Diet Cults

I went into *Diet Cults* expecting another dry takedown of fad diets, but Fitzgerald’s writing is so sharp and Thorne’s narration so engaging that I binge-listened to the first three hours in one sitting—something I rarely do with nonfiction. Thorne’s voice has a reassuring, almost Socratic tone, which works perfectly for Fitzgerald’s methodical dismantling of diet dogma; he never talks down to the listener, even when exposing the absurdity of, say, juice cleanses or the carnivore diet. My only critique? Fitzgerald’s chapter on intuitive eating feels rushed compared to the rest, as if he assumes readers already know the basics—which, for many, they don’t. The production is clean, with no distracting background noise, and Thorne’s pacing ensures that even the densest nutritional science lands without losing momentum. What stuck with me most wasn’t Fitzgerald’s debunking of specific diets (though he does that masterfully) but his insistence that the real issue isn’t what we eat—it’s why we think we *have* to eat that way at all. If you’ve ever rolled your eyes at a wellness influencer selling you a $200 supplement with "ancient secret" claims, this audiobook will feel like a victory lap. Highly recommended for anyone tired of being bullied by their grocery cart.