Two Whole Cakes Fatcast

 Fatcast Episode 10: Exercise for fun and profit! [1:18:14] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You demanded it: we’re talking exercise! We discuss why exercising is a more complicated issue than many folks think, what “counts” as exercise, going to the gym, and buying clothes to work out in. I go on several outrageous rants in this episode. Also, Marianne offends blondes and I offend meatheads.

Links mentioned in this episode:

HOLY CRAP YOU CAN STILL BUY THE 1982 VERSION OF MOUSERCISE! (iTunes link)

Marianne likes to walk around IKEA, which is really smart. Also you can have a $1 hot dog at the end if you want.

Unbearable Weight, by Susan Bordo, via Google Books

Junonia, of the lying size charts

Punk Rock Aerobics

Dance Dance Party Party

The music heard in this episode is by Dazie Mae.

 Fatcast Supplement: THIS PODCAST IS HUGE [1:00:57] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Somehow this episode begins with me talking about my cat Rufus. Marianne brought it up. But then we discuss the source material for and the broad array of comment-thread reactions to ABC Family’s new series Huge.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Rufus pretends to be a ninja!

My recap of the first episode of Huge

Kirkus review of Huge, the book (it’s behind a paywall, sorry!)

Big Moves

Rascals!

The music heard in this episode is by NSA.

 Fatcast Episode 9: Fat Travel, Part 2 [1:11:51] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In this episode, Marianne and I discuss a plethora of other travel-related topics, including pre-travel anxiety, packing, vacation photos, and Disney World. Also, we both agree that the phrase and broader concept of the “bikini body” is extremely annoying.

Links mentioned in this episode:

That awful lap band commercial: because France stops all fatties at the border, takes them into the woods, and shoots them. Thus, better not go to Paris when you’re fat.

10 Days in a Carry-On (slideshow)

Walt Disney World at Large

The music heard in this episode is by NSA.

 Fatcast Episode 8: Fat Travel, Part 1 [1:03:04] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Everyone loves sitting next to a fatty on a plane! Because they’re pillowy and you can sleep on them! Right? Perhaps not. Marianne and I have many opinions about fat travel, and part one on this subject deals mostly with fat flying.

Links mentioned in this episode:

An open letter of gratitude to Kevin Smith, antihero of the fat revolution.

Kevin Smith: The face of flying while fat

Seat Guru

Buy your own airplane seatbelt extender: Amplestuff

The music heard in this episode is by Dazie Mae.

 Fatcast Episode 7: Questioning reality [59:15] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Occasionally something will happen — a family member blurts out a troubling comment, a stranger in a store offers unsolicited advice, a coworker makes a grotesque assumption — that makes us question reality. Do we really exist? Does Marianne really feel good when dressed in an eye-catching manner? Does Lesley ACTUALLY go to the gym? Having to always justify our existence takes its toll. That’s the topic of today’s podcast.

Oh, and I say the c-word, but it’s the title of a book so it’s totally cool.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Finding a Healthy Medium, Newsweek article on how eating disorders are ignored in people who aren’t thin

Fat people who deny their plus size (I’ll take Awkwardly Titled Op-Ed Pieces for $1000, Alex.)

Women En Large (also check out The Adipositivity Project for good measure)

“Dogs and cats, living together… mass hysteria!”

Cunt, by Inga Muscio

BELLY FAT (Y’all, I watched about a million diet-pill commercials on YouTube and could not find the one Marianne and I were discussing, but the pertinent part IS shown on this Baltimore news segment from 2005)

The music heard in this episode is by Wasaru.

 Fatcast Episode 6: Language and "safe space" [1:03:01] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Why do we like the word “fat” so much? Why is the language we use so critical? Where did “death fat” come from? What is safe space and why should you give a crap? These questions and more are approached and discussed and maybe even answered in this episode.

Links mentioned in this episode:

“Death fat” in Newsweek

On FWD: Disability is not your analogy

“Hey Ladies”, Beastie Boys

The music heard in this episode is by Brad Sucks.

 Fatcast Episode 5.5: Differences are not divisive [27:50] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This here is a short, supplemental episode in which Marianne and I further break it down on the subject of whether acknowledging differences between various levels and experiences of fatness is a bad or exclusionary thing.

A hint: we think not.

A full new episode, on the subjects of language and “safe space”, will go live later this week.

The music heard in this episode is by Diablo Swing Orchestra.

 Fatcast Minisode: Goth Memories [10:58] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Before and after every recording, Marianne and I talk for at least as long as the resulting podcast (often longer), and sometimes these scattered conversations are also interesting in themselves. Here is a short snippet (i.e. “minisode”!) of Marianne and I discussing our goth pasts and the fatshion challenges we faced.

The music heard in this minisode is by Hungry Lucy.

