logo
episode-header-image
Jul 30
21m 8s

Thin, White and Right: The Ideal Christi...

THE NEW YORK TIMES OPINION
About this episode

Conservative Christian influencers are reshaping beauty standards and promoting diet culture — and their messages are resonating with women. In this episode of “The Opinions,” the Times Opinion editor Meher Ahmad speaks with the columnist Jessica Grose about how religion and weight loss culture intertwine, and why this pairing is gaining traction.

Read the full transcript here: https://nytimes.com/2025/07/30/opinion/christian-influencers-diet-culture-women.html

Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Derek Arthur. It was edited by Alison Bruzek and Kaari Pitkin. The rest of the show's production team includes Vishakha Darbha, Kristina Samulewski and Jillian Weinberger. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. Original music by Pat McCusker, Efim Shapiro and Carole Sabouraud. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski. The director of Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

Up next
Oct 6
America’s Next Story: Trumpism After Trump
What and who comes after President Trump? That’s the question behind America’s Next Story, a limited series from “The Opinions.” In this episode David Leonhardt, an editorial director in Times Opinion, talks to Gladden Pappin, a national conservative dedicated to furthering MAGA’ ... Show More
30m 40s
Oct 4
‘If You Don’t Want This Consequence, Don’t Vote for Republicans’
It’s Day 4 of the current government shutdown, and the Trump administration is threatening to use the moment to fire federal workers. In this episode, the Opinion columnists David French, Jamelle Bouie and Michelle Goldberg debate what this power struggle means for Democrats, Rep ... Show More
38m 3s
Oct 1
The ‘Thursday Murder Club’ Author Wants Us to Rethink Aging
Aging isn’t easy, and topics like dementia and medically assisted dying can be hard to talk about. The British mystery writer Richard Osman is trying to change that. Osman has reimagined the notion of aging through his best-selling “Thursday Murder Club” series, centered on four ... Show More
26m 38s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2024
Women of Sound: Jean Ritchie
Jean Ritchie (1922-2015) was the mother of folk music. She was an instrumental voice in the American folk music revival of the 1940s and 60s, and introduced a traditional dulcimer sound to a wider audience.  For Further Reading: Jean Ritchie, Lyrical Voice of Appalachia, Dies at ... Show More
7m 44s
Jul 29
Best Of: Barbara Kingsolver on ‘Urban-Rural Antipathy’
“It’s so insidious, people don’t realize it,” Barbara Kingsolver told me, describing the prejudice against “country people.” Kingsolver is one of those “country people,” as well as a literary legend in her own time, who set out to write the “great Appalachian novel.” And I think ... Show More
1h 1m
Oct 2024
Culture Chat: why is everyone so mad at Katy Perry?
Today we’re sexy, confident, intelligent, heaven-sent – and taking on Katy Perry’s disastrous new album, 143. Featuring the lead single ‘Woman’s World’, this album has gone viral for all the wrong reasons: a muddled feminist message, a slew of publicity gaffes and even a governme ... Show More
29m 4s
Jun 2024
The Real Carrie Jade: 03 - I'm Lucy Fitzwilliams!
Samantha Cookes is now living as Lucy Fitzwilliams. She’s moved to Dublin and begins to settle into a new community in the affluent south side, quickly becoming a friendly face. Lucy begins working with children. But then things start to unravel when two local women begin to ques ... Show More
32m 32s
Nov 2024
Women of Controversy: Freydris Eriksdotter
 Freydis Eriksdotter was a Viking explorer and sister to Leif Erikson. She is mentioned in the two quasi-historical, Nordic texts: The Saga of the Greenlanders and Eirik the Red’s Saga. In both texts, Freydis set sail and explored the new land.  For Further Reading:  Women in the ... Show More
5m 48s
Dec 2024
Go-Getters: Carrie Crawford Smith
Carrie Crawford Smith (1877-1954) placed hundreds of fellow Black women in jobs in and around Chicago through her employment agency. In an era when Black women faced intense discrimination and negative stereotyping in the workforce, Carrie made it her mission to ensure her client ... Show More
4m 43s
Nov 2024
Women of Controversy: Miyuki Ishikawa
Miyuki Ishikawa (1897 - c. 1987) was a Japanese midwife and serial killer. She is believed to be responsible for the death of 103 infants in the late 1940s. Her crimes highlighted the economic and social conditions of postwar Japan and the problems with its welfare system.  For F ... Show More
4m 6s
May 2022
Highlights: Denise Ho, Melissa Leong and The Newsreader
Logie nominated ABC series The Newsreader is a late 20th century period drama about sexual politics, egos and the stories that shaped our consciousness in the mid 1980s. Co-creator and writer Michael Lucas and series writer Kim Ho take us behind the scenes of the series. MasterCh ... Show More
54m 7s
Jun 2024
Wordsmiths: Paula Gunn Allen
Paula Gunn Allen (1939-2008) was an American poet, literary critic, activist, professor, and novelist. With works that often explored Indigeneity and feminism, she helped establish a Native American literary presence in the United States.  For Further Reading: Paula Gunn Allen Ch ... Show More
3m 45s
Nov 2021
#40 Barbara Shutt
In 1968, Jonathan’s mother-in-law Becky spent one of the best summers of her life with a woman named Barbara. But then they never spoke again. Now, over fifty years later, Becky learns something about Barbara that makes her question whether she ever really knew her at all. Credit ... Show More
36m 36s