The Burnt Toast Podcast

You're listening to the Burnt Toast podcast! I'm Virginia Sole-Smith and today my conversation is with Mary Mahoney of @Landline - Pop Culture & History with Mary Mahoney | Podcast + Newsletter.
And we're talking about... Dolly!!!

Meanwhile on Indulgence Gospel:
Corinne and I are asking: Is breaking up with your phone a diet?
Indulgence Gospel segments are for paid subscribers, who also get transcripts and commenting privileges. Don't miss out — join us here!
FREE LISTENERS can find this episode on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or the podcast player of your choice.
PAID SUBSCRIBERS can listen right here on Patreon, or add your member-only feed to the podcast player of your choice. Indulgence Gospel starts at the timestamp 34:23. You can find an AI-generated transcript of this segment if you’re following us on Apple or Spotify!
Meet today's guest!
Mary Mahoney, who also goes by Mimi, is a historian and writer who wrote Dolls of Our Lives: Why We Can't Quit American Girl. She also makes an incredible podcast and newsletter called Landline that gives pop culture some context. It's like a group text for people who love footnotes or the answer to the question: why can't history feel more like Us Weekly?
Mary joined me to talk about Dolly Parton's relationship with her body and beauty standards, how we locate her as a feminist, and her incredible legacy. We go down so many fascinating rabbit holes —this is one of my favorite episodes ever!
BUTTER & LINKS
Mary's Dolly tribute essay
Dolly's 1978 Playboy interview
Gloria Steinem's event with Miss Piggy at the Brooklyn Museum in 2015
Reese Witherspoon's Dolly Parton interview
1984 Interview Magazine interview
@Culture Study's Dolly Parton Syllabus
Billionaires who want to live forever
Mary's Butter: Ms. Rachel (featuring I Love A Rainbow) & Dolly singing Johnny Cash's I Still Miss Someone.
Virginia's Butter: Dolly singing The Harper Valley PTA.

EPISODE CREDITS
Co-hosts: Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay.
Producer: Kim Baldwin.
Logo design: Deanna Lowe.
Theme Song: Farideh.
Video Editor: Elizabeth Ayiku
Audio Engineer: Tommy Harron
Follow us on social!
Virginia is on Instagram and Threads as @v_solesmith and on Bluesky at @virginiasolesmith.
Corinne is on Instagram at @selfiefay, on Bluesky at @corinnefay and on Patreon at Big Undies.
Support the Me Little Me Foundation, a virtual food pantry supporting multiply marginalized folks recovering from eating disorders.
Thanks for listening and supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

You're listening to the Burnt Toast podcast! We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay, and today our conversation is with Amy Palanjian.
And on Indulgence Gospel!
Corinne and I will be discussing table manners, and Amy is staying on to get into that with us.
Indulgence Gospel segments are for paid subscribers, who also get transcripts and commenting privileges. Don't miss out — join us here!
Meet today's guest!
Amy Palanjian is the creator of Yummy Toddler Food and the author of the New York Times bestselling cookbook, Dinnertime SOS. Amy has built YTF as a resource to provide reassurance and easy recipes to families with little kids. Because she knows that feeding kids is hard and our recipes (and the advice we follow) should be easy. She is an advocate for taking shortcuts in the kitchen, helping moms remember to feed themselves, and empowering kids to have agency at the table. She lives in Central PA with her three kids (and many plants).
Amy joined us to talk about picky eating, how trends and conversations are shaped by social media, plus the rise of parent-shaming content on social media. And more! It's a good one, you guys.
BUTTER & LINKS
SHOP:
Virginia's Butter: Giant coloring sheets and good markers
Corinne's Butter: Whirley Pop popcorn maker
Amy's Butter: Leaving your house via joining a gym
READ/WATCH:
Please Stop Asking Michael Pollan How to Feed Kids.
Michael Pollan on 60 Minutes reel
Michael Pollan, “We make time for the things we value” reel
The Economist picky eaters reel
https://www.patreon.com/virginiasolesmith/posts/amy-palanjian-170815324

