Obesity — Episodes

6 curated episodes

73 min · Jun 2026 · #300

Who Should Take GLP-1s? Weight Loss Explained | Dr. Robert Kushner & Mike Haney

Dr. Robert Kushner, MD — Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Medical Education, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; lead investigator on the STEP trials

How GLP-1s change your biology—and why, despite the hype, they are not a one-size-fits-all solution for any extra pounds.

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55 min · Feb 2026 · #293

Why you can't exercise your way to weight loss

Dr. Herman Pontzer — Duke University; Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology

Extra exercise doesn't burn extra calories long-term — your body compensates. The Constrained Energy Model explained, and why diet is the only real lever for weight loss.

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66 min · Jan 2026 · #290

Why weight loss is so hard to maintain

Dr. Eric Ravussin, PhD — Pennington Biomedical Research Center; Professor & metabolism researcher

Your body defends its set point aggressively after weight loss. What the Biggest Loser study revealed about metabolic adaptation — and why maintenance is harder than losing.

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94 min · Jan 2026 · #289

Why nutrition science got it wrong

Gary Taubes — Investigative science journalist; author of Good Calories, Bad Calories and Why We Get Fat

Nutrition science built its guidelines on epidemiology, not trials. The case for the carbohydrate–insulin model, why low-fat dogma persisted, and what RCTs actually show.

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95 min · Nov 2024 · #268

Uncovering the shocking realities of obesity, skinny fat, and insulin resistance

Dr. Robert Lustig, MD — UCSF; Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics & endocrinologist; author of Metabolical

Fat storage requires insulin, not just calories. Why visceral fat is metabolically dangerous, what TOFI means for thin people, and how stress drives fat accumulation.

53 min · Feb 2022 · #69

Insulin resistance and the hidden effects of sugar on kids

Dr. Robert Lustig, MD — UCSF; Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics & endocrinologist; author of Metabolical

Sugar gives children fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes by damaging their mitochondria. Why fructose is the main driver, and what dietary changes reverse the damage.