Making It Awkward

Oct 31 2024 63 ep. 40 mins 35

Making It Awkward Podcast artwork

Have you ever made things awkward? You're not alone. Every week dietitian and author Jessica Wilson talks to those who create societal change by making it awkward. From busting myths in the nutrition field and finding the people behind the headlines Jessica gives people a new way to think about situations and motivation to make things awkward.

Society & Culture

Copy RSS

Subscribe on Podcast Addict

Making America Healthy Again; Part 2

Oct 31 2024 61 mins

Making America Healthy Again Part 2! Jessica talks with 3 guests for their reflections and shares email feedback from a listener and her 18 year old daughter. Medical sociologist Dr. Natalie Ingraham joins the show to talk about the people part of all of this and the concept of “again.” She talks about the regulations of the 80s v 90s and has some solutions we could try on if w

Curlfriends! Hair, Identity, Health and Fat Lib with Whitney Trotter and Tigress Osborn

Oct 24 2024 43 mins

Jessica’s Curlfriends, Whitney Totter and Tigress Osborn, return to the show to talk about their hair. They share their hair journeys and chat about how hair continues to inform their identities. Hair intersections with eating disorders, mixed-race identity, health and fat liberation are spiritedly discussed! Steven on Love is Blind Hannah Frankson’s hair routine Wonderful vi

Making America Healthy Again; Part 1

Oct 17 2024 52 mins

For the first episode about Make America Healthy Again, Jessica is joined by Mr Jeff Hutt, the spokesperson for the Super PAC. MAHA is “a powerful new political action committee dedicated to advancing the health-focused policies championed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. through the re-election of President Donald Trump.” Mr. Hutt provides an overview of the PAC and its principles, an

Can Nutrition Policy Be Purchased? With Sherene Chou

Oct 10 2024 33 mins

Jessica is back with fellow dietitian Sherene Chou for an episode about food conglomerates and their connection to the primary dietitian interest organization, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Jessica starts by recapping the past week's hysteria about the Siete food brand selling to Pepsico for $1.2B, and asks what that means. Jessica then discusses the investments that foo

Vicki Gonzalez Talks Breast Cancer at 40 and Reminds Us to Get Our Boobs and Bits Checked

Oct 03 2024 51 mins

Jessica talks with journalist Vicki Gonzalez, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer after turning 40. Vicki didn’t have a family history of breast cancer or genetic predisposition which made her diagnosis even more surprising. The two talk about mammograms, ultrasounds, genetics, biopsies, lumpectomies, radiation, and Vicki’s decision to get a bilateral mastectomy in th

What a TIME!; “Feedback” & Lessons, Plus Race, Class and Lunchables ft. Patrilie Hernandez

Sep 26 2024 46 mins

Jessica is back with her thoughts on the TIME Magazine article about her ultra-processed food experiment. She shares her takeaways, her favorite feedback and has some BIG FOOD fun! Patrilie Hernandez then joins Jessica to talk about Dr. Kevin Hall’s research on UPFs and the intersections of race and class with food. They then dive into Lunchables-gate, and food hysteria overall.

Minisode: Making (Dollars and) Sense of Ultraprocessed Foods?

Sep 19 2024 13 mins

This week is a primer for next week’s discussion of the TIME mag article. Jessica revisits a few previous guests and a new critic to have a conversation about the discourse about ultraprocessed foods. Do we know how to define which foods are ultraprocessed? What does it mean if we don’t actually know what we’re talking about? Who benefits from that confusion? TIME article N

Netflix's The Boyfriend & The Chicken Smoothie of it All with Kent Thomas

Sep 12 2024 46 mins

Kent Thomas returns to the show to review Netflix’s new Japanese reality series, The Boyfriend. The delightful show follows nine gay men who share a home together and start a coffee truck. They need to budget their daily expenses, all while navigating waxing and waning romantic feelings for each other. Kent and Jessica are fixated on what gets in the way of the men sticking to th

The Caucacity of the Mediterranean Diet with Sherene Chou, MS. RDN.

Sep 05 2024 65 mins

Jessica talks with Sherene Chou about the whiteness of the Mediterranean Diet and its origins. The two chat about their mixed reviews of speaking at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health’s Healthy Kitchens Healthy Lives. Sherene discusses a variety of “healthy diets” out there and how they fall short of meeting the moment. She also spills the beans on the next superfood. J

“Smoke & Mirrors”; Food Elitism and Wellness Culture With Shana Spence, MS, RDN

Aug 29 2024 47 mins

Jessica welcomes Shana Spence, MS RDN, of The Nutrition Tea, to the show to talk about food elitism, Wellness culture and her new book Live Nourished; Make Peace with Food, Banish Body Shame, and Reclaim Joy. Somehow we always get back to anti-diet dietitians making cereal ads. And this time we mention the connection to Anahad O'Connor and his Lose It app. Also, Jessica is in