EPISODE CREDITS
Co-hosts: Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay.
Producer: Kim Baldwin.
Logo design: Deanna Lowe.
Theme Song: Farideh.
Video Editor: Elizabeth Ayiku
Audio Engineer: Tommy Harron
Follow us on social!
Virginia is on Instagram and Threads as @v_solesmith and on Bluesky at @virginiasolesmith.
Corinne is on Instagram at @selfiefay, on Bluesky at @corinnefay and on Patreon at Big Undies.
Support the Me Little Me Foundation, a virtual food pantry supporting multiply marginalized folks recovering from eating disorders.
Thanks for listening and supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

You're listening to the Burnt Toast podcast! We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay, and today our conversation is with actress Jen Ponton about what it's really like to be fat and working in Hollywood.
And on Indulgence Gospel!
We're tackling one of your questions: Does your family have siblings with different body types? How does everyone feel about that? Because this listener is struggling.
Indulgence Gospel segments are for paid subscribers, who also get transcripts and commenting privileges. Don't miss out — join us here!
FREE LISTENERS can find this episode on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or the podcast player of your choice.
PAID SUBSCRIBERS can listen right here on Patreon, or add your member-only feed to the podcast player of your choice. Indulgence Gospel starts at the timestamp 34:44. You can find an AI-generated transcript of this segment if you’re following us on Apple or Spotify!
Meet today's guest!
Jen Ponton is an actor and writer whose work explores the intersection of fatness, representation, and storytelling. Over the past 15 years, she's built a career with credits including Dietland, Not Suitable for Work, 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and the recent off-Broadway run of her solo show, Sugarcoated. She currently stars in the independent feature Resentment, where she plays a confident, sensual, whipsmart leading woman whose body is neither the punchline nor the plot.
Jen joined us to talk about where the fatphobia shows up in Hollywood, how GLP-1s are changing the game, and the major TV hit that would only cast her if she agreed to a weight loss contract. And more! It's a good one, you guys.
BUTTER & LINKS
SHOP:
Virginia's Butter: Birkenstock Boston Big Buckle clogs
Corinne's Butter: Blundstone clogs
Jen's Butter: Don't Buy What I'm Selling: On Breaking Up with Advertising and Finally Learning to Love My Whole, Fat Self by Lu Chekowsky
READ:
“Not Your Sad Fat Lady” via Jen's Substack
Jen's one-woman show Sugarcoated
https://www.patreon.com/virginiasolesmith/posts/episode-264-jen-170161722

EPISODE CREDITS
Co-hosts: Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay.
Producer: Kim Baldwin.
Logo design: Deanna Lowe.
Theme Song: Farideh.
Video Editor: Elizabeth Ayiku
Audio Engineer: Tommy Harron
Follow us on social!
Virginia is on Instagram and Threads as @v_solesmith and on Bluesky at @virginiasolesmith.
Corinne is on Instagram at @selfiefay, on Bluesky at @corinnefay and on Patreon at Big Undies.
Support the Me Little Me Foundation, a virtual food pantry supporting multiply marginalized folks recovering from eating disorders.
Thanks for listening and supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

You're listening to the Burnt Toast podcast! I'm Virginia Sole-Smith and today my conversation is with Angel Austin, the executive director of ASDAH, the Association for Size, Diversity and Health.
And on Indulgence Gospel!
Corinne is out this week, so producer Kim Baldwin is joining me, and we're going to talk about fall books!
Indulgence Gospel segments are for paid subscribers, who also get transcripts and commenting privileges. Don't miss out — join us here!
FREE LISTENERS can find this episode on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or the podcast player of your choice.
PAID SUBSCRIBERS can listen right here on Patreon, or add your member-only feed to the podcast player of your choice. Indulgence Gospel starts at the timestamp 36:34. You can find an AI-generated transcript of this segment if you’re following us on Apple or Spotify!
Meet today's guest!
As a Black, infinifat, and disabled woman, Angel's lived experiences inform her work, advocacy, and commitment to building community. In addition to leading ASDAH, Angel is the founder of Sacred Space for Fat Bodies and serves on the board of the Me Little Me Foundation.
Angel previously joined us on the podcast in 2024 to talk about how ASDAH has been working to evolve the principles of Health At Every Size, or HAES, which are foundational to the fat liberation movement.
HAES is the framework that helps so many of us start to realize we can untangle weight and health, to know we can pursue health in the body we have right now — and that we deserve a healthcare system that meets us where we are, and treats us with dignity and respect. ASDAH is on the front lines of working with healthcare providers to understand that.
And right now, ASDAH really needs our help.
In order to stay operational, ASDAH needs to raise $15,000 by the end of September.
There are over 50,000 of you reading this email, and we're already 75 percent of the way there — so let's crush that goal and help ASDAH continue to do the vital work they do on behalf of fat and disabled folks everywhere — so click the link in your episode description to support ASDAH today.
I'm matching the first $5,000 we raised. Join us here!

