Podcast
Appearance Matters: The Podcast!
Hosted by The Centre for Appearance Research · EN
Appearance Matters: The Podcast! Is the official podcast of the Centre for Appearance Research - a world leading research centre investigating body image and appearance psychology research, based at the University of the West of England in Bristol, UK.
Hosted and produced by Maia Thornton, Abbi Mathews, Ella Guest, and Kat Schneider.
Music by Sian Evans & John Landau (https://toplinefilm.com)
14episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
110. Women’s Health Month Special: Understanding PMOS (PCOS) & Endometriosis
2w ago01:00:14Tap to summarizeWelcome back to Appearance Matters: The Podcast! To mark Women’s Health Month, Ella speaks to Dr Sophie Williams, Assistant Subject Lead for Psychology at University of Derby, and Trainee Health Psychologist, Dr Laura Falconer, UK-based Health Psychologist at Reed Wellbeing, and Dr Melissa Pehlivan, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the InsideOut Institute, University of Sydney, Australia about their research into the conditions PMOS (formerly PCOS) and endometriosis. They talk about how these conditions affect far more than just the reproductive system, including how they can lead to feeling a lack of control, impact quality of life and a person's relationship with their body. The conversation also covers the renewed NHS Women's Health Strategy, and how its proposed changes aim to improve research and move towards more integrated, holistic care. Finally, they discuss what approaches can help with the psychological impact of PMOS/PCOS and endometriosis, and how health professionals can best support patients by making them feel validated. If you’re interested in finding out more about the Appearance Matters Conference, hosted by the Centre for Appearance Research (9th – 11th of June 2026), click here: https://www.uwe.ac.uk/research/centres-and-groups/appearance/news-and-events/am-conference • Renewed NHS Women’s Health Strategy: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewed-womens-health-strategy-for-england • Guardian article on PCOS name change: https://www.theguardian.com/society/ng-interactive/2026/may/12/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pcos-new-name-polyendocrine-metabolic-ovarian-syndrome-pmos Find out more about Laura, Melissa and Sophie’s research: • https://www.derby.ac.uk/staff/sophie-williams/ • https://insideoutinstitute.org.au/about-us/team/melissa-pehlivan • https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Laura-Falconer-2 Support with PCOS/PMOS and endometriosis: • Verity PCOS: https://www.verity-pcos.org.uk/ • PCOS AA: https://www.pcosaa.org/ • Endometriosis UK: https://www.endometriosis-uk.org/ • BSGE (British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy): https://www.bsge.org.uk/ Cover image made using Canva Music by Sian Evans & John Landau: toplinefilm.com Episode developed and produced by Ella Guest
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109. Breast Cancer Update: The Latest Online Support & Experiences of Younger Women
Apr 2801:04:55Tap to summarizeWelcome back to Appearance Matters: The Podcast! In this month’s episode, Ella speaks to Dr Helena Lewis-Smith, Associate Professor at the Centre for Appearance Research (CAR), along with Fiona and Lucy, who have lived experience of breast cancer and are expert advisors for Helena’s research. They update us on the findings from Helena’s feasibility trial of the Accepting Your Body After Cancer (ABC) intervention, discuss why many women look for psychosocial support after their cancer treatment has finished, and talk about how younger women might have different experiences and support needs. If you, or someone close to you is affected by breast cancer, you can find information and support here: https://breastcancernow.org/ If you’re interested in finding out more about the Appearance Matters Conference, hosted by the Centre for Appearance Research (9th – 11th of June 2026), click here: https://www.uwe.ac.uk/research/centres-and-groups/appearance/news-and-events/am-conference #psychology #HealthPsychology #VisibleDifference #BreastCancer #BodyImage #BreastReconstruction #WomensHealth From the show: - Helena’s ACB intervention protocol paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39843373/ - Episode 20: Breast Cancer and Body Image (https://soundcloud.com/appearance-matters/ep-20-breast-cancer-body-image?si=144c118177704910b80c0f26d1ba5624&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing) - Summer shorts Series: Breast Cancer and Body Image episode where co-host Maia Thornton talks about a paper she published looking at positive body image in women with breast cancer (https://soundcloud.com/appearance-matters/summer-shorts-series-breast-cancer-and-body-image). Cover image by Armin Rimoldi via Pexels Music by Sian Evans & John Landau: toplinefilm.com Episode developed and produced by Ella Guest
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108: Generative AI Has a Body Bias: Who Gets to Be Seen?
