
Maintenance Phase
Debunking the junk science behind health fads, wellness scams and nonsensical nutrition advice.
Latest episodes

Nov 1, 2022 • 1h 2min
The Daily Harvest Food Poisoning Scandal
“Herpes is basically living the dream” — Aubrey Gordon.Support us: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and more Check out Mike's other podcast, If Books Could KillPre-order Aubrey's book!Links!Marion Nestle's "Safe Food"The vomiting, diarrhea, and gallbladder surgeries were bad enough. Daily Harvest’s alleged food poisoning victims say the startup’s response made things worseFor Now, Skip Eating Products That Contain Tara Flour, CR's Food Experts SayBill Marler’s Daily Harvest postsThe original Reddit postThe History, Politics & Perils Of The Current Food Safety ControversyFood poisoning and unsafe temperatures: Many meal kit companies aren’t FDA regulatedPublic Health and Food Safety: a Historical AssociationInvestigating Food Safety Implications Of Meal-Kit Delivery Subscription Services In TorontoVitamin retention in eight fruits and vegetables: a comparison of refrigerated and frozen storageTen years post-GAO assessment, FDA remains uninformed of potentially harmful GRAS substances in foodsDaily Harvest updatesRachel Drori interviewAntioxidants in Fresh and Frozen Fruit and Vegetables: Impact Study of Varying Storage ConditionsGenerally recognized as safe (GRAS): history and descriptionThanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show

10 snips
Oct 18, 2022 • 1h 13min
Mini-Sode: The Dr. Oz Campaign
Pennsylvania listeners check your registration here!Mike and Aubrey break down the policies and promises of Dr. Oz's Senate campaign in Pennsylvania. Plus! A re-run of our complete Dr. Oz episode from last year. Support us: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and moreLinks:Transcript of the infamous Congressional hearingThe Making of Dr. OzColumbia and the Problem of Dr. OzThe FTC lawsuit against green coffee bean extract sellersThe Oz craze: The effect of pop culture media on health careThe BMJ content analysis of the Dr. Oz showAgeing, fitness and neurocognitive functionReal-world doctors fact-check Dr. Oz, and the results aren't pretty Dr. Oz may be America's most influential — and controversial — physician Thanks to Ashley Smith for editing assistance and Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show

Oct 11, 2022 • 55min
Paul Bragg & The Rise of Apple Cider Vinegar
Health claims about apple cider vinegar are everywhere. But are they true? This week, we hop into the wayback machine for the story of America's first health influencer. (That's not true, but neither is anything else in this episode.) Thanks to David Johnston for providing sources for this week’s episode!Support us:Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks:A Longstanding Legacy of Promoting Healthy LivingAbout Paul (Internet Archive) 100 Years of Health with Patricia BraggPatricia Bragg: Born to do her father's workIn the Name of the ‘Father’ (part 2, part 3)FDA report on enforcement & complianceFTC decisions, 1941 How Americans Became Obsessed With Drinking Apple Cider Vinegar Debunking the health benefits of apple cider vinegarOrlando Bloom Bonded with Katy Perry over Apple Cider Vinegar Investor group acquires Bragg Live Food ProductsThanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show

Sep 27, 2022 • 55min
The French Paradox
How an early-'90s newsmagazine show convinced a generation of Americans to start drinking red wine. For the antioxidants! Special thanks to Susanne Stolpe and Alexander H. Sandtorv for helping us fact-check this episode! Support us:Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks!Diet and alcohol in heart disease risk: the French ParadoxAbsorption of three wine-related polyphenols in three different matrices by healthy subjectsFrom red wine to polyphenols and back: A journey through the history of the French ParadoxWine as a Biological Fluid: History, Production, and Role in Disease PreventionCardiovascular Risk Factors and Confounders Among Nondrinking and Moderate-Drinking U.S. AdultsAlcohol, Drinking Pattern, and Chronic DiseaseThe French paradox: lessons for other countriesMyocardial Infarction and Coronary Deaths in the World Health Organization MONICA ProjectCoronary heart disease in France and in Europe: Where are the facts?Wine And Juice Management And Marketing Decisions: The Case Of The French ParadoxDecline of coronary heart disease mortality is strongly effected by changing patterns of underlying causes of deathThe Medical Autopsy: Past, Present, and Dubious FutureNew dimensions in cause of death statisticsShould socioeconomic factors be considered as traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease, as confounders, or as risk modifiers?Wine, alcohol, platelets, and the French paradox for coronary heart diseaseAlcohol, Ischemic Heart Disease, and the French Paradox Death certificates are not reliable: revivification of the autopsy Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show