 Fatcast Episode 5: Fatshion! Part 2 (i.e., Turn to the right.) [1:18:05] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This here is part two of our extensively longwinded conversation about plus sizes and fatshion, in which we have some more specific thoughts about class and access as they relate to clothing a plus-sized body. Also: Igigi may or may not be overrated, and Marianne wants to discuss America’s Next Top Model.

Yes, this is another long one. We promise to try to keep them to an hour henceforth.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Childhood obesity article, mostly here for the picture and caption

Crystal Renn’s memoir, Hungry

Definatalie.com: You Can’t Bully Me Out of My Skinny Jeans, and Tights are Tights

Igigi

Fatness and Uplift: Not a Post about Push Up Bras

Steel Toe Studios

V Magazine’s Size Issue

America’s Next Top Model

Skinny Jeans Tutorial

The music heard in this episode is by Musetta.

 Fatcast Episode 4: Fatshion! Part 1 [1:16:50] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We’d planned on having a fairly directed conversation about where plus sizes begin, and why fatshion is political. But somewhere along the line it turned into Marianne and I discussing the Lane Bryant lingerie ad, and then both of us unleashing our still-smoldering rage on the subject of Old Navy pulling plus sizes out of their stores (it’s not that their clothes are so great, y’all — it’s the PRINCIPLE).

Hence, this is part one of another two-parter. Part two will be released in the middle of next week.

Perfectionist note: I am still working on getting a better sound quality given the limitations of Skype, and truth be told I’m still not thrilled with the sound on this recording or the subsequent one. I think I may have found a way to improve it, so fingers crossed that the next will be amazing….er.

Links mentioned in this episode:

The Fatshionista Livejournal community

eShakti

The “banned” Lane Bryant lingerie commercial

Tom Jones “Sex Bomb” music video

We are purposely not linking to Old Navy.

The music heard in this episode was by Revolution Void.

 Fatcast Episode 3: The Doctor, Part 2 [1:03:22] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In this episode, Marianne and I continue our discussion of last week on The Doctor. Marianne answers a listener question, we regale y’all with more amusing personal anecdotes, and we also offer some Helpful Tips to healthcare professionals on dealing with fat patients.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Fat-Friendly Health Professionals List

The music used in this episode is by Alo Django.

 Fatcast Episode 2: The Doctor [1:06:31] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In this episode, Marianne and I discuss The Doctor — the medical doctor, not the kind with the TARDIS — and some of the common pitfalls of being a fat person seeking quality preventative care. We also talk about why it’s important to learn to advocate for yourself and your health in the doctor’s office.

Fatcast is currently being featured on iTunes as a New and Noteworthy podcast! Swell!

We’re still hashing out the sound (i.e. Marianne needs a NASA headset), and Skype was being a jerk for this one, but we’re seeing improvements! Thanks so much for all the excellent props and support.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Amplestuff (hospital gowns, etc.)

Letter to a doctor by Hanne Blank

Office of the US Surgeon General

Bartleby, the Scrivener (blame Marianne for this one)

The music used in this episode is by Wasaru.

 Fatcast Episode 1.5: The "Fatosphere" [44:19] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is a “mini” episode in which Marianne and I attempt to “briefly” discuss the “Fatosphere” as concept and reality. Also, I use many “scare quotes” but because this is audio, you cannot “see” them.

The likelihood of our keeping up an every-three-days schedule is pretty slim, so this isn’t really Episode 2. That will come early next week. We have a short list of topics we’d like to cover in upcoming podcasts, but if there’s a particular subject you’d like us to tackle in the future, let us know in comments.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Notes From the Fatosphere feed

A Different Kind of Fat Rant: People of Color and the Fat Acceptance Movement, by Tara Shuai, March 21, 2008

Why Intersectionality Matters (a followup post to the above), by Tara Shuai, March 24, 2008

The music used in this episode was by Alo Django.

 Episode 1: Exposure! [1:01:16] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hello and welcome, friends and fats, to Fatcast, what we hope will become a regular series of informal conversations about fat acceptance and body politics between Lesley Kinzel and Marianne Kirby. The subject of this first episode is exposure and being a public fatty, and we think it turned out pretty darn swell for a first effort (I am still getting the sound-editing thing down, as I’ve never done this before, but I expect to get better at it as we go.)

So why are we podcasting?

Lesley’s Newsweek article on childhood obesity (avoid comments)

Lesley’s profile in the Boston Globe (again, avoid comments)

Marianne on Nightline Face-off (just always avoid comments, okay?)

Recap of Marianne’s appearance on Dr. Phil

Picture from the fats convention under the Botero “Eve” sculpture in the shops at Columbus Circle, NYC

Redress NYC

Lessons From the Fatosphere on Amazon.com

The music used in this episode was by Revolution Void.

You can also subscribe in iTunes.