79 Wellness

“Like workout culture, wellness is a form of conspicuous consumption. It is only the wealthy who have the resources to maintain the illusion of an integral and bounded self, capable of responsible self-care and thus worthy of social status. The same logic says that those who smoke (read: poor), or don’t eat right (poor again), or don’t exercise enough (also poor) have personally failed and somehow deserve their health problems and low life expectancy.” - Gabriel Winant We explore some controversial themes in this episode as we question the fundamental societal shifts that have caused “wellness” to explode as an industry in North America (and “medicine” to effectively function as big business). Although we’ve questioned some of our culture’s intense demands for “productivity” and “exercise culture” in the past, this is the first time that we’re questioning the concept of mindfulness. We’re not placing any stakes in ground on this issue quite yet, but the conversation is important.   Joy: Joule Sous VideHustle: Natural Causes, Mind Control: Barbara Ehrenreich’s radical critique of wellness and self-improvement p.s. This podcast is sponsored by Audible. Head over to audibletrial.com/soulfulmba to get a free audiobook and a 30-day free trial!