A Ridiculous History of "Fad Diets"

Ridiculous History

iHeartPodcasts

History, Society & Culture

4.3 • 4.4K Ratings

🗓️ 10 July 2025

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Everyone in the developed world knows someone who's tried a 'fad diet' -- these are the so-called miracle practices that promise to help people lose weight and keep it off, through any number of potentially dubious methods. But where did they come from? In today's episode, Ben, Noel and guest producer Dylan dive deep into the Victorian era of tapeworms, super-chewing, and more.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an IHeart podcast.
0:04.0	Are there any pictures of you online?
0:06.2	Then you could already be in a massive police database without even knowing it.
0:10.2	Clearview scrapes together images from Facebook, from LinkedIn, from Venmo accounts.
0:15.8	I'm Dexter Thomas, host a Kill Switch, a podcast about how living in the future is affecting us right now.
0:21.5	Police, they are trusting the software with this magical ability to lead them to the right suspect.
0:27.2	In this episode, we dive into how cops are using AI and facial recognition,
0:31.5	and sometimes getting it wrong and putting innocent people behind bars.
0:35.1	So if your accuser is this algorithm, but you're not even being told
0:39.8	that it was used, let alone given any of the details about how it works. Listen to KillSwitch
0:44.9	on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. OpenAI is a financial
0:51.9	abomination, a thing that should not be, an aberration, a symbol of rot at the heart of Silicon Valley.
0:57.6	And I'm going to tell you why on my show, Better Offline, the rudest show in the tech industry, where we're breaking down why Open AI, along with other AI companies, are dead set on lying to your boss that they can take your job.
1:08.2	I'm also going to be talking with the greatest minds in the industry about all the other ways the rich and powerful are ruining the computer. Listen to Better Offline
1:14.6	on the iHot Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you happen to get your podcasts.
1:21.2	I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time. Have you ever had to shoot your gun?
1:26.3	Sometimes the answer is yes.
1:28.1	But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.
1:34.2	This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated.
1:37.9	I get right back there and it's bad.
1:41.1	Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:50.6	If you're looking for another heavy podcast about trauma, the saying it.
	...

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