Introduction

Cult, we’ve been working on this one for weeks. We’ve got Desmond Butler on this episode, the lead journalist who wrote the recent Washington Post series on the corruption, exploitation, and health and safety controversies in the NPC/IFBB pro league. We previously discussed this article series both in a duo episode as well as with Dr. Guillermo Escalante, and now, we’re privileged to sit down and hear it from the source (or rather the man with the sources). In this episode, you’ll learn how Desmond’s father directed the cult classic (pun intended) Pumping Iron, and then how years later he’d go on to revisit bodybuilding from a very different perspective. You’ll also learn just how much research went into the Post articles, and how many people they spoke to. This was a monster episode for sure folks and an eye-opening exposé.