Episode 8: Losing Isn’t Everything

Camp Shane is back… and as dysfunctional as ever. Kids are running around unsupervised, counselors are dropping out like flies, and medical supervision is pretty much nonexistent. After an accident that leaves a child in critical condition, Camp Shane’s cover is blown. A state investigation reveals what Shaners have known all along, and this time, David won’t get away with it.

References:

• The Epic Family Feud Behind an Iconic American Weight-Loss Camp for Kids
• ‘Hoping for a good summer’: Emails give insight into state office’s investigation of weight-loss camp
• Connecticut weight-loss camp surrenders license after state investigation
• Camp Investigation Finds Serious Health, Safety Issues
• State Investigating Youth Weight Loss Camp in Kent After Abrupt Closure
• Fat Talk: Parenting in the age of Diet Culture by Virginia Sole-Smith

Camp Shane—one of America’s longest running weight loss camps for kids—promised extraordinary results. Campers who began the summer in heavy bodies were often unrecognizable when they left. In a society obsessed with being thin, it seemed like a miracle solution.

But there were some dark truths behind Camp Shane’s facade of happy, transformed children. Kids were being pushed to their physical and emotional limits as the family that owned Shane turned a blind eye. More than 50 years after its founding, host Kelsey Snelling is bringing the real story of Camp Shane to light.

In this eight-episode series, she unpacks and investigates stories of mistreatment and reexamines the culture of fatphobia that enabled a flawed system to continue for so long. Along the way, she reveals and weighs the heavy price of shame.

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