If you’ve opened Instagram, turned on the news, or simply overheard a conversation at a coffee shop lately, you’ve probably heard someone talking about GLP-1s (Ozempic, Zepbound, Wegovy…).
The cultural obsession with these drugs has exploded — and once again, it’s all centered around one familiar promise: weight loss equals health, happiness, and success.
Last week on the podcast, Ragen Chastain joined me to unpack one of the most persistent myths holding up diet culture: “Isn’t being fat bad for your health?”
This week, Ragen returns to answer listener questions about GLP-1s and the weight-loss drug industry.
We get into how these medications actually work (and don’t), what the research says about their effectiveness and risks, and what it means that the same pharmaceutical companies profiting from weight-loss drugs are also shaping how the public — and even healthcare providers — think about weight and health.
Ragen brings her signature clarity and rigor to a conversation that’s often clouded by hype, fear, and stigma.
As you listen, remember that this is a revisited episode, meaning the data we have on the side effects and long-term risks has only increased — highlighting even more cause for concern, especially with respect to how much of this research is being left out of the media.
Listen to the episode for more on:
The real science behind GLP-1s and how they function in the body
Short- and long-term side effects, including what happens when people stop taking them
The risks that aren’t being talked about
What weight-loss studies actually measure — and what they leave out
How pharma companies influence public health narratives and medical education
The shortages impacting people with diabetes who depend on these drugs for survival
We also talk about something even bigger: what happens when an entire culture defines health through the lens of thinness — and how that shapes everything from medical care to self-worth.
This isn’t a conversation about shame or judgment, because more than anything, I will always lead with this: Body autonomy matters, and everyone gets to make their own choices for their own body. Including GLP-1s. Instead, this episode is an invitation to slow down, get curious, and question what we’ve been told. Because when it comes to our bodies, we deserve informed consent — not fear, moralizing, or marketing disguised as medicine.
This episode is a bonus, available exclusively to paid subscribers here on Substack.
When you join as a paid subscriber, you make it possible for me to keep creating in-depth, nuanced, ad-free conversations like this one (ah, thank you!!).
And, you’ll get access to bonus essays and episodes, like these:
The problem with “just eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full”
Whether fiber-maxxing is the new face of restriction
Thank you for being here — I am so glad you’re part of this space.
If you’re a paid subscriber, the comments thread is open on this piece, and I’d love to know: What else would you like to hear / read about when it comes to GLP-1s?
I know this is a tough, sensitive, incredibly nuanced topic. I’m here, I’m listening, so let me know.
