The Burnt Toast Podcast

You’re listening to Burnt Toast! Today my conversation is with Jamilah Lemieux . Jamilah is an award-winning writer, cultural critic, and leading voice in digital feminism, known for shaping online conversations around race, gender, and relationship. She writes the Care and Feeding Parenting Advice column for Slate , and her work has appeared in outlets like the Los Angeles Times, Vanity Fair, and...

You're listening to Burnt Toast! We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay , and today we're talking about PEPTIDES.   This new diet trend is the cursed love child of the protein bros and the RFK stans, and it's supposed to make you thin, tan, and maybe horny. What could go wrong?! We're getting into: ⭐️ What the heck is a peptide? Why would one stack them? ⭐️ Clavicular, the 20-year-old looksm...

You’re listening to Burnt Toast! I’m Virginia Sole-Smith. Today my conversation is with Emma Copley Eisenberg. Emma is the author of the nationally bestselling novel Housemates and the story collection Fat Swim . Her essays, literary criticism and reporting have appeared in The New Republic , Granta , and Esquire among others, and she writes the Substack newsletter Frump Feelings . She lives in Ph...

In the original episode, we asked, "Is Mel Robbins a Diet?" Plot Twist (or is it?): Mel is now selling nutritional supplements. Protein shots, to be exact—so we decided to give them a try. Paid subscribers can listen or WATCH Corinne try Mel Robbins' Pure Genius protein shot and give us her honest review. 👀 Free list: You won't want to miss this ! Subscribe here.   EPISODE CREDITS Co-hosts: Virgi...

We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay and it’s time for your April Just Toast episode! This is a special episode because we recorded in person! I traveled to New Mexico to see Corinne, have new Burnt Toast headshots taken and visit Meow Wolf with my kiddo and my boyfriend. It was a glorious trip and I'm excited to share some of the behind the scenes with you today. In this episode we're talki...

You are listening to Burnt Toast. I'm Virginia Sole Smith. Today my conversation is with Keri Harvey. Keri is an NASM certified personal trainer and a pain-free performance specialist specializing in beginner strength . She's a part owner of Form Fitness Brooklyn and has recently gotten into powerlifting. She just competed in her first sanctioned meet and won first place in her weight class. Keri...

We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay, and it's time for your April Extra Butter episode! This normally where we would say "Welcome to Indulgence Gospel After Dark, " but today we're saying, " Welcome to Extra Butter ." Longtime listeners know that we used to call the Virginia and Corinne episodes "Indulgence Gospel" in honor of a troll comment . We still love the name and are having a hard t...

We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay and it’s time for your March Just Toast episode! Today we are talking about: ⭐️ The new, skinny American Girl dolls ⭐️ Does taking a GLP-1 make you a better parent? We're also answering listener questions about: ⭐️ The diet culture voice in your head ⭐️ Colonoscopy prep and the feelings it brings up ⭐️ Virginia's review of the Heated Rivalry books Yo...

You're listening to Burnt Toast. I'm Virginia Sole-Smith.  Today is the second part of my conversation with Savala Nolan . Savala is a writer, public speaker and professor at UC Berkeley. Her brand new book, Good Woman: A Reckoning is out now.  Her first book, Don’t Let It Get You Down: Essays on Race, Gender and the Body , was shortlisted for the William Saroyan Prize and celebrated as a “standou...

You're listening to Burnt Toast. I'm Virginia Sole-Smith. Today my conversation is with none other than the beloved, the brilliant, Lindy West. Lindy is the author of four books, The New York Times bestselling memoir, Shrill , as well as the essay collections, The Witches Are Coming and Shit, Actually , and her brand new memoir Adult Braces , out now. Lindy is a former contributing opinion writer...

You're listening to Burnt Toast. I'm Virginia Sole-Smith. Today my conversation is with the brilliant Savala Nolan. Savala is a writer, public speaker and professor at UC Berkeley. Her brand new book, Good Woman: A Reckoning is out now.  Her first book, Don’t Let It Get You Down: Essays on Race, Gender and the Body , was shortlisted for the William Saroyan Prize and celebrated as a “standout colle...

We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay and it’s time for your February Indulgence Gospel! Today we are talking about influencers who show their expensive influencer grocery hauls, as well as people who spend A LOT OF MONEY on food delivery. (If you too had feelings about that ChrisLovesJulia reel ...let's get into it!) We also talk about our own spending on groceries and food delivery....and o...

