PodParley PodParley
PodParley
Snake Oil episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 2, 2021 · 48 MIN

Snake Oil

from Maintenance Phase · host Aubrey Gordon & Michael Hobbes

The world of dieting and wellness is full of so-called snake oil salesmen—but what IS snake oil? This week, we take a wild ride through the history of health scams and discover a startling twist about an everyday idiom. Along the way, Aubrey delivers fun facts about sanitation from memory and Mike roasts the state where most of his family lives. Support us: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and moreLinks:Snake Oil, Hustlers & Hambones by Mary AndersonA History Of 'Snake Oil Salesmen' : Code Switch (NPR)How Snake Oil Got a Bad Rap (Hint: It Wasn’t The Snakes’ Fault) (Collectors Weekly)Thanks to Ashley Smith for editing assistance and Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!Support the show

What this episode covers

The world of dieting and wellness is full of so-called snake oil salesmen—but what IS snake oil? This week, we take a wild ride through the history of health scams and discover a startling twist about an everyday idiom. Along the way, Aubrey delivers fun facts about sanitation from memory and Mike roasts the state where most of his family lives. Support us: Subscribe on PatreonDonate on PayPalGet Maintenance Phase shirts, stickers and more Links: Snake Oil, Hustlers & Hambon...

NOW PLAYING

Snake Oil

0:00 48:52

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Share this episode

Similar Episodes

Dungeons and Dragons 5E: Ptolus – The Night of Dissolution – Episode 12

Jun 25, 2026 ·128m

WOW. That was SO HARD. | 012

Jun 25, 2026 ·30m

Delta Green: The Labor of Dogs – Episode 8

Jun 18, 2026 ·97m

The Zone: A Doomed Expedition

Jun 11, 2026 ·120m

Dungeons and Dragons 5E: Ptolus – The Night of Dissolution – Episode 11

Jun 4, 2026 ·124m

State of The Shift: Distortion is Louder as it Starves

Jun 3, 2026 ·34m

Similar Podcasts

Wingman's Garage Wingman's Garage 'Welcome to Wingman's Garage, the often rambling, somewhat informative motorcycle podcast hosted by Chris "The Wingman", Daniel “The Track Rat", among with Adam and “Happy” (formerly known as Eeyore). Join us on our weekly podcasting adventures as we share our rides through country roads, track days and the daily commute to share riding tips or maintenance tricks, and discuss new gear, trends, and of course, motorcycles. Explicit RPPR Actual Play Ross Payton Role Playing Public Radio presents a weekly Actual Play podcast of tabletop role playing game sessions. We play a wide variety of RPGs, from popular classics like Dungeons and Dragons and Call of Cthulhu to indie hits like Red Markets and Fate. Some of our episodes are stand-alone scenarios and we also feature ongoing campaigns in games like Delta Green, Eclipse Phase, and Base Raiders. Give us a listen if you want to hear a great gaming crew fight evil, try outrageous plans to save the day and joke about it. Explicit Movie Maintenance Sanspants Radio Equal parts fan fiction, review show and armchair producing as we look at Hollywood's greats and not-so-greats. Join us as we propose a very simple premise; we can do it better. Movie Maintenance - because some films just need fixing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Explicit Voices from my Bunker 2020 Pat Coakley-Writer/Photographer/Mixed Media "Voices from my Bunker 2020" is a series of interviews with all ages of people of what 2020 has been like for them. This is a rebranded podcast that used to be named, "PODSNACKS/Art of the Diet" but the first six months of 2020 has shifted my preoccupations from five years of weight maintenance to minute by minute sanity maintenance. Attention must be paid to the issues before me. I'm 75, live in Massachusetts, and my doorbell hasn't rung in 3 months and probably won't until there's a vaccine. My hair has its own zip code and I look like the Unibomber when captured in his Montana cabin. None of which interferes with my ability, thankfully, to ask questions over a Skype connection. I'll be recording interviews until the election on Nov 3, 2020. If he is reelected, look only for my obit. Explicit

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Maintenance Phase?

This episode is 48 minutes long.

When was this Maintenance Phase episode published?

This episode was published on February 2, 2021.

What is this episode about?

The world of dieting and wellness is full of so-called snake oil salesmen—but what IS snake oil? This week, we take a wild ride through the history of health scams and discover a startling twist about an everyday idiom. Along the way, Aubrey...

Is there a transcript available for this episode?

Yes, a full transcript is available for this episode. You can read the complete transcript on the episode page.

Can I download this Maintenance Phase episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.
URL copied to clipboard!