The Burnt Toast Podcast

You're listening to the Burnt Toast podcast! We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay, and today our conversation is with actress Jen Ponton about what it's really like to be fat and working in Hollywood.
And on Indulgence Gospel!
We're tackling one of your questions: Does your family have siblings with different body types? How does everyone feel about that? Because this listener is struggling.
Indulgence Gospel segments are for paid subscribers, who also get transcripts and commenting privileges. Don't miss out — join us here!
FREE LISTENERS can find this episode on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or the podcast player of your choice.
PAID SUBSCRIBERS can listen right here on Patreon, or add your member-only feed to the podcast player of your choice. Indulgence Gospel starts at the timestamp 34:44. You can find an AI-generated transcript of this segment if you’re following us on Apple or Spotify!
Meet today's guest!
Jen Ponton is an actor and writer whose work explores the intersection of fatness, representation, and storytelling. Over the past 15 years, she's built a career with credits including Dietland, Not Suitable for Work, 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and the recent off-Broadway run of her solo show, Sugarcoated. She currently stars in the independent feature Resentment, where she plays a confident, sensual, whipsmart leading woman whose body is neither the punchline nor the plot.
Jen joined us to talk about where the fatphobia shows up in Hollywood, how GLP-1s are changing the game, and the major TV hit that would only cast her if she agreed to a weight loss contract. And more! It's a good one, you guys.
BUTTER & LINKS
SHOP:
Virginia's Butter: Birkenstock Boston Big Buckle clogs
Corinne's Butter: Blundstone clogs
Jen's Butter: Don't Buy What I'm Selling: On Breaking Up with Advertising and Finally Learning to Love My Whole, Fat Self by Lu Chekowsky
READ:
“Not Your Sad Fat Lady” via Jen's Substack
Jen's one-woman show Sugarcoated
https://www.patreon.com/virginiasolesmith/posts/episode-264-jen-170161722

EPISODE CREDITS
Co-hosts: Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay.
Producer: Kim Baldwin.
Logo design: Deanna Lowe.
Theme Song: Farideh.
Video Editor: Elizabeth Ayiku
Audio Engineer: Tommy Harron
Follow us on social!
Virginia is on Instagram and Threads as @v_solesmith and on Bluesky at @virginiasolesmith.
Corinne is on Instagram at @selfiefay, on Bluesky at @corinnefay and on Patreon at Big Undies.
Support the Me Little Me Foundation, a virtual food pantry supporting multiply marginalized folks recovering from eating disorders.
Thanks for listening and supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

You're listening to the Burnt Toast podcast! I'm Virginia Sole-Smith and today my conversation is with Angel Austin, the executive director of ASDAH, the Association for Size, Diversity and Health.
And on Indulgence Gospel!
Corinne is out this week, so producer Kim Baldwin is joining me, and we're going to talk about fall books!
Indulgence Gospel segments are for paid subscribers, who also get transcripts and commenting privileges. Don't miss out — join us here!
FREE LISTENERS can find this episode on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or the podcast player of your choice.
PAID SUBSCRIBERS can listen right here on Patreon, or add your member-only feed to the podcast player of your choice. Indulgence Gospel starts at the timestamp 36:34. You can find an AI-generated transcript of this segment if you’re following us on Apple or Spotify!
Meet today's guest!
As a Black, infinifat, and disabled woman, Angel's lived experiences inform her work, advocacy, and commitment to building community. In addition to leading ASDAH, Angel is the founder of Sacred Space for Fat Bodies and serves on the board of the Me Little Me Foundation.
Angel previously joined us on the podcast in 2024 to talk about how ASDAH has been working to evolve the principles of Health At Every Size, or HAES, which are foundational to the fat liberation movement.
HAES is the framework that helps so many of us start to realize we can untangle weight and health, to know we can pursue health in the body we have right now — and that we deserve a healthcare system that meets us where we are, and treats us with dignity and respect. ASDAH is on the front lines of working with healthcare providers to understand that.
And right now, ASDAH really needs our help.
In order to stay operational, ASDAH needs to raise $15,000 by the end of September.
There are over 50,000 of you reading this email, and we're already 75 percent of the way there — so let's crush that goal and help ASDAH continue to do the vital work they do on behalf of fat and disabled folks everywhere — so click the link in your episode description to support ASDAH today.
I'm matching the first $5,000 we raised. Join us here!