You're listening to Burnt Toast! We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay . Today our conversation is with Kim Baldwin , the newest member of the Burnt Toast team. Kim is the former digital editor for the Nashville Scene . Her culture writing can be found in places like the Nashville Scene , Parnassus Books’ Musings and on her Substack . Kim has interviewed folks like Sarah Sherman, Trixie Matte...

Welcome to Indulgence Gospel After Dark! We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay , and it's time for your February Extra Butter episode! Listen to hear about: ⭐️ Anti-diet GLP-1 life ⭐️ Who gets left out when the tradwife aesthetic takes over influencer culture ⭐️ Interrogating the ableism of not wanting to be on medication your whole life Plus, serious stuff, like: ⭐️ Corinne in a prairie...

You're listening to Burnt Toast. I'm Virginia Sole-Smith. Today my conversation is with Dr. Lauren Muhlheim. Lauren is a psychologist, a fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders, a certified eating disorder specialist and approved consultant for the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals. She's also a Certified Body Trust Provider and directs Eating Disorder Therapy LA , a gr...

We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay and it’s time for a BONUS January Indulgence Gospel! This episode is free for everyone. If you enjoy it, consider a paid subscription to Burnt Toast ! It's the best way to support our work and keep this an ad- and sponsor-free space. You'll also get behind some of our most popular paywalled episodes like: 🧈 Why is Katie Sturino Working for Weight Watcher...

We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay and it’s time for your January Indulgence Gospel! Today we are talking about former restaurant critic turned diet crusader Pete Wells —and why the New York Times always spends January turning into a women's magazine from hell. CW for discussions of intentional weight loss and lazy fat jokes (from Pete), including some that are offensive to both humans and...

You're listening to Burnt Toast! I'm Virginia Sole-Smith. Today, my conversation is with the one and only Melani Sanders . Melani is a digital creator and the fearless founder of the We Do Not Care movement. If you are a woman in your 40s, 50s and beyond, you are very likely already in this club. Melani's viral club meeting videos, where she runs down a list of everything "We just do not care abou...

Welcome to Indulgence Gospel After Dark! We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay , and it's time for our annual Ins & Outs Episode! This is what we do every New Year, instead of making resolutions or setting problematic body change goals. It's deeply unserious but still satisfies that urge to reflect and make some (fun) plans for the year to come! Listen to hear... ⭐️ The pants Virginia fo...

You're listening to Burnt Toast! We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay . Happy 2026!!! To celebrate—and kick off the most diet-y month of the year!—we are here with a roundup of the very best anti-diet fitness advice in the Burnt Toast archives. If you find this useful, consider a paid Burnt Toast subscription ! We're way cheaper than a gym or a diet app membership, and arguably better for yo...

You're listening to Burnt Toast! We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay . Happy Christmas if you celebrate! If you don't, happy Thursday where everything is closed! Either way, today we're taking a look back at your five favorite episodes of the year. If you enjoy the snippets you hear here, why not give yourself the gift of Burnt Toast? In addition to getting behind paywalled episodes and ess...

You're listening to Burnt Toast! We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay . And it's time for the episode we look forward to all year long—ever since we made it a tradition exactly one year ago! It is time for... The Year In Butters, where we look back at everything we've recommended in the past year and tell you what's still buttery and what has...gone rancid. If you're new here: Butter is what...

You’re listening to Burnt Toast! I’m Virginia Sole-Smith. Today, my conversation is with Rachel Cahill , a longtime anti-hunger policy advocate based in Ohio. Rachel and her team support national and state-level organizations fighting every day to end hunger and poverty in the United States. Most of her work focuses on making SNAP (the government's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) the mo...

Welcome to Indulgence Gospel After Dark! We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay , and it's time for your December Extra Butter episode. Today we've got a couple of rants and answers to your listener questions. On the agenda: ⭐️ The tyranny of School Spirit Weeks — especially during the holiday season! ⭐️ How it feels to date another fat person 👀🔥 ⭐️ How we're surviving — even thriving? —...

We are Virginia Sole-Smith and Corinne Fay and it’s time for your Indulgence Gospel — Thanksgiving Edition! We often skip an episode drop on this day, but given how high pressure Thanksgiving can be for food, bodies and people, we thought...maybe you need a little Indulgence Gospel, a little Butter, and a little distraction from whatever your holiday weekend entails? We've got you: A Helen Rosner-...