Tanya Mosley

I'm Tanya Mosley. Today, we are diving into the trillion-dollar machine that is the wellness industry, from what we eat and how we sleep to how we age, move, and think. Wellness promises to optimize every corner of our lives. Writer Amy LaRocca asks what's really behind all the promises of this industry in her new book, How to Be Well, Navigating Our Self-Care Epidemic, One Dubious Cure at a Time.

I'm Tanya Mosley. Today, we are diving into the trillion-dollar machine that is the wellness industry, from what we eat and how we sleep to how we age, move, and think. Wellness promises to optimize every corner of our lives. Writer Amy LaRocca asks what's really behind all the promises of this industry in her new book, How to Be Well, Navigating Our Self-Care Epidemic, One Dubious Cure at a Time.

In it, she dives into detoxes, colonics, infrared wraps, sweat lodges, wellness apps, and supplements to figure out what is real and what's really just good marketing. What she uncovers isn't just a collection of trends, but a vast and revealing system shaped by our beliefs about health, status, gender, and worth. She's asking, who does this culture of wellness really serve?

In it, she dives into detoxes, colonics, infrared wraps, sweat lodges, wellness apps, and supplements to figure out what is real and what's really just good marketing. What she uncovers isn't just a collection of trends, but a vast and revealing system shaped by our beliefs about health, status, gender, and worth. She's asking, who does this culture of wellness really serve?

In it, she dives into detoxes, colonics, infrared wraps, sweat lodges, wellness apps, and supplements to figure out what is real and what's really just good marketing. What she uncovers isn't just a collection of trends, but a vast and revealing system shaped by our beliefs about health, status, gender, and worth. She's asking, who does this culture of wellness really serve?

Who does it leave behind? And why even when we see through the sales pitch, we still buy in? Amy LaRocca is an award-winning journalist, serving as a fashion director and editor-at-large for New York Magazine. Her writing has also appeared in the New York Times, Vogue, Town & Country, and the London Review of Books. Amy LaRocca, welcome to Fresh Air. Hi, Tanya. Thank you so much.

Who does it leave behind? And why even when we see through the sales pitch, we still buy in? Amy LaRocca is an award-winning journalist, serving as a fashion director and editor-at-large for New York Magazine. Her writing has also appeared in the New York Times, Vogue, Town & Country, and the London Review of Books. Amy LaRocca, welcome to Fresh Air. Hi, Tanya. Thank you so much.

Who does it leave behind? And why even when we see through the sales pitch, we still buy in? Amy LaRocca is an award-winning journalist, serving as a fashion director and editor-at-large for New York Magazine. Her writing has also appeared in the New York Times, Vogue, Town & Country, and the London Review of Books. Amy LaRocca, welcome to Fresh Air. Hi, Tanya. Thank you so much.

Well, you know, Amy, I went into this book thinking I knew what the wellness industry was comprised of. But then I realized that there is so much under this umbrella of wellness that has made its way into the mainstream. So before we actually dive in, I want you to briefly define wellness and how big of an industry this actually is that we're talking about.

Well, you know, Amy, I went into this book thinking I knew what the wellness industry was comprised of. But then I realized that there is so much under this umbrella of wellness that has made its way into the mainstream. So before we actually dive in, I want you to briefly define wellness and how big of an industry this actually is that we're talking about.

Well, you know, Amy, I went into this book thinking I knew what the wellness industry was comprised of. But then I realized that there is so much under this umbrella of wellness that has made its way into the mainstream. So before we actually dive in, I want you to briefly define wellness and how big of an industry this actually is that we're talking about.

And you make the point to say it's a luxury good that is really marketed towards women. I actually want you to read the first page of this book, which defines the ultimate female customer.

And you make the point to say it's a luxury good that is really marketed towards women. I actually want you to read the first page of this book, which defines the ultimate female customer.

And you make the point to say it's a luxury good that is really marketed towards women. I actually want you to read the first page of this book, which defines the ultimate female customer.

You have a sense of humor and yet this speaks truth. I mean, depending on where you sit, the well woman, she sounds aspirational or, you know, on the other side of that, she sounds insufferable. Many of us know her. I mean, many of us also want to be her. Maybe we are her. What is it, though, about her pursuit of wellness that is part of a larger epidemic?

You have a sense of humor and yet this speaks truth. I mean, depending on where you sit, the well woman, she sounds aspirational or, you know, on the other side of that, she sounds insufferable. Many of us know her. I mean, many of us also want to be her. Maybe we are her. What is it, though, about her pursuit of wellness that is part of a larger epidemic?

You have a sense of humor and yet this speaks truth. I mean, depending on where you sit, the well woman, she sounds aspirational or, you know, on the other side of that, she sounds insufferable. Many of us know her. I mean, many of us also want to be her. Maybe we are her. What is it, though, about her pursuit of wellness that is part of a larger epidemic?

Because you use that term in the subtitle of the book that we are in the midst of a self-care epidemic. That is a very strong word.

Because you use that term in the subtitle of the book that we are in the midst of a self-care epidemic. That is a very strong word.

Because you use that term in the subtitle of the book that we are in the midst of a self-care epidemic. That is a very strong word.