BUTTER & LINKS
Virginia's Butter: This episode of Code Switch: "Freedom" from fatness: Why GLP-1s go after Black bodies
Angel's Butters: TikTok recipes (specifically tuna and rice with furikake) and rest
Fearing the Black Body by Sabrina Strings
Ragen Chastain's newsletter
ASDAH event on September 25 called Beyond BMI
Belly of the Beast by Da'Shaun L. Harrison
https://www.patreon.com/virginiasolesmith/posts/episode-263-tk-169518176

EPISODE CREDITS
Co-hosts: Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay.
Producer: Kim Baldwin.
Logo design: Deanna Lowe.
Theme Song: Farideh.
Video Editor: Elizabeth Ayiku
Audio Engineer: Tommy Harron
Follow us on social!
Virginia is on Instagram and Threads as @v_solesmith and on Bluesky at @virginiasolesmith.
Corinne is on Instagram at @selfiefay, on Bluesky at @corinnefay and on Patreon at Big Undies.
Support the Me Little Me Foundation, a virtual food pantry supporting multiply marginalized folks recovering from eating disorders.
Thanks for listening and supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!

You're listening to Burnt Toast! We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay and today we are discussing longevity final boss, Bryan Johnson.
Bryan Johnson is a person I did not know existed, but Corinne says is the most famous toxic man trying to live forever through diet culture and technology. Wish I knew less! But he's a major driving force in diet culture right now, so we're getting into:
⭐️ What is a "Blood Boy" and who needs one?
⭐️ Why Bryan tweets his son's nightly erection data.
⭐️ A girlfriend who has the "top 1% of all vaginas" (and how us non-elite vaginas should feel about that).
🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈
And on Indulgence Gospel!
Corinne and I are discussing credit cards: Do we love them? Fear them? And are credit card points a diet? (If so, Virginia is ON IT.)
Indulgence Gospel segments are for paid subscribers, who also get transcripts and commenting privileges. Don't miss out — join us here!
If you're listening, Indulgence Gospel starts at the timestamp 39:20! You can find an AI-generated transcript of this segment if you’re following us on Apple or Spotify!
BUTTER & LINKS
Virginia's Butter: foam roller
Corinne's Butter: Kin by Tayari Jones
The Wall Street Journal Instagram post
Bryan Johnson's "Don't Die Protocol"
Famished by Anna Rollins and Tia Leving's memoir
New York Times (gift link): He Said He Was the World’s Healthiest Man. Then Came a Stunning Diagnosis.
The Cut: Bryan Johnson Is Dating His Co-founder
Info on his girlfriend's vaginal microbiome that he tweeted.
The Wall Street Journal: Bryan Johnson’s Girlfriend Wants to Share Her Body With the World
🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈
Housekeeping note: We've changed things up a bit to solve some behind-the-scenes tech issues, so here's how to get your Burnt Toast fix:
FREE LISTENERS can find this episode on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or the podcast player of your choice.
PAID SUBSCRIBERS can listen right here on Patreon, or add your member-only feed to the podcast player of your choice.
https://www.patreon.com/virginiasolesmith/posts/bryan-johnson-is-168956631

EPISODE CREDITS
Co-hosts: Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay.
Producer: Kim Baldwin.
Logo design: Deanna Lowe.
Theme Song: Farideh.
Video Editor: Elizabeth Ayiku
Audio Engineer: Tommy Harron
Follow us on social!
Virginia is on Instagram and Threads as @v_solesmith and on Bluesky at @virginiasolesmith.
Corinne is on Instagram at @selfiefay, on Bluesky at @corinnefay and on Patreon at Big Undies.
Support the Me Little Me Foundation, a virtual food pantry supporting multiply marginalized folks recovering from eating disorders.
Thanks for listening and supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism!