Embodiment is one of those words that’s thrown around, but what is it really? Alexandra Shewan (she/they) takes us through what her working definition of embodiment is, how she supports clients with becoming embodied, and the essential roles that being trauma-informed and anti-oppressive should play in therapeutic practices.

Nia Patterson (they/them) went viral after taking a photo of themselves in a Torrid change room in a bathing suit. Since then, Nia has become an influencer, social media manager, singer, podcaster, and coach. In this conversation, they share their journey and also their top three tips for staying joyful while living in marginalized bodies and with marginalized identities. We also talk about fat secrets and podcast dream guests.

Tamra Lamese Garland (she/her) & Jeremy C. Garland (he/him) are a mixed-size, mixed-race couple. Throughout their relationship, they’ve had to deal with racism and sizeism in surprising (not surprising) ways, such as being followed and photographed, a surly bartender who got physically threatening, and comments in airports, etc. Through it all, they continue to advocate for each other and for a more inclusive world. This episode will give you all the feels.

Creating a truly liberatory space for fat/plus-size bodies is revolutionary. Creating that for hiking trails? That’s next level! Avery Swartz (she/her) is here to share how the Greater Toronto Area chapter of the Body Liberation Hiking Club launched on April 2023 and is a space free of diet culture talk, open and accepting of all bodies, and provides community and connection to nature (i.e. no jerks allowed!). See you on the trail.

Dra. Monica Peralta (she/her) is a fierce advocate for weight-inclusive care. In this fiery conversation, she takes us through the myths and misunderstandings of diabetes (spoiler: pre-diabetes is fake!) and how anti-fat bias colours patient care practices. Monica believes in reconnecting patients to their bodies, helping them learn about their disease, and empowering them towards greater health from a weight-inclusive perspective. She is a controversial figure in her home country of Nicaragua but chooses to continue her work in the hopes of shifting weight stigma for future generations.

Martinus Evans (he/him) spent his life being too big and then not being big enough when he started playing football. After a car accident changed his life, he realized that he wanted to move his body just for the joy of it and let go of obsessing about his weight. As he started running, slowly, his message resonated with others, and the Slow AF Run Club was born. He shares his ups and downs and the biggest surprise he’s had while creating the club.

Author and photographer Eden Boudreau (she/her) experienced a violent sexual assault that deeply impacted her relationship with her body. In this episode, she shares her hard-won journey to regaining her body autonomy, how her PTSD symptoms were ignored and she was told to ‘just lose weight,’ and how writing this book helped her recovery.

Both Sophia and her guest, Vinny Welsby (they/them) have experienced feeling like their romantic partner wasn’t attracted to them because of their fat bodies. In this episode, they’re exploring what’s beneath the surface of these feelings and what to do when faced with this type of anti-fatness from our partners…and from ourselves.

Andy Neal’s (he/him) grumpy hiker video went viral in January 2022, and he abruptly found himself representing fat & plus-size bodies in the outdoor space. Andy shares his journey from never being an outdoorsy kid to his binge eating diagnosis to going on his first hike at the request of his therapist. And how one person from a plus-size hiking group changed how he felt about his body and kick-started his own body liberation journey.

Rev. Dr. E-K Daufin (she/her) is here to share aspects of her new book, “On Fat and Faith: Ending Weight Stigma in Yourself, Your Sanctuary and Society.” Like the book, this conversation spans generations and explores intersectionality through her lived experience. She also shares a tapping technique and accompanying affirmations.

Therapist Kayla Stansberry (she/her) is here sharing how joy and community can be a treatment approach for body trauma. And this isn’t just for fat & plus-size people. Diet culture and capitalism have created body trauma for all of us, no matter what our bodies look like, and Kayla is here to take us through what we can do about that.

You may know Jordan Underwood (they/he) through their social media videos where they respond to questions & trolls and also proudly show their body living in the world. These videos are watched by hundreds of thousands, which of course means that Jordan is constantly attacked for being unapologetically fat. In this episode, Jordan shares their body liberation journey and how writing a blog when they were 12 years old began what became a decades-long path of defying what others assumed about their body. Oh, and Jordan talks about what it was like to have a billboard in Times Square. While fat.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released new guidelines for weight management interventions in children. These recommendations include weight loss medications and bariatric surgeries, both of which are unethical and not evidence-based. Gathering to discuss the implications, their fears, and what we can do to protect the most marginalized children are Kanoelani Patterson, Dr. Asher Larmi, Dr. Rachel Millner, & Ragen Chastain.

Virgie Tovar (she/her) is a well-known body positive and fat liberation activist. In this episode, she candidly shares her journey to activism from her traumatic and abusive childhood (that led her to go ‘no contact’ with her family 5 years ago), to a boyfriend in her 20s who loved her exactly as she was, to her rebellious and loud activism, to now. As with all things Virgie, her storytelling, authenticity, and boldness are pure joy.

You may know Cara MacB (they/them) for their videos on social media of a call centre operator fielding complaint calls from fatphobic people. Cara’s content is brilliant, hilarious, and one of the ways that they try to change people’s beliefs that fat is bad. In this episode, Cara shares how they dismantled their own fatphobia, discovered that they could use their inner class clown for good, and how lazy it is to use marginalized identities as the butt of jokes.

Goody Howard (she/her) delightfully takes us through how and why we should separate sex from pleasure, the more than 18(!) types of orgasms, the difference between a kink and a fetish, and why it’s important to practice how we play. Please note that this is a very candid conversation about sex and pleasure.

Medical interactions are often deeply traumatic for fat and plus-size people. Anne McGladdery (they/she) is a medical student, fat, and became a squeaky wheel during medical school in order to shift the anti-fat bias prevalent throughout the curriculum. Anne shares about their stressful first couple of years (spoiler: their hair started falling out!), their weight stigma research project, and how they plan to be a different kind of physician for fat people.

Dr. Vicky Borgia (she/her) is a primary care physician whose clinic offers “compassionate and respectful medical care” focusing on gender affirming care, queer care, and Health at Every Size principles. All aspects of Vicky’s practice have been thought through with a focus on patient safety and comfort for all bodies. Lucky patients!

When Sophia took one of Shannon Kaneshige’s (they/them) Fat Yoga classes, she felt fully visible in a movement space for the first time. In this expansive conversation, Shannon shares how their a-ah moments on a hiking trail and while watching their 6-month old receive cancer treatment changed everything. Shannon believes that when we connect to embodied self agency on the mat, we bring that agency into all areas of our lives. For many fat folks, we’ve not been allowed to be nice to our bodies, to feel gentleness towards our bodies, and Shannon’s here to shift that thinking.

Caring for kids in the age of diet culture is hugely challenging because in all arenas of kids’ lives, they’re exposed to anti-fat bias. Virginia Sole-Smith (she/her) talks us through how to equip our children to recognize anti-fatness when they experience it at school, on their sports teams, and at the doctor’s office.