Unpacking the legacy of The Biggest Loser

Shameless

Shameless Media

Society & Culture

4.7 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 24 August 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Hi! On today’s show, Netflix just dropped a three-part documentary about one of the most successful reality TV shows of our time: The Biggest Loser. We’ve known for a while that the methods used on this show were incredibly damaging, both physically and psychologically, but this doco has brought this conversation back into the mainstream at a very interesting time in our culture… Your hosts are Zara McDonald (@zamcdonald) and Michelle Andrews (@michelleandrews1). Big thanks to Elite Eleven’s Omni collection for making this episode of Shameless possible. Ultra-soft, ultra-elevated loungewear – shop it now online, in-store or on the app. On today’s show, Gil recommended WWE: UnReal on Netflix. Sources: The Biggest Loser by Maintenance Phase Supersize Me by Maintenance Phase The Biggest Loser P1 and P2 by Fad Camp What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon ‘You Just Need To Lose Weight’ by Aubrey Gordon Fat Is Not A Bad Word by Hunter Ashleigh Shackelford Shameless Podcast is produced by Annabelle Lee and Eilish Gilligan, executive-produced by Lucy Hunt and audio-edited by Eilish Gilligan. Our social media team consists of Naima Fatema, Emily Li and Eilish Gilligan, and our partnerships manager is Cindy Luu. Want to support our show? Clicking ‘follow’ on Apple and Spotify is the best way to do that, and we're super grateful to anyone who leaves a five-star review while they're at it. Also! An old-fashioned 'Tell a Friend In Real Life' is equally appreciated. Want more? We've got more… Subscribe to our newsletter Smart, Dumb Stuff: https://tinyurl.com/4yasjphn Follow us on Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/2mf557ux Aaaand we’re on TikTok: https://tinyurl.com/2hchchrp Everything else your heart could ever desire is here: https://linktr.ee/shamelesspodcast Thanks for listening! We’re huge fans of yours. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of Shameless Media.
0:06.9	This episode of Shameless is brought to you by Elite Eleven's Omni Collection,
0:11.2	ultra-soft, ultra-elevated loungeware.
0:13.3	Shop it now online, in store or on the app. Hello. Hello and welcome to Shameless, the pop culture podcast for smart people who love dumb stuff.
0:46.2	You're joined, as always, by Melbourne Writers, Michelle Andrews and Zara McDonald.
0:49.9	Hello, Zazzie McDonald and hello, producer, Elish Gilligan.
0:52.6	Hi.
0:52.8	Hi, guys. Coming up on today's show, Netflix just dropped a three-part documentary
0:57.6	about one of the most successful reality TV shows of our time, the biggest loser.
1:02.7	We've known for a while that the methods used on the show were incredibly damaging,
1:06.6	both physically and psychologically.
1:08.6	But this documentary has brought the conversation back
1:10.9	into the mainstream at a very interesting time in our culture. Michelle got me to watch
1:16.6	documentary, ladies and gentlemen, and I really enjoyed it, spoiler alert. You're so welcome.
1:20.6	But first, are we just throwing to Eilish for her wreck? Yeah, Gill, you've been recommending something in the office,
1:30.1	on our socials, and we thought, we're going to throw to you because this wreck sounds so good,
1:34.2	we want the listeners to hear it. Yes, so I can't take full responsibility for this wreck because
1:40.1	it was actually wrecked to me by one Cassie Bardol, our senior partnerships manager,
1:45.4	who was currently on maternity leave.
1:47.2	She sent me a list of stuff that we needed to catch up on.
1:50.1	And on that list, I love that.
1:52.6	I know.
	...

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