in this episode, as well as a complete transcript, visit our show page.Otherwise, to hear the whole conversation or read the whole transcript, you'll need to join Extra Butter. It's just $99 per year, and is the hands down best way to keep Burnt Toast an ad- and sponsor-free space. PS. Don't forget to order Fat Talk: Parenting In the Age of Diet Culture! Get your signed copy now from Split Rock Books (they ship anywhere in the USA). You can also order it from your independent bookstore, or from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, Kobo or anywhere you like to buy books. (Or get the UK edition or the audiobook!) Disclaimer: Virginia and Corinne are humans with a lot of informed opinions. They are not nutritionists, therapists, doctors, or any kind of healthcare providers. The conversation you're about to hear and all of the advice and opinions they give are just for entertainment, information, and education purposes only. None of this is a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice.CREDITSThe Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus and Big Undies—subscribe for 20% off.The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

Some of Saskatoon's biggest comedy stars share where they find their funny. Dakota Ray Hebert looks back at growing up in a trailer park for her new comedy album Trailer Treasure; and viral social media star Farideh lands some laughs about women's health and being a (sometimes under-appreciated) mother. 

Saskatoon punches above its weight as a hub of creativity and culture, but is also grappling with the same problems roiling other Canadian cities. Matt Galloway hosts a special show at a packed Broadway Theatre to meet the people that make life great in the Paris of the Prairies.First up, singer-songwriter Jeffery Straker performs some music from his new album Great Big Sky, and shares how he recently found out he has a new fan: King Charles III.Then, literary power couple Yann Martel and Alice Kuipers only intended to live and work in Saskatoon for a year, but they fell in love with the “land of living skies” — and never left.Plus, Saskatoon's new Mayor Cynthia Block shares how she's going to tackle a growing housing and homelessness crisis, and what it means to be the city's first female mayor.Also, some of Saskatoon's biggest comedy stars share where they find their funny. Dakota Ray Hebert looks back at growing up in a trailer park for her new comedy album Trailer Treasure; and viral social media star Farideh lands some laughs about women's health and being a (sometimes under-appreciated) mother. And Indigenous-led tourism is inviting the world to Saskatchewan, telling the story of this place through a distinctly Indigenous lens. Jenni Lessard and Honey Constant-Inglis tell us about the power and understanding that can come from sharing a story — and a meal.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.comIt's time for your November Indulgence Gospel. Today, we're doing an old fashioned mailbag episode for you.We are going to chat about grocery shopping.We're going to talk about what to do if you are “not fat enough” to be in a fat space.We are going to talk about how to get divorced.We're going to talk about a mom who wants to stop her adult daughter from getting diabetes.And we're both going to dig into our phones and face up to…just how much time we spend on them and why.To hear the whole conversation or read the whole transcript, you'll need to become a paid Burnt Toast subscriber. Subscribe here.If you are already a paid subscriber, you'll have this entire episode in your podcast feed and access to the entire transcript in your inbox and on the Burnt Toast Substack. You can also subscribe to Corinne's newsletter, Big Undies, for 20% off using this special link. To get all of the links and resources mentioned in this episode, as well as a complete transcript, visit our show page.Also, don't forget to order Fat Talk: Parenting In the Age of Diet Culture! Get your signed copy now from Split Rock Books (they ship anywhere in the USA). You can also order it from your independent bookstore, or from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, Kobo or anywhere you like to buy books. (Or get the UK edition or the audiobook!) Disclaimer: Virginia and Corinne are humans with a lot of informed opinions. They are not nutritionists, therapists, doctors, or any kind of healthcare providers. The conversation you're about to hear and all of the advice and opinions they give are just for entertainment, information, and education purposes only. None of this is a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice.CREDITSThe Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, and Big Undies—subscribe for 20% off! The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribeWelcome to Indulgence Gospel After Dark! It's time for your November Extra Butter! This month we're talking about Emily Oster—and her evolving views on kids, weight and health.We recorded this before the election. But as we all continue to grapple with how America slid to the right, the story of a public health advocate and scholar who is now aligned with conservative media feels especially timely. That said, we also want to hold space for how much Emily's work has meant to so many of us (including Virginia!).If you are already an Extra Butter subscriber, you'll have this entire episode in your podcast feed and access to the entire transcript in your inbox and on the Burnt Toast Substack. To get all of the links and resources mentioned in this episode, as well as a complete transcript, visit our show page.Otherwise, to hear the whole conversation or read the whole transcript, you'll need to join Extra Butter. It's just $99 per year, and is the hands down best way to keep Burnt Toast an ad- and sponsor-free space. PS. Don't forget to order Fat Talk: Parenting In the Age of Diet Culture! Get your signed copy now from Split Rock Books (they ship anywhere in the USA). You can also order it from your independent bookstore, or from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, Kobo or anywhere you like to buy books. (Or get the UK edition or the audiobook!) Disclaimer: Virginia and Corinne are humans with a lot of informed opinions. They are not nutritionists, therapists, doctors, or any kind of healthcare providers. The conversation you're about to hear and all of the advice and opinions they give are just for entertainment, information, and education purposes only. None of this is a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice.CREDITSThe Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus and Big Undies—subscribe for 20% off.The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

