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Culture Study Podcast

Culture Study Podcast

The Women's Fitness Industrial Complex

Aug 5, 2026 · 1h 17m

Coming soon to iPhone. Already have it? “Listen in Starcast” takes you straight there.

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About this episode

Why is Planned Parenthood telling you that you should lift heavy during your menstrual cycle? Why will no one shut up about protein? How many different ways can a company try and convince you it's not a diet when it's TOTALLY A DIET??? How have companies taken advantage of the actual gaps in research on women's bodies to sell us crap? Journalist and elite distance runner Zoë Rom and registered dietitian Kylee Van Horn join the pod to break down how the women's fitness industrial complex convinces us of new health and training vulnerabilities (and then offers their products to fix them). This is one of those episodes that will piss you off and make you feel grateful that others are out here…