BUTTER & LINKS
Virginia's Butter: This episode of Code Switch: "Freedom" from fatness: Why GLP-1s go after Black bodies
Angel's Butters: TikTok recipes (specifically tuna and rice with furikake) and rest
Fearing the Black Body by Sabrina Strings
Ragen Chastain's newsletter
ASDAH event on September 25 called Beyond BMI
Belly of the Beast by Da'Shaun L. Harrison
https://www.patreon.com/virginiasolesmith/posts/episode-263-tk-169518176

EPISODE CREDITS
Co-hosts: Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay.
Producer: Kim Baldwin.
Logo design: Deanna Lowe.
Theme Song: Farideh.
Video Editor: Elizabeth Ayiku
Audio Engineer: Tommy Harron
Follow us on social!
Virginia is on Instagram and Threads as @v_solesmith and on Bluesky at @virginiasolesmith.
Corinne is on Instagram at @selfiefay, on Bluesky at @corinnefay and on Patreon at Big Undies.
Support the Me Little Me Foundation, a virtual food pantry supporting multiply marginalized folks recovering from eating disorders.
Thanks for listening and supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

You're listening to Burnt Toast! We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay and today we are discussing longevity final boss, Bryan Johnson.
Bryan Johnson is a person I did not know existed, but Corinne says is the most famous toxic man trying to live forever through diet culture and technology. Wish I knew less! But he's a major driving force in diet culture right now, so we're getting into:
⭐️ What is a "Blood Boy" and who needs one?
⭐️ Why Bryan tweets his son's nightly erection data.
⭐️ A girlfriend who has the "top 1% of all vaginas" (and how us non-elite vaginas should feel about that).
🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈
And on Indulgence Gospel!
Corinne and I are discussing credit cards: Do we love them? Fear them? And are credit card points a diet? (If so, Virginia is ON IT.)
Indulgence Gospel segments are for paid subscribers, who also get transcripts and commenting privileges. Don't miss out — join us here!
If you're listening, Indulgence Gospel starts at the timestamp 39:20! You can find an AI-generated transcript of this segment if you’re following us on Apple or Spotify!
BUTTER & LINKS
Virginia's Butter: foam roller
Corinne's Butter: Kin by Tayari Jones
The Wall Street Journal Instagram post
Bryan Johnson's "Don't Die Protocol"
Famished by Anna Rollins and Tia Leving's memoir
New York Times (gift link): He Said He Was the World’s Healthiest Man. Then Came a Stunning Diagnosis.
The Cut: Bryan Johnson Is Dating His Co-founder
Info on his girlfriend's vaginal microbiome that he tweeted.
The Wall Street Journal: Bryan Johnson’s Girlfriend Wants to Share Her Body With the World
🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈
Housekeeping note: We've changed things up a bit to solve some behind-the-scenes tech issues, so here's how to get your Burnt Toast fix:
FREE LISTENERS can find this episode on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or the podcast player of your choice.
PAID SUBSCRIBERS can listen right here on Patreon, or add your member-only feed to the podcast player of your choice.
https://www.patreon.com/virginiasolesmith/posts/bryan-johnson-is-168956631

EPISODE CREDITS
Co-hosts: Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay.
Producer: Kim Baldwin.
Logo design: Deanna Lowe.
Theme Song: Farideh.
Video Editor: Elizabeth Ayiku
Audio Engineer: Tommy Harron
Follow us on social!
Virginia is on Instagram and Threads as @v_solesmith and on Bluesky at @virginiasolesmith.
Corinne is on Instagram at @selfiefay, on Bluesky at @corinnefay and on Patreon at Big Undies.
Support the Me Little Me Foundation, a virtual food pantry supporting multiply marginalized folks recovering from eating disorders.
Thanks for listening and supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

You're listening to Burnt Toast! I'm Virginia Sole-Smith, and today my conversation is with Zoë Bisbing.

Zoë is an internationally recognized therapist, speaker, and content creator who helps people feel more at home in their bodies. She is the founder of Body-Positive Therapy NYC, a group practice specializing in the treatment of eating disorders, and the creator of the bestselling Substack Body-Positive Home. Her work reaches more than 100,000 caregivers, educators, clinicians, and adults learning how to nurture body image resilience in the next generation while transforming their own relationships with food and their bodies along the way.

Zoë joined me to chat about:

⭐️ What you can do around the house to show your kids that your home is safe for all bodies.

⭐️ How we're preparing for back to school season—especially clothes shopping!

