“Maintenance Phase” is a podcast hosted by Aubrey Gordon and Micheal Hobbes, focusing on subverting the space of wellness podcasts and interrogating commonly held beliefs regarding health and bodies. 

The show began in October of 2020, with both hosts having been writers and prominent in activist work before shifting their focus to podcasting. Gordon spent several years as a community organizer before becoming a columnist for several different publications including Self magazine. She has written two books, both speaking on the greater culture of weight and weight loss. 

Hobbes worked in human rights activism for eleven years before becoming a writer for the Huffington Post. He previously worked on the successful podcast “You’re Wrong About”, which debunked and reexamined common myths and cultural moments. He left the show in 2021, and along with “Maintenance Phase”, also co-hosts “If Books Could Kill”. 

“Maintenance Phase” covers a variety of topics, with each one relating back to the central theme of weight culture primarily within the US. Gordon and Hobbes examine their own relationships with weight, as well as prominent symbols of diet culture and fatphobia. This has included critical readings of several diet books, looking into the scientific backing behind ideas such as 1000 steps a day and calories, and discussions of current issues such as the Cass Report and Ozempic. Their criticisms are frequently backed up by counter-evidence or serious examinations of flaws within the scientific or rhetorical ideas of those they’re criticizing. 

More importantly, the show incorporates the real lived experiences of its two hosts, and how both have experienced issues with weight and wellness in their daily lives. Gordon talks candidly about her experiences having been fat all throughout high school, and the effect that years of yo-yo dieting, or losing and regaining weight, have done to her overall health. She also challenges the idea that new health trends are anything more than just that; trends. She encourages listeners to think about who is communicating messages of diet and weight loss. 

The chemistry between the two hosts is infectious. Both are able to keep the podcast’s tone relatively light, and do not force themselves to ascribe to an air of impartiality. Their banter is light and witty, while still managing to give topics the weight they deserve. The show also makes frequent use of audio quotes, something that makes it unique within its own genre. Overall, “Maintenance Phase” is a must listen for anyone wishing to get deeper into embedded cultural practices surrounding weight and health. The show is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher.