Health At Every Size show on Radio Free Nashville with Peggy Elam, Ph.D. & Pat Ballard, Queen of Rubenesque Romances

November 23, 2009 Health At Every Size radio show -- Conversation with Rebecca Brock, author of the rubenesque romance novel The Giving Season

[Note: The post for this show was actually published November 30, 2009, but was backdated to November 23, 2009 to correspond with the show date.]

Today's Fat & Happy Music:  "Freedom" (Suchi Waters Benjamin) & "Revolution Earth" (The B-52s).

Food for Thought: Peggy and Pat started their Thanksgiving holidays early, so in lieu of live studio chat they broadcast a recording of their November 12, 2009 teleconference call with Rebecca Brock, author of the rubenesque romance novel The Giving Season, just published by Pearlsong Press. The call was one of a series of Pearlsong Conversations Peggy (founder, publisher & editor-in-chief of Pearlsong Press) has monthly with authors and readers. For more on these interviews and recordings of previous Conversations, see the Pearlsong Conversations page at www.pearlsong.com/pearlsongconversations.htm.

In this Conversation Peggy and Pat chat with Rebecca about (among other things) how and why the author of short stories in zombie fiction anthologies came to write a sweet romance novel in which the only monsters slain are the plump heroine's inner demons.

Audio: Listen to and/or download the mp3 recording of today's show here. (Right click on the link and "save as" to download.)

October 26, 2009 Health At Every Size radio show -- Fat Friendly Fiction replay

Today's Health At Every Size show is a rebroadcast of the July 20, 2009 show.

Today's Fat & Happy Music: "Freedom" (Suchi Waters Benjamin), "Happy Being Fat" (Big Dee Irwin) & "Fit, Fat & Fine" (Candye Kane).

Food for Thought: Today's show featured the recording of a July 8, 2009 teleconference call Peggy had with authors Lynne Murray, Charlie Lovett, Frannie Zellman, Ellen Frankel, Rebecca Fox & William Sherman about creating and publishing fat friendly fiction.

Murray is the author of the Josephine Fuller mystery series. Her new novel, Bride of the Living Dead, will be published by Pearlsong Press. Lovett is the author of the suspense novel The Program. Zellman is the author of the fantasy novel FatLand and editor and co-author of Fat Poets Speak: Voices of the Fat Poets' Society. Frankel is the author of Beyond Measure: A Memoir About Short Stature & Inner Growth and co-author of The Diet Survivor's Handbook and Beyond A Shadow of A Diet. Fox & Sherman are co-authors of the romantic novel Measure By Measure.

The call was one of a series of Pearlsong Conversations Peggy has monthly with various Pearlsong Press authors while wearing my publisher's hat. (See the Pearlsong website for details and links to recordings of previous Conversations.) We continued the discussion of fat friendly fiction in the August 12, 2009 teleconference call.

Email pearlsongconversations @ pearlsong.com if you want to participate in the November 2009 (or any other) call. The teleconference calls are free except for any long distance toll that might apply. November's featured Conversation is with Rebecca Brock, author of the new rubenesque romance novel The Giving Season.

Audio: Listen to and/or download the mp3 recording of today's show here. (Right click on the link and "save as" to download.)

Great clip from fat studies scholar Amy Farrell's appearance on last night's The Colbert Report. Colbert ended the segment before Farrell could address the stereotyping that all fat people eat excessively, but it was still fun to watch.

I'm looking forward to reading Farrell's upcoming book Fat Shame and her contribution in the new Fat Studies Reader . Both books are being published by NYU Press.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Obesity Epidemic - Amy Farrell
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Michael Moore

July 20, 2009 Health At Every Size radio show -- Conversation with Authors about Fat Friendly Fiction

Today's Fat & Happy Music: "Freedom" (Suchi Waters Benjamin), "Happy Being Fat" (Big Dee Irwin) & "Fit, Fat & Fine" (Candye Kane).

Food for Thought: Today's show featured the recording of a July 8, 2009 teleconference call I had with authors Lynne Murray, Charlie Lovett, Frannie Zellman, Ellen Frankel, Rebecca Fox & William Sherman about creating and publishing fat friendly fiction.

Murray is the author of the Josephine Fuller mystery series. Her new novel, Bride of the Living Dead, will be published by Pearlsong Press. Lovett is the author of the suspense novel The Program. Zellman is the author of the fantasy novel FatLand and editor and co-author of Fat Poets Speak: Voices of the Fat Poets' Society. Frankel is the author of Beyond Measure: A Memoir About Short Stature & Inner Growth and co-author of The Diet Survivor's Handbook and Beyond A Shadow of A Diet. Fox & Sherman are co-authors of the romantic novel Measure By Measure.

The call was one of a series of Pearlsong Conversations I have monthly with various Pearlsong Press authors while wearing my publisher's hat. (See the Pearlsong website for details and links to recordings of previous Conversations.) We'll continue the discussion of fat friendly fiction in the August 12, 2009 teleconference call.

Email pearlsongconversations @ pearlsong.com if you want to participate in the August call, which is free of charge (except for any long distance toll that might apply).

Audio: Listen to and/or download the mp3 recording of today's show here. (Right click on the link and "save as" to download.)

June 15, 2009 Health At Every Size radio show -- A conversation with Measure By Measure authors Rebecca Fox & William Sherman

Today's Fat & Happy Music: "Freedom" by Suchi Waters Benjamin.

Food for Thought: Broadcast of the June 10, 2009 Pearlsong Conversation teleconference call with authors Rebecca Fox & William Sherman (and others) discussing the writing and publication of their new novel Measure By Measure and the importance of fat-positive fiction.

Audio: Listen to and/or download the mp3 recording of today's show here. (Right click on the link and "save as" to download.)

Fat Is A Feminist Issue author Susie Orbach to speak at D.C. area health conference August 1, 2009

 The following is a press release from the Association for Size Diversity & Health:

British author Susie Orbach to speak at D.C. area health conference
Fat Is A Feminist Issue author will discuss & sign new book Bodies
Evening event also features "Discover Your Healthy Weight" DVD screening

REDWOOD CITY, CA -- On Saturday, August 1, 2009 the Association for Size Diversity and Health will host special guest speaker Susie Orbach as part of their annual international conference in Washington.

Orbach, most famous for her 1978 book Fat Is a Feminist Issue , will discuss and sign her newest book, Bodies, published earlier this year. The evening event is open to the public, with eating disorders and health professionals especially encouraged to attend.

Bodies brings into sharp relief the startling trend of seeing our bodies as a site of production, something to “work on” rather than something that “works for” us. In the past several decades a globalized media has overwhelmed us with images of an idealized, westernized body and conditioned us to see any exception to that ideal as a problem. Orbach reveals the true dimensions of the crisis, and points the way toward healing and acceptance.

Orbach is an author, analyst and activist, co-founder of The Women’s Therapy Center in London and New York, and co-convener of the website www.any-body.org.

Conversations with Susie Orbach will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Saturday, August 1, 2009 at the Dulles Airport Marriott Hotel, 45020 Aviation Drive, Dulles, VA 20166. Tickets are $35. Hors d’oeuvres will be served and books will be available for purchase and signing. Pre-registration is required by July 24.

Also included that evening will be the East coast premiere of The Body Positive DVD “Discover your Healthy Weight,” presented by filmmaker and The Body Positive co-founder Connie Sobczak.

The Association for Size Diversity and Health promotes Health At Every Size principles supporting education, research, and the provision of services that enhance health and well-being and are free from weight-based assumptions and weight discrimination.

For more information or to register visit www.sizediversityandhealth.org or call the toll-free number 877....

March 16, 2009 Health At Every Size radio show -- A Conversation with author & memoir-writing teacher Linda C. Wisniewski

Today's Fat & Happy Music: "Freedom" (Suchi Waters Benjamin) & "Happy Childhood" (Marshall Chapman).

Food for Thought: For today's show I played the recording of last week's Pearlsong Conversation with Linda C. Wisniewski, author of Off Kilter: A Woman's Journey to Peace with Scoliosis, Her Mother, & Her Polish Heritage and a teacher of memoir-writing classes. Apologies for the audio quality of the first half of the teleconference call recording; halfway through the show a WRFN staffer showed me how to increase the volume. For the show recording archived here I've used an audio editing program to tinker with the first half and raise its volume as well.

Audio: Listen to and/or download the mp3 recording of today's show here. (Right click on the link and "save as" to download the recording.)

January 19, 2009 Health At Every Size radio show -- Conversation with FatLand author Frannie Zellman

Today's Fat & Happy Music: "Freedom" (Suchi Waters Benjamin) & "Beautiful Fool" (Beth Nielsen Chapman).

Food for Thought: A conversation with Frannie Zellman, author of the new novel FatLand.

Audio: Listen to and/or download the mp3 recording of today's show here. (Right click on the link & "save as" to download).

The New York Times on fat acceptance & Health At Every Size

Robin Marantz Henig of the New York Times has an excellent article in today's Times magazine section on "Losing the Weight Stigma."

The article critiques the "no-holds-barred war on obesity" that is the "public-health crusade of the moment." It even points out that fat acceptance activists "deliberately use the word 'fat' as a way to reclaim it, much the way some gay rights activists use the word 'queer.'"

(I like to encourage people -- a little tongue-in-cheek -- to count the letters in "FAT" so they can see it's not a four-letter word. The word "obesity" is the real obscenity -- especially in the way it's used in contemporary medicine -- because it pathologizes people simply because of their weight, size or body composition. The Latin root of "obesity" also implies "excessive" eating, which is not the case in all fat people AND is true of some lean people.)

Henig mentions the recent Archives of Internal Medicine study reporting that half of "overweight" and one-third of "obese" adults had normal blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar. She also gives a heads-up to Linda Bacon's new book Health At Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight, as well as Bacon's research supporting HAES.

Henig even understands that mainstream programs like Weight Watchers are co-opting Health At Every Size & size acceptance terminology without walking the talk -- while Weight Watchers, for instance, claims it isn't a diet (Oh, really? Since when?), "it still tracks weight loss down to the decimal point."

There's more, so by all means check it out yourself here.

March 10, 2008 Health At Every Size radio show

Today's Fat & Happy Music: "Happy Being Fat" (Big Dee Irwin), "Use What You Got" (Kristie Agee & Big Potential), "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What A Wonderful World" (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole), "Peel Me A Grape" (Anita O'Day), "Big Boned Gal" (kd lang & The Reclines), "Freedom" (Suzee -- a.k.a. Suchi -- Waters Benjamin) & "Start the Commotion" (The Wiseguys).

Food for Thought: Commentary on the fake-memoir controversy and my experiences with Pearlsong Press publishing the (true) memoirs Unconventional Means, Taking Up Space, Beyond Measure & Off Kilter; the healing effects of writing about traumatic experiences (per research by psychologist James Pennebaker, Ph.D.); Associated Press article critiquing the "obesity epidemic."

Audio: Listen to and/or download the mp3 recording of today's show here.

You can also follow this link to hear the interview with James Pennebaker, Ph.D. on Kathleen Adams's "Journaling for a Better Life" internet radio show. (You may have to sign in to the Exceptional Wisdom Radio website to listen to the archived show, however.) In addition to the research-oriented book Opening Up: The Healing Power of Expressing Emotions, Pennebaker has written a self-help version, Writing to Heal.

Kathleen Adams is the author of Journal to the Self and The Way of the Journal.