# How Protein Muscled Its Way to the Top

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/decoder-ring-232078/how-protein-muscled-its-way-to-the-top
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/decoder-ring-232078/how-protein-muscled-its-way-to-the-top.md
Podcast: [Decoder Ring](https://stenobird.com/podcast/decoder-ring-232078)
Published: 2025-11-19T08:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/decoder-ring/episodes/696572e8d87c2ca348b6f63f
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/696572d375c092ac4e159c27/e/90b15bd8-a205-11ef-8978-0f864812944e/media.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/decoder-ring-232078/episodes/how-protein-muscled-its-way-to-the-top
Duration seconds: 2420

## Resource

Americans are currently besotted with protein. It’s touted as being good for muscle growth, weight loss, skincare, mental acuity, longevity, and much else besides. It’s sold to men, women, children, the elderly— you can even buy protein for your pets. The protein supplement market alone is worth $21 billion and growing—and extra protein is being added to coffee, cereal, pasta, beer, ice cream, and popcorn . But as frenzied as we currently are about protein, this is not the first protein boom—or even the second. Protein has been promoted as a charismatic, cure-all nutrient for nearly two centuries. In this episode, with the help of Samantha King and Gavin Weedon, the authors of Protein: The Making of a Nutritional Superstar , we look closely at all our protein crazes and their associated protein products—from beef tea to whey powder—and see what they can tell us about our current protein mania. This episode was produced by Max Freedman. Decoder Ring is also produced by Willa Paskin, Katie Shepherd, and Evan Chung, our supervising producer. We had editing support from Josh Levin and fact-checking by Sophie Summergrad. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281. Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Decoder Ring show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify . Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus for access wherever you listen. Sources for This Episode King, Samantha and Gavin Weedon. Protein: The Making of a Nutritional Superstar , Duke University Press, 2026. Baker, Ryan. “ Protein has become America's latest o…

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