Today Virginia is chatting withMara Gordon, MD.Dr. Gordon is a family physician on the faculty of Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, as well as a writer, journalist, and contributor to NPR. Dr. Gordon also writes Chief Complaint, about her efforts to make medicine more fat friendly, and help her patients and herself explore body liberation and radical bodily autonomy.In our conversation today, Dr. Gordon and I get into why the healthcare system is set up the way it is, and what we can do to advocate for more weight-inclusive care—even when we're not seeing weight-inclusive doctors.She also answers your questions about common weight-linked health conditions like acid reflux, sleep apnea, and prediabetes.To tell us YOUR thoughts, and to get all of the links and resources mentioned in this episode, as well as a complete transcript, visit our show page.If you want more conversations like this one, please rate and review us in your podcast player! And become a paid Burnt Toast subscriber — subscriptions are just $7 per month! —to get all of Virginia's reporting and bonus subscriber-only episodes. And don't forget to check out our Burnt Toast Podcast Bonus Content! Disclaimer: You're listening to this episode because you value my input as a journalist who reports on these issues and therefore has a lot of informed opinions. Neither my guest today nor I are healthcare providers, and this conversation is not meant to substitute for medical or therapeutic advice.FAT TALK is out! Order your signed copy from Virginia's favorite independent bookstore, Split Rock Books (they ship anywhere in the US!). Or order it from your independent bookstore, or from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, or Kobo or anywhere else you like to buy books. You can also order the audio book from Libro.fm or Audible.CREDITSThe Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay. Follow Virginia on Instagram, Follow Corinne  @SellTradePlus, an Instagram account where you can buy and sell plus size clothing and subscribe to Big Undies.The Burnt Toast logo is by Farideh.Our theme music is by Jeff Bailey and Chris Maxwell.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe

Today Virginia is chatting with Amy Palanjian. You probably already know Amy as Yummy Toddler Food, which is her blog/Instagram/Tiktok. She's also the bestselling author of Dinnertime SOS, and writes a great bi-weekly newsletter called YTF Community, which comes with super helpful meal plans. Some of you may have listened to our old podcast, Comfort Food, or maybe you've just heard Amy on her previous appearances on Burnt Toast (one, two and three). But we realized that Amy hasn't been on the pod since we both got divorced! Obviously a lot in our lives has changed, but specifically, a lot has changed in terms of how we feed our people and how we feed ourselves.So this is an episode about single mom dinner. I think you'll enjoy it.To tell us YOUR thoughts, and to get all of the links and resources mentioned in this episode, as well as a complete transcript, visit our show page. If you want more conversations like this one, please rate and review us in your podcast player! And become a paid Burnt Toast subscriber — subscriptions are just $7 per month! —to get all of Virginia's reporting and bonus subscriber-only episodes. And don't forget to check out our Burnt Toast Podcast Bonus Content! Disclaimer: You're listening to this episode because you value my input as a journalist who reports on these issues and therefore has a lot of informed opinions. Neither my guest today nor I are healthcare providers, and this conversation is not meant to substitute for medical or therapeutic advice.FAT TALK is out! Order your signed copy from Virginia's favorite independent bookstore, Split Rock Books (they ship anywhere in the US!). Or order it from your independent bookstore, or from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, or Kobo or anywhere else you like to buy books. You can also order the audio book from Libro.fm or Audible.CREDITSThe Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay. Follow Virginia on Instagram, Follow Corinne  @SellTradePlus, an Instagram account where you can buy and sell plus size clothing and subscribe to Big Undies.The Burnt Toast logo is by Farideh.Our theme music is by Jeff Bailey and Chris Maxwell.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribeWelcome to Indulgence Gospel After Dark! It's time for your October Extra Butter! This month we're diving into some big, hard questions, like:How do you mourn big body changes?What happens if your body size really is the reason you can't do something you used to love?Does the “Health At Every Size” framework ever fail fat people?When is it systemic oppression and when is it just…physics?Or…do we all just need a Fat Day?If you are already an Extra Butter subscriber, you'll have this entire episode in your podcast feed and access to the entire transcript in your inbox and on the Burnt Toast Substack. To get all of the links and resources mentioned in this episode, as well as a complete transcript, visit our show page. Otherwise, to hear the whole conversation or read the whole transcript, you'll need to join Extra Butter. It's just $99 per year, and is the hands down best way to keep Burnt Toast an ad- and sponsor-free space. PS. Don't forget to order Fat Talk: Parenting In the Age of Diet Culture! Get your signed copy now from Split Rock Books (they ship anywhere in the USA). You can also order it from your independent bookstore, or from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, Kobo or anywhere you like to buy books. (Or get the UK edition or the audiobook!) Disclaimer: Virginia and Corinne are humans with a lot of informed opinions. They are not nutritionists, therapists, doctors, or any kind of healthcare providers. The conversation you're about to hear and all of the advice and opinions they give are just for entertainment, information, and education purposes only. None of this is a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice.CREDITSThe Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus and Big Undies—subscribe for 20% off.The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.comIt's time for your Indulgence Gospel! And today we're talking all things Fat Travel!We'll be answering your questions, sharing travel hacks, and just getting into the nitty gritty of how to be a fat person going places in the world.And so much more!To hear the whole conversation or read the whole transcript, you'll need to become a paid Burnt Toast subscriber. Subscribe here.If you are already a paid subscriber, you'll have this entire episode in your podcast feed and access to the entire transcript in your inbox and on the Burnt Toast Substack. You can also subscribe to Corinne's newsletter, Big Undies, for 20% off using this special link. To get all of the links and resources mentioned in this episode, as well as a complete transcript, visit our show page. Also, don't forget to order Fat Talk: Parenting In the Age of Diet Culture! Get your signed copy now from Split Rock Books (they ship anywhere in the USA). You can also order it from your independent bookstore, or from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, Kobo or anywhere you like to buy books. (Or get the UK edition or the audiobook!) Disclaimer: Virginia and Corinne are humans with a lot of informed opinions. They are not nutritionists, therapists, doctors, or any kind of healthcare providers. The conversation you're about to hear and all of the advice and opinions they give are just for entertainment, information, and education purposes only. None of this is a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice.CREDITSThe Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, and Big Undies—subscribe for 20% off! The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

Today Virginia is chatting with Claire Ayoub. Claire is the writer and director of the brand new feature film—opening tomorrow!!— called Empire Waist, a heartfelt comedy about teens learning to love their bodies through fashion design and friendship. Empire Waist opens in movie theaters across the country tomorrow, September 27! Go to empirewaistfilm.com for screening info, or set an alert on Fandango. You can also download the Empire Waist Curriculum at empirewaistfilm.com/curriculum. And follow empirewaistfilm on Instagram.To tell us YOUR thoughts, and to get all of the links and resources mentioned in this episode, as well as a complete transcript, visit our show page. If you want more conversations like this one, please rate and review us in your podcast player! And become a paid Burnt Toast subscriber — subscriptions are just $7 per month! —to get all of Virginia's reporting and bonus subscriber-only episodes. And don't forget to check out our Burnt Toast Podcast Bonus Content! Disclaimer: You're listening to this episode because you value my input as a journalist who reports on these issues and therefore has a lot of informed opinions. Neither my guest today nor I are healthcare providers, and this conversation is not meant to substitute for medical or therapeutic advice.FAT TALK is out! Order your signed copy from Virginia's favorite independent bookstore, Split Rock Books (they ship anywhere in the US!). Or order it from your independent bookstore, or from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, or Kobo or anywhere else you like to buy books. You can also order the audio book from Libro.fm or Audible.CREDITSThe Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay. Follow Virginia on Instagram, Follow Corinne  @SellTradePlus, an Instagram account where you can buy and sell plus size clothing and subscribe to Big Undies.The Burnt Toast logo is by Farideh.Our theme music is by Jeff Bailey and Chris Maxwell.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe

Today Virginia is chatting with Nicola Salmon. Nicola is a leading voice for fat folks seeking fertility support, and author of the book Fat and Fertile.As a fertility coach and fat activist, Nicola works to challenge the fertility industry's entrenched weight bias and empower marginalized folks to take control of their reproductive health. (You may know her from Instagram.) If you want more on this whole conversation, check out episode 29 of this podcast, where I talked through all of my reporting and the research on weight and fertility, as it stood at that point. And then go listen to episode two of Cult of Perfect, where we explored the fat mother narrative—and the kind of healthcare that fat moms, and fat pregnant people, get.To tell us YOUR thoughts, and to get all of the links and resources mentioned in this episode, as well as a complete transcript, visit our show page. If you want more conversations like this one, please rate and review us in your podcast player! And become a paid Burnt Toast subscriber — subscriptions are just $7 per month! —to get all of Virginia's reporting and bonus subscriber-only episodes. And don't forget to check out our Burnt Toast Podcast Bonus Content! Disclaimer: You're listening to this episode because you value my input as a journalist who reports on these issues and therefore has a lot of informed opinions. Neither my guest today nor I are healthcare providers, and this conversation is not meant to substitute for medical or therapeutic advice. AND: If you are in the thick of your own fertility journey, and today's episode doesn't feel good for you to hear, please take good care.FAT TALK is out! Order your signed copy from Virginia's favorite independent bookstore, Split Rock Books (they ship anywhere in the US!). Or order it from your independent bookstore, or from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, or Kobo or anywhere else you like to buy books. You can also order the audio book from Libro.fm or Audible.CREDITSThe Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay. Follow Virginia on Instagram, Follow Corinne  @SellTradePlus, an Instagram account where you can buy and sell plus size clothing and subscribe to Big Undies.The Burnt Toast logo is by Farideh.Our theme music is by Jeff Bailey and Chris Maxwell.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribeWelcome to Indulgence Gospel After Dark! It's time for your September Extra Butter! Today we are discussing... dating as a fat person! We'll get into navigating the apps, Corinne's rules for first dates, and why do so many cishet men post fishing pictures. If you are already an Extra Butter subscriber, you'll have this entire episode in your podcast feed and access to the entire transcript in your inbox and on the Burnt Toast Substack. To get all of the links and resources mentioned in this episode, as well as a complete transcript, visit our show page. Otherwise, to hear the whole conversation or read the whole transcript, you'll need to join Extra Butter. It's just $99 per year, and is the hands down best way to keep Burnt Toast an ad- and sponsor-free space. PS. Don't forget to order Fat Talk: Parenting In the Age of Diet Culture! Get your signed copy now from Split Rock Books (they ship anywhere in the USA). You can also order it from your independent bookstore, or from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, Kobo or anywhere you like to buy books. (Or get the UK edition or the audiobook!) Disclaimer: Virginia and Corinne are humans with a lot of informed opinions. They are not nutritionists, therapists, doctors, or any kind of healthcare providers. The conversation you're about to hear and all of the advice and opinions they give are just for entertainment, information, and education purposes only. None of this is a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice.CREDITSThe Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus and Big Undies—subscribe for 20% off.The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

In this episode of the RMD podcast, Dr. Durst and Farideh tackle the complex topic of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). They clarify the confusion around "natural" hormones, explaining that "natural" often means bioidentical—hormones identical to those our bodies produce. Learn about the differences between bioidentical and synthetic hormones, the role of compounding pharmacies in customizing treatments, and the regulatory landscape ensuring safety and quality. Tune in for insights on choosing the best HRT for your needs, balancing efficacy, side effects, and costs. Don't forget to like and subscribe if you want to hear more about anything wellness and sexual wellness

Join Dr. Debra Durst and Farideh Golumbiaski on the RMD podcast as they dive into the world of Vitamin D. Dr. Durst, a regenerative medicine expert, and Farideh, a board-certified family nurse practitioner, will uncover why this fat-soluble vitamin is essential for your health. From its role in bone and muscle strength to its impact on immune function and recovery, discover why you need to optimize your Vitamin D levels. Learn about the myths and facts surrounding sun exposure and supplementation, and how to ensure you're getting enough of this vital nutrient. Subscribe for more episodes on innovative treatments and health tips.

Welcome to the RMT podcast and channel with your host, Dr. Debra Durst, and co-host Farideh, a board-certified family nurse practitioner. Our practice at RevitalizeMD focuses on providing patients with non-traditional options like peptides, which are amino acid sequences that mimic natural processes in the body. Today, we're diving into SEMAX, a peptide with amazing potential in cognitive performance, neuroprotection, and even gastroprotection. We'll discuss its origins, studies supporting its use, and how we integrate it into patient care. Tune in for an insightful discussion on this fascinating.

