99% Invisible

The Weight

Nov 17, 2021

Avery Trufelman, host of "Nice Try!" and former producer, dives into the cultural significance of weights in fitness and home design. She explores how weightlifting has transformed from its rustic roots to a major player in modern wellness, highlighting the revolution spurred by figures like Bob Hoffman. Trufelman discusses the clash between bodybuilding aesthetics and Olympic lifting discipline, revealing the underlying American ideals of personal betterment that these trends perpetuate. Join her as she unpacks the contradictions and evolution within the fitness culture.

45:39

Creator website

Episode guests

Avery Trufelman

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Episode notes

Intro

2min

Lifting the Veil: A Weightlifting Revolution

14min

The Contradictions of Bob Hoffman

6min

The Clash of Titans: Bodybuilding vs. Olympic Lifting

6min

The Evolution of Fitness Rivalries

18min

The Curious Case of the American Bathroom and Bidet Resistance

2min

Fitness trends come and go. But the simple weight is an anchor in the shifting tides of culture. As workout equipment has become canonized within the realm of home appliances, this heavy metal object aids in our dual — and sometimes conflicting — pursuit of athletics and aesthetics.

In season 2 of the Nice Try! podcast, show host and former 99pi producer Avery Trufelman heads inside the home, interrogating how individuals channel utopian ambitions through the lifestyle technologies and home goods that determine the ways we clean, cook, exercise, and sleep in order to lead better lives. But the problems these objects are designed to solve, and the way they solve them, promote a distinctly American ideal that prioritizes personal betterment over improving society as a whole.

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