Mar 3000:33:04Tap to summarizeWelcome back to Appearance Matters: The Podcast! In this month’s episode, Kat speaks to Dr Aisha Sobey. Aisha is a Research Associate at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, where she studies the ethical implications of Generative AI and digital health systems, especially focusing on the impacts on non-normative bodies, employing Political Economy, Science and Technology Studies, Fat Studies, and Disability Studies theories in her work. Read more about Aisha’s work here: https://www.lcfi.ac.uk/people/aisha-sobey Read Aisha’s study on GenAI and weight bias here: Sobey, A. (2025). The thinness of GenAI: Body size in relation to the construction of the normate through GenAI image models. AI and Ethics, 5(4), 4181–4196. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43681-025-00684-x If you’re interested in hearing more about the Appearance Matters Conference, hosted by the Centre for Appearance Research (9th – 11th of June 2026), click here: https://www.uwe.ac.uk/research/centres-and-groups/appearance/news-and-events/am-conference Cover image by Trevor James Episode image by Yutong Liu & Digit / https://betterimagesofai.org / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Music by Sian Evans & John Landau: toplinefilm.com Episode developed and produced by Kat Schneider
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Episode 107: Social Media & Visible Difference
Mar 201:05:14Tap to summarizeWelcome back to Appearance Matters: The Podcast! In this month’s episode, Ella speaks to Research Fellow Dr Emma Waite and Visiting Professor Dr Amy Slater from the Centre for Appearance Research about their work on social media and visible difference as part of the VTCT Foundation Programme of Research at CAR. They are also joined by Laure Dedecker, a PhD student at the Media Psychology Lab at KU Leuven in Belgium who researches the role of social media in body image development among young individuals with a visible difference. They talk about the social media experiences of people with visible differences, how social media might be used in a positive way, and discuss Australia’s new social media ban for under 16s. The social media resources discussed will be coming soon to the Visible Difference Support Hub: https://visibledifferencesupporthub.com/ Journal article (Guest et al., 2025) exploring the experiences of adults with visible differences in relation to social media: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0324938 Journal article (Dedecker et al., 2025) examining content and responses to influencers with visible different: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1740144525000725?via%3Dihub If you’re interested in finding out more about the Appearance Matters Conference, hosted by the Centre for Appearance Research (9th – 11th of June 2026), click here: https://www.uwe.ac.uk/research/centres-and-groups/appearance/news-and-events/am-conference Cover image by Armin Rimoldi via Pexels Music by Sian Evans & John Landau: toplinefilm.com Episode developed and produced by Ella Guest
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106: In Conversation with Zali Yager – AM11 Keynote Speaker
Jan 1600:30:05Tap to summarizeWelcome back to Appearance Matters: The Podcast! In this month’s episode, Kat speaks to Zali Yager, an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Institute for Health and Sport at Victoria University, Australia, and the founder and executive director of the Embrace Collective. The Embrace Collective: https://theembracehub.com/ If you’re interested in hearing more about the Appearance Matters Conference, hosted by the Centre for Appearance Research (9th – 11th of June 2026), click here: https://www.uwe.ac.uk/research/centres-and-groups/appearance/news-and-events/am-conference Appearance Matters 11 early bird registration is available until the 31st of January! Cover image by Trevor James Music by Sian Evans & John Landau: toplinefilm.com Episode developed and produced by Kat Schneider
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105. In Conversation with Phyllida Swift - AM11 Keynote Speaker
Dec 1500:33:00Tap to summarizeWelcome back to Appearance Matters the podcast! This month we are kicking off our Appearance Matters 11 conference series. This month Maia speaks with Phyllida Swift CEO of Face Equality international about her inspirational work with the organisation, her path into working into the visible difference field, some highlights of her career so far, as well as goals for the future. Phyllida also speaks about her previous AM conference highlights and key messages she hopes to share in her keynote in June. Join us for a really reflective and insightful discussion about combining the personal and professional in the non-profit sector and to hear some teasers for Appearance Matters 11. To find out more about the work of Face Equality International click here: https://faceequalityinternational.org/ Registration for Appearance Matters 11 is now open! Early bird registration fees will be available until the 31st of January 2026! For more information about Appearance Matters 11 click here: https://www.uwe.ac.uk/research/centres-and-groups/appearance/news-and-events/am-conference or follow this link to go directly to the registration page: https://www.uwe.ac.uk/research/centres-and-groups/appearance/news-and-events/am-conference/registration