Welcome to our channel and podcast! I'm Dr. Debra, a traditionally trained physician now focusing on regenerative medicine, alongside my co-host Farideh, a board-certified nurse practitioner. At RevitalyzeMD we work together daily, offering cutting-edge treatments. Today's episode covers Selank, a peptide with exciting potential for treating anxiety and enhancing brain function. We'll discuss its origins, clinical use, and the science behind it. Tune in to learn more about this promising area of medicine. Like, comment, and subscribe for more insightful discussions! #revitalyzemd #peptides #selank #anxietymeditation

Today's story comes from Farideh Olson, of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. For a lot of new mothers, an unexpected part of the journey comes when figuring out your "new normal." After all, having a baby radically changes your day-to-day lifestyle, especially for mothers. For the free-spirited, hard-rocking Farideh, motherhood meant having to step away from the lifestyle of a touring musician and into a new kind of spotlight. After years touring the country with her band, Rosie and the Riveters, Farideh found herself settling into a new life at home with her daughter. Following her passion to entertain, Farideh threw herself into comedy, eventually finding a new audience on TikTok and Instagram. Today, Farideh embodies the spirited voice of feminine rage experienced by herself and other moms, commiserating over the good, the bad, and the downright ugly parts of motherhood. Her audience has grown to over 350,000 on TikTok, with viewers commenting that Farideh's content makes them feel seen, validated, and less alone. Listen to hear how this talented woman reinvented herself and found new purpose embracing her identity as a mother. Follow Farideh on TikTok: @ILoveFaridehFollow Farideh on Instagram: @ILoveFaridehPresented by Charm Diamond CentresHosted by Nancy ReganProduced by PodstarterDo you have a great love story? You could be the next guest on the Canadian Love Map! Apply here!

To say we're fired up for our guest on today's episode is an UNDERSTATEMENT. Best known for her work as a musician and comedian, Farideh writes and performs comedic songs about motherhood and the mental load we all carry.  From her viral hit “You're Such a Good Dad” to songs like “Make a List” her work is SO relatable. We'll be covering double standards for Moms and Dads in parenting, societal pressures and expectations that are definitely not helping our stress, and the expectation that Mom is a living and breathing calendar keeper for the entire family. For any Mom who has found herself rolling her eyes when a Dad gets a big pat on the back for taking time out of his schedule to “watch” his children, this one's for you! Resources We Shared: Follow Farideh on Instagram! Learn all about Farideh and her music Join our newsletter! Get connected to No Guilt Mom and get our Home Responsibility Calculator absolutely FREE, so you can make a plan to delegate the work. Visit No Guilt Mom Rate & Review the No Guilt Mom Podcast on Apple here. We'd love to hear your thoughts on the podcast! Listen on Spotify? You can rate us there too! Check out our favorite deals from our sponsors here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us in this eye-opening podcast episode as we explore the science and benefits of far infrared saunas with Dr. Greenfield. Dr.Durst and Farideh lead the conversation, covering everything from cardiovascular advantages to sauna safety. Discover why Hightech Health is your go-to for a top-quality sauna experience! Our goal is to help you regain confidence and achieve your best self! Visit www.revitalyzemd.com and check out our blog and schedule your consultation today! View our social media: YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCshDBnd5KdZ7x4GK4i6fTVA Facebook: www.facebook.com/RevitalyzeMD Instagram: www.instagram.com/revitalyzemd TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@revitalyzemd Want to schedule a consultation? Call or text us at 865-293-5828 and we will help you comprehensively look, feel, and function better!

Bringing back a favorite from the Season 2 archives! We miss our girl's nights already and can't wait to be back in the new year! Tonight we have singer and comedian Farideh with us for one of our best girls night yet! I found Farideh on TikTok a few months back with her “better things to do than go on a diet” song, one of her many songs on being a mother and being a woman.  I loved hearing Farideh's thoughts on motherhood and that nagging constant desire to improve. We talk about raising confident children, and on why she started writing these songs in the first place - with a really great point, why aren't there any songs on motherhood?  I definitely recommend checking out Farideh on TikTok @IloveFarideh Find us @girlsamethepodcast on all the socials or ⁠girlsamethepodcast@gmail.com⁠ … we love hearing from you!  Thanks for being here!  Xo Brittinie