4 snips
Sep 13, 2022 • 60min
Goop
Do we even need to write a description? It's the Goopisode! Support us:Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks!How Goop’s Haters Made Gwyneth Paltrow’s Company Worth $250 MillionHow Gwyneth Paltrow took Goop from a homebrewed newsletter to a controversial $250 million wellness powerhouseGwyneth Paltrow Feels Good — and So Can YouIs Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP $1.6M In Debt?Goop and Condé Nast Team Up on a Magazine - The New York Times Gwyneth Paltrow didn't want Condé Nast to fact-check Goop articlesA hungry Gwyneth Paltrow fails the food-stamp challenge four days inDear Gwyneth, this is what living on food stamps really looks likeMy $29 Food Stamp Challenge & The RecipesGwyneth Paltrow's Having the Chicest Yard Sale Ever Gwyneth Paltrow says children of celebrities 'almost have to work twice as hard' once they 'unfairly' get their start in Hollywood Gwyneth Paltrow brings aerial yoga, trans talks and cryofacials to Goop health conference We Attended Gwyneth Paltrow's $500-a-Ticket Health SummitAnti-Medication Goop Summit Expert Claims AIDS Treatment Kills and GMOs Cause DepressionInside Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow's Growing EmpireThe history of self-careStill Processing: We Care for Ourselves and Others in Trump’s AmericaThanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show

Sep 6, 2022 • 54min
BONUS: Moon Juice Taste Test
This week's episode is running late so here's something to tide you over! Last year, we did an episode on Gwyneth-adjacent influencer Amanda Chantal Bacon and her wellness company, Moon Juice. This year we decided to TASTE THE DUST. This episode was originally for our Patreon supporters. Click here if you'd like to sign up! Support us:Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreThanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show

Aug 23, 2022 • 1h 32min
The Scarsdale Diet Murder feat. Sarah Marshall
In 1982 a murder captured America's imagination. Forty years later, two podcasts joined forces to talk about it. Hear more from Sarah at You're Wrong About and You Are Good!Support us:Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks!Diana Trilling’s “Mrs. Harris”Shana Alexander’s “Very Much a Lady”"The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet"Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show

9 snips
Aug 9, 2022 • 57min
“French Women Don't Get Fat”
A dieting book or a how-to guide for an eating disorder? Pourquoi pas les deux ?Support us:Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks!The By The Book episode The NYT interview with Mireille GuilianoGabrielle Deydier: what it’s like to be fat in FranceInhaling Their FoodPublishers sell snobbery by the pageChampagne and Pizza'French Women Don't Get Fat': Like Champagne for ChocolateThanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show

Jul 26, 2022 • 59min
Pete Evans Part 2: COVID & Consequences
"Celebrity chef Pete Evans has activated his last almond with the Seven Network."Support us:Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks!Pete Evans on COVID-19 restrictions Pete Evans on who gets COVID Introducing the BioCharger Coronavirus treatment spruiked by chef Pete Evans criticised by health associations, to be investigated by TGA - ABC News Pete Evans' company fined for alleged COVID-19 advertising breaches | Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Pete Evans fined $80,000 by health department for alleged unlawful spruiking of devices and medicines Australian celebrity chef Pete Evans under fire for sharing views of UK conspiracy theorist David IckePete Evans' boasts he played 60 Minutes Australia like 'game of chess' Oh, for Pete's sake: The rise and fall (and possible rise) of Pete Evans Dumped by sponsors, what happens to Pete Evans now? Sonnenrad, symbol used in shooter's manifesto, explainedPete Evans Is Now Posting Neo-Nazi Symbols And The Far-Right Love ItCelebrity chef Pete Evans' Instagram account deleted for 'repeatedly sharing' Covid misinformationNeo-Nazi groups allegedly targeted celebrity chef Pete Evans before infamous black sun cartoonThe URL 'Pete Evans For Senate' redirects to unexpected webpageThanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show

Jul 12, 2022 • 53min
Pete Evans Part 1: The Paleo Way
How a beloved TV chef became one of Australia's most polarizing public figures. Support us:Hear bonus episodes on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and moreLinks!Going Paleo: What Prehistoric Man Actually AteThe Paleo Way (video clip) Paleolithic nutrition for metabolic syndromePaleo diet still lacks evidenceAtherosclerosis across 4000 years of human historyHow to Really Eat Like a Hunter-Gatherer: Why the Paleo Diet Is Half-BakedAncient leftovers show the real Paleo diet was a veggie feastExpert dismisses Pete Evans' claims that modern diet causes autism Celebrity Chef's Paleo Cookbook for Babies Delayed After Health FearsPete Evans: paleo cookbook for mums and babies under fire again AMA accuses Pete Evans of endangering lives with unscientific health advice Pete Evans provides 'evidence' for his fluoride claims Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.