EPISODE · Jan 30, 2025 · 35 MIN
(Self) Helped: Inside The Industry That Wants To Change Your Life
from Embodied · host WUNC
Anita is committed to self-improvement but skeptical of self-help. She brings her qualms and questions to the experts: Kristen Meinzer, a podcaster who has lived by the rules of more than 50 self-help books, and Beth Blum, a scholar who's traced the genre back to its roots. Plus Sondra Rose Marie, a former self-help fan, shares how the industry has failed her as a woman of color.Meet the guests:- Kristen Meinzer, pop culture commentator and podcast host, shares what she learned from following the rules of over 50 self-help books- Beth Blum, Harvard humanities professor and author, talks about the long history of the self-help industry, and how it's changed over the decades- Sondra Rose Marie, writer, talks about why she started following a self-help guru...and what events made her leaveDig Deeper:Kristen's podcasts How To Be Fine and Daily FailBeth's book "The Self-Help Compulsion"Sondra's Medium article on self-helpRead the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on TikTok and Instagram Leave a message for EmbodiedPlease note: This episode originally aired January 5, 2024.Updates: The latest season of Kristen Meinzer’s podcast “How To Be Fine” is all about the loneliness epidemic and friendship quandaries.Sondra Rose Marie is now the editor and owner of the digital magazine for LGBTQ+ women called Tagg Magazine.
What this episode covers
Anita is committed to self-improvement but skeptical of self-help. She brings her qualms and questions to the experts: Kristen Meinzer, a podcaster who has lived by the rules of more than 50 self-help books, and Beth Blum, a scholar who's traced the genre back to its roots. Plus Sondra Rose Marie, a former self-help fan, shares how the industry has failed her as a woman of color. Meet the guests: - Kristen Meinzer, pop culture commentator and podcast host, shares what she learned from following the rules of over 50 self-help books - Beth Blum, Harvard humanities professor and author, talks about the long history of the self-help industry, and how it's changed over the decades - Sondra Rose Marie, writer, talks about why she started following a self-help guru...and what events made her leave Dig Deeper: Kristen's podcasts How To Be Fine and Daily Fail Beth's book "The Self-Help Compulsion" Sondra's Medium article on self-help Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on TikTok and Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Please note: This episode originally aired January 5, 2024. Updates: The latest season of Kristen Meinzer’s podcast “How To Be Fine” is all about the loneliness epidemic and friendship quandaries. Sondra Rose Marie is now the editor and owner of the digital magazine for LGBTQ+ women called Tagg Magazine.
NOW PLAYING
(Self) Helped: Inside The Industry That Wants To Change Your Life
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
Jun 23, 2026 ·33m
Jun 21, 2026 ·35m
Jun 21, 2026 ·30m