The Burnt Toast Podcast

You're listening to the Burnt Toast podcast! I'm Virginia Sole-Smith and today my conversation is with Laura Thomas, PhD.
Laura is going to help me dissect the new book Feed Them Well by Jennifer Anderson, MSPH, RDN—the dietitian and influencer behind Kids Eat in Color.
SO many of you have asked for this episode, and there is SO much to get into — so no Indulgence Gospel this week! Free listeners will get the first half of our conversation, and paid subscribers will get the whole shebang, including our analysis of what Kids Eat In Color really thinks about GLP-1s and intentional weight loss for kids. 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. You can find an AI-generated transcript of the entire episode if you’re following us on Apple or Spotify!
Meet today's guest!
Laura Thomas, PhD is a registered nutritionist based in London. She writes the fantastic newsletter, Can I Have Another Snack?, where she aims to complicate overly simplistic narratives about food, nutrition and bodies. She's also the author of two books about intuitive eating, Just Eat It and How to Just Eat It: A Step-by-Step Guide to Escaping Diets and Finding Food Freedom.
Laura joined us for the second episode in my series on The Picky Eating Backlash. We kicked this off with Episode 265, where Amy Palanjian joined us to explain why certain conversations around picky eating (especially the ones that blame moms and processed foods) tend to go viral so easily.
One of those viral conversations that has been taking over my Instagram in the past month is about Jennifer Anderson, MSPH, RDN, the creator behind Kids Eat In Color. Anderson has been making some wild claims that she was canceled for her views on picky eating, that everything you thought you knew about restriction and food is wrong, and even accusing her fellow dietitians of being on the payroll of "Big Sugar."
BUTTER & LINKS
Virginia's Butter: enjoying the end of dahlia season before the first frost hits
Laura's Butter: rain and getting matching tattoos with your bestie
What Instagram Gets Wrong About Feeding Your Kids
The Ballerina Farm of Kid Food Instagram
Laura on Ultra-Processed Foods Part 1
Laura on UPF Part 2
https://www.patreon.com/virginiasolesmith/posts/has-kids-eat-in-172829763

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! We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay, and today we are talking about The Weigh In, a new podcast about GLP-1s ... from Weight Watchers.
And on Indulgence Gospel!
Corinne and I will be discussing a very controversial topic: Cold calling your friends.
Indulgence Gospel segments are for paid subscribers, who also get transcripts and commenting privileges. Don't miss out — join us here!
So, there's a new podcast from Weight Watchers. It's called The Weigh In and it's hosted by Samhita Mukhopadhyay. The first two episodes are out and Corinne and I listened and have many, many thoughts.
BUTTER & LINKS
SHOP:
Virginia's Butter: Going through your credit card statements and cancelling unnecessary subscriptions. Hello, efax?!
Corinne's Butter: TruFru
READ:
Big Undies: The Search for a Perfectly Oversized Plus Size Button Up Shirt Continues...
Burnt Toast: The Only 6 Jeans Worth Buying (According to Science)
The Weigh In Podcast
The Myth of Making It: A Workplace Reckoning by Samhita Mukhopadhyay
Big Undies: Samhita Mukhopadhyay style questionnaire
The Cut: “Mounjaro and Me” by Samhita Mukhopadhyay
NYT: “In the Ozempic Era, Who Needs Weight Watchers? A new podcast, with a feminist host, aims to keep the decades-old diet brand in the GLP-1 conversation.”
The Cut: "What It Feels Like at Cornell Right Now" by Kate Manne
The Cut: "The Strong, Empowered, Secretly Broke Divorcée" by Melinda Wenner Moyer
The Cut: “I Should Be Allowed to Cold-Call My Friends”
https://www.patreon.com/virginiasolesmith/posts/why-is-weight-1-172152397

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 Mary Mahoney of @Landline - Pop Culture & History with Mary Mahoney | Podcast + Newsletter.
And we're talking about... Dolly!!!

Meanwhile on Indulgence Gospel:
Corinne and I are asking: Is breaking up with your phone a diet?
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 34:23. You can find an AI-generated transcript of this segment if you’re following us on Apple or Spotify!
Meet today's guest!
Mary Mahoney, who also goes by Mimi, is a historian and writer who wrote Dolls of Our Lives: Why We Can't Quit American Girl. She also makes an incredible podcast and newsletter called Landline that gives pop culture some context. It's like a group text for people who love footnotes or the answer to the question: why can't history feel more like Us Weekly?
Mary joined me to talk about Dolly Parton's relationship with her body and beauty standards, how we locate her as a feminist, and her incredible legacy. We go down so many fascinating rabbit holes —this is one of my favorite episodes ever!
BUTTER & LINKS
Mary's Dolly tribute essay
Dolly's 1978 Playboy interview
Gloria Steinem's event with Miss Piggy at the Brooklyn Museum in 2015
Reese Witherspoon's Dolly Parton interview
1984 Interview Magazine interview
@Culture Study's Dolly Parton Syllabus
Billionaires who want to live forever
Mary's Butter: Ms. Rachel (featuring I Love A Rainbow) & Dolly singing Johnny Cash's I Still Miss Someone.
Virginia's Butter: Dolly singing The Harper Valley PTA.

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! We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay, and today our conversation is with Amy Palanjian.
And on Indulgence Gospel!
Corinne and I will be discussing table manners, and Amy is staying on to get into that with us.
Indulgence Gospel segments are for paid subscribers, who also get transcripts and commenting privileges. Don't miss out — join us here!
Meet today's guest!
Amy Palanjian is the creator of Yummy Toddler Food and the author of the New York Times bestselling cookbook, Dinnertime SOS. Amy has built YTF as a resource to provide reassurance and easy recipes to families with little kids. Because she knows that feeding kids is hard and our recipes (and the advice we follow) should be easy. She is an advocate for taking shortcuts in the kitchen, helping moms remember to feed themselves, and empowering kids to have agency at the table. She lives in Central PA with her three kids (and many plants).
Amy joined us to talk about picky eating, how trends and conversations are shaped by social media, plus the rise of parent-shaming content on social media. And more! It's a good one, you guys.
BUTTER & LINKS
SHOP:
Virginia's Butter: Giant coloring sheets and good markers
Corinne's Butter: Whirley Pop popcorn maker
Amy's Butter: Leaving your house via joining a gym
READ/WATCH:
Please Stop Asking Michael Pollan How to Feed Kids.
Michael Pollan on 60 Minutes reel
Michael Pollan, “We make time for the things we value” reel
The Economist picky eaters reel
https://www.patreon.com/virginiasolesmith/posts/amy-palanjian-170815324

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! 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!