⭐️ A listener question from the Anti-Diet Parenting chat that sums up so many of the struggles that so many of us have as we're parenting in the abyss that is diet culture.

🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈

FREE LISTENERS can find this episode on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or the podcast player of your choice.

PAID SUBSCRIBERS can listen right here on Patreon, or add your member-only feed to the podcast player of your choice.

Paid subscribers also get transcripts, commenting privileges, and our bonus (audio only!) Indulgence Gospel segment. This week Corinne and I will be answering another listener question from the Burnt Toast Anti-Diet Parenting chat. This person needs to know what to do about a diety ex-husband. Don't miss out — join us here!

Indulgence Gospel segments get recorded too close to drop day to have transcripts — but you can find an AI-generated transcript if you’re following us on Apple or Spotify! If you're listening, Indulgence Gospel starts at the timestamp 48:00.

BUTTER & LINKS

Virginia's Butter: Turning sidewalk chalk into paint by bashing it up with rocks and mixing it with water.

Zoë's Butter: Ina Garten's cream cheese frosting, the anticipation of a girls trip, organizing art supplies and finding a surprise treat from her daughter.

"Can we take GLP1s in a Body-Positive Home? And other balancing act questions..." (Substack)

Zoë's reel about putting a NWFMBA bag in your kids' closet.

Barefoot Contessa flag cake recipe

https://www.patreon.com/virginiasolesmith/posts/episode-261-zoe-164981251

EPISODE CREDITS
Co-hosts: Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay.
Producer: Kim Baldwin.
Logo design: Deanna Lowe.
Theme Song: Farideh.
Video Editor: Elizabeth Ayiku
Audio Engineer: Tommy Harron
Follow us on social!
Virginia is on Instagram and Threads as @v_solesmith and on Bluesky at @virginiasolesmith.
Corinne is on Instagram at @selfiefay, on Bluesky at @corinnefay and on Patreon at Big Undies.
Support the Me Little Me Foundation, a virtual food pantry supporting multiply marginalized folks recovering from eating disorders.
Thanks for listening and supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

You're listening to Burnt Toast! I'm Virginia Sole-Smith, and today my conversation is with Cole Kazdin.

Cole is an Emmy Award-winning television journalist and author of What's Eating Us: Women, Food, and the Epidemic of Body Anxiety.

Cole joined us as an eating disorder expert, and as a fellow woman in perimenopause who is reeling from all the diet culture nonsense coming for us in this stage of life. Cole will help us answer: Is menopause a diet? And we’ll also talk about everyone’s favorite menopause influencer, Dr. Mary Claire Haver. Is SHE a diet?

🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈

FREE LISTENERS can find this episode on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or the podcast player of your choice.

PAID SUBSCRIBERS can listen right here on Patreon, or add your member-only feed to the podcast player of your choice.

Paid subscribers also get transcripts, commenting privileges, and our bonus (audio only!) Indulgence Gospel segment.

This week Corinne and I are answering your fat fashion questions! How to manage a wardrobe to fit weight fluctuations? Is it getting harder to shop as brands eliminate their plus size lines? Skinny jeans, yay or nay? Don't miss out — join us here!

Indulgence Gospel segments get recorded too close to drop day to have transcripts — but you can find an AI-generated transcript if you’re following us on Apple or Spotify! If you're listening, Indulgence Gospel starts at the timestamp 35:09.

BUTTER & LINKS

Virginia's Butter: a plunge pool

Cole's Butter: her friend Catherine’s swimming pool

One last thing! You'll want to read What's Eating Us: Women, Food, and the Epidemic of Body Anxiety after hearing this conversation. If you order it from my local independent bookstore, Split Rock Books, you can take 10% off if you have also ordered a copy of my book Fat Talk from them. Go to Split Rock Books and use the code "FATTALK" at checkout.

https://www.patreon.com/virginiasolesmith/posts/is-menopause-164981198

EPISODE CREDITS
Co-hosts: Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay.
Producer: Kim Baldwin.
Logo design: Deanna Lowe.
Theme Song: Farideh.
Video Editor: Elizabeth Ayiku
Audio Engineer: Tommy Harron
Follow us on social!
Virginia is on Instagram and Threads as @v_solesmith and on Bluesky at @virginiasolesmith.
Corinne is on Instagram at @selfiefay, on Bluesky at @corinnefay and on Patreon at Big Undies.
Support the Me Little Me Foundation, a virtual food pantry supporting multiply marginalized folks recovering from eating disorders.
Thanks for listening and supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!