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Episode 104: Family planning when you have a heritable visible difference
Nov 3000:40:39Tap to summarizeWelcome back to Appearance Matters: The Podcast! In this month’s episode, Ella speaks to Dr Kerry Montgomery, who is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Appearance Research, about the STAR Project. Kerry’s work explores how people with conditions that affect appearance and that can be passed on to their children make decisions about starting a family. They talk about research Kerry has carried out with prospective parents who have visible differences and genetic counsellors. Please be aware that this episode contains discussion of pregnancy, family planning, and termination, which might be sensitive for some listeners. If you’re interested in hearing more about the Centre for Appearance conference, Appearance Matters 11 (9th – 11th of June 2026) click here: https://www.uwe.ac.uk/research/centres-and-groups/appearance/news-and-events/am-conference Photo by Warren Umoh on Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/a-chain-link-fence--qycBqByWIY?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink Music by Sian Evans & John Landau: toplinefilm.com Episode developed and produced by Ella Guest
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103: Weight-Inclusive Physical Activity
Oct 3000:41:16Tap to summarizeWelcome back to Appearance Matters: The Podcast! In this month’s episode, Kat speaks to Dr Luciana Zuest (Towson University, US) and Dr Eva Pila (Western University, Canada) about weight bias and weight stigma in sport and exercise settings, and how to make physical activity spaces more inclusive for all bodies. Dr Eva Pila: https://www.uwo.ca/fhs/kin/about/faculty/pila_e.html Body Image & Health Research Lab: https://bihlab.com/, @bihresearch (Instagram) Dr Luciana Zuest: https://www.towson.edu/chp/departments/kinesiology/facultystaff/luciana-zuest.html Weight-Inclusive Thinking for Fitness Spaces: https://www.weightinclusivethinking.com/ If you’re interested in hearing more about the Appearance Matters Conference, hosted by the Centre for Appearance Research (9th – 11th of June 2026), click here: https://www.uwe.ac.uk/research/centres-and-groups/appearance/news-and-events/am-conference Appearance Matters 11 abstract submissions are now open and the deadline is the 7th of November! Cover image by Trevor James Music by Sian Evans & John Landau: toplinefilm.com Episode developed and produced by Kat Schneider
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102: The Visible Difference Support Hub
Sep 3000:26:06Tap to summarizeWelcome back to Appearance Matters: The Podcast! In this month’s episode, Maia speaks to Prof. Di Harcourt about the development of The Visible Difference Support Hub, a brand new website that is aims to provide easy access to evidence-based support for people with visible differences and their families which has been developed at CAR. Di and Maia talk about the research that has gone into creating these support resources, the development process of the support hub, and the kind of materials people can find on the website. If you’d like to explore or share The Visible Difference Support Hub please follow this link: https://visibledifferencesupporthub.com/ If you’ve spent time on The Visible Difference Support Hub and would like to provide us with some feedback, please click here: https://uwe.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_57m45grMC7LHeWa If you’re interested in hearing more about the Centre for Appearance conference, Appearance Matters 11 (9th – 11th of June 2026) click here: https://www.uwe.ac.uk/research/centres-and-groups/appearance/news-and-events/am-conference Appearance Matters 11 abstract submissions are now open and the deadline is the 30th of October!
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Summer Short Series: Visible Difference Parenting Toolkit
Aug 2800:16:18Tap to summarizeWelcome to our 2025 Summer Short Series! We're back with bitesize episodes showcasing recent work from our team at the Centre for Appearance Research! In this episode, we are joined by Dr Maia Thornton, Senior Research Fellow at CAR, who tells us about her recent paper entitled: The Visible Difference Parenting Toolkit: development of an ACT-based intervention to improve the well-being of parents and caregivers of children with appearance-affecting conditions and injuries. Maia discusses a support intervention for parents of children with visible differences, which she developed during her PhD. In this episode, we also introduce two new podcast hosts. Dr Kat Schneider and Dr Ella Guest are both Senior Research Fellows at CAR who will be joining the podcast team. Read Maia's open access paper: https://academic.oup.com/jpepsy/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jpepsy/jsaf054/8205549 Find out more about the Visible Difference Support Hub https://visibledifferencesupporthub.com/ Cover image by Trevor James Music by Sian Evans & John Landau: toplinefilm.com Episode developed and produced by Maia Thornton & Ella Guest
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