My guest this week is Hadley Freeman, a U.K.-based journalist, Sunday Times columnist, and the author of Good Girls: A Story and Study of Anorexia. She joins me to discuss what she calls the “thinness arms race” in the era of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. We talk about why extreme thinness is once again being rewarded—if not demanded—of female celebrities, how the current aesthetic differs from 90s heroin chic, and why the language of body positivity is often used to shut down obvious observations. We also talk about the physical and psychological realities of severe undernourishment, the role of status and self-denial in shaping beauty standards, and the broader “cartoonification” of the human body in a culture increasingly mediated by filters, pornography, and screens.
Before the episode begins, I have a quick but important message about my recent guest, Amanda Gertz-Hurdy.
Guest Bio:
Hadley Freeman is a staff writer at The Sunday Times. Her latest book, Good Girls: A Story and Study of Anorexia, was published in 2023.
Related articles
I Won’t Stay Silent About The Thinness Arms Race, Sunday Times 2026
It Was Obvious Anorexics Would Abuse Ozempic, Sunday Times 2024
Hadley’s previous visit to the podcast
🤣 Don’t miss my special April Fool’s Day episode with “curiosity coach” Amanda Gertz-Hurdy. It just might change your life.
📝 I’m offering three different writing workshops in the coming months. A women’s weekend workshop on a houseboat in Sausalito, CA; an 8-week coed Zoom course, and a three-night women’s writing retreat in the Catskills. Details and application info here and here.
✈️ The Unspeakeasy is now officially coed and will focus on in-person events going forward. But don’t worry, we’re offering three women’s retreats this year. The first is in L.A. in April and is now waitlist only. The others are on the East Coast in the fall, plus our big coed overnight retreat-a-polooza in October. The fall retreats will be open for registration in mid-April. Visit our retreat page for dates and more info.
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