In 1988, Oprah Winfrey revealed on her hugely popular talk show that she’d shed 67 pounds, which she illustrated to her audience by wheeling out a little red wagon full of exactly that much animal fat. That show, the highest-rated of her 25-year run, would kickstart a cycle of speculation about this wildly successful woman’s body that would endure for decades. In this episode, Susie and Jess explore why Oprah’s weight struggles have been the subject of so much fascination, her recent special that touches on that scrutiny, the rise of Ozempic and the pressure women feel to be perfect.

FOR MORE:
Oprah Daily’s The State of Weight Special (Oprah Daily)
Making Oprah podcast (WBEZ)
From the Archives: Oprah Winfrey Cover Story (Vogue)
Losing It in the Anti-Dieting Age (New York Times Magazine)

In 1988, Oprah Winfrey revealed on her hugely popular talk show that she’d shed 67 pounds, which she illustrated to her audience by wheeling out a little red wagon full of exactly that much animal fat. That show, the highest-rated of her 25-year run, would kickstart a cycle of speculation about this wildly successful woman’s body that would endure for decades. In this episode, Susie and Jess explore why Oprah’s weight struggles have been the subject of so much fascination, her recent special that touches on that scrutiny, the rise of Ozempic and the pressure women feel to be perfect.
FOR MORE:
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.oprahdaily.com/stateofweight/">Oprah Daily’s The State of Weight Special </a>(Oprah Daily)</li>
<li><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ee/podcast/oprah-preview-of-making-oprah/id1171160683?i=1000377467982">Making Oprah podcast</a> (WBEZ)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/from-the-archives-oprah-winfrey-in-vogue">From the Archives: Oprah Winfrey Cover Story</a> (Vogue)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/magazine/weight-watchers-oprah-losing-it-in-the-anti-dieting-age.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fmagazine&amp;_r=0">Losing It in the Anti-Dieting Age</a> (New York Times Magazine)</li>
</ul>

Is there a cultural moment from your past that looks different in retrospect? Maybe it’s a scandalous tabloid story seared into your teenage brain or a political punchline that just feels wrong now. It might be a very specific red swimsuit that inspired a decade of plastic surgery (see: “Baywatch”) or the inescapable smell of an entire generation of prepubescent boys (Axe body spray, anyone?). Each week on IN RETROSPECT, Emmy-winning journalist Susie Banikarim and New York Times editor Jessica Bennett revisit a pop culture moment from the 80s and 90s that shaped them — to try to understand what it taught us about the world, and a woman’s place in it.

Talk to us at @inretropod, @susiebnyc and @jessicabennett on Instagram. New episodes each Friday.

Is there a cultural moment from your past that looks different in retrospect? Maybe it’s a scandalous tabloid story seared into your teenage brain or a political punchline that just feels wrong now. It might be a very specific red swimsuit that inspired a decade of plastic surgery (see: “Baywatch”) or the inescapable smell of an entire generation of prepubescent boys (Axe body spray, anyone?). Each week on IN RETROSPECT, Emmy-winning journalist Susie Banikarim and New York Times editor Jessica Bennett revisit a pop culture moment from the 80s and 90s that shaped them — to try to understand what it taught us about the world, and a woman’s place in it.
Talk to us at @inretropod, @susiebnyc and @jessicabennett on Instagram. New episodes each Friday.

In Retrospect with Susie Banikarim and Jessica Bennett

Oprah’s Little Red Wagon

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/a95c2901-117b-45e2-87c1-b093000403bb/transcript