Curse of: America’s Next Top Model
iHeartPodcasts and Glass Podcasts
iHeartPodcasts and Glass Podcasts
When America’s Next Top Model premiered in the early 2000s, it looked like a golden ticket: a glamorous TV show that could catapult aspiring models into fame. But two decades later, many contestants describe its aftermath as a curse. Hosted by pop-culture journalist Bridget Armstrong, Curse of: America’s Next Top Model is a deep investigation into the hidden costs of reality television, and what the show’s legacy reveals about beauty, power, and the culture that cheered it on. Through conversations with dozens of former contestants, producers and crew members, Curse of: America’s Next Top Model explores what happened behind the scenes on one of the most iconic and problematic reality shows of our generation. The series starts off by exploring how ANTM almost didn’t get made. You’ll get the real story behind the show’s most infamous controversies. Then, the models and producers pull back the curtain and talk about how the most outrageous photoshoots and runaways came together. You’ll hear from contestants who say ANTM saved their lives and from those who say it ruined theirs. The contestants also talk about how the body shaming they experienced on the show caused lifelong scars. Finally, we try to answer the question, is Tyra Banks the ultimate reality television villain? Curse of: America’s Next Top Model takes you on an investigative journey to figure out if the so-called curse is real? And if so, what was the toll on the models, and us, the audience?
Nov 26
Thanks for listening to this season of Curse of: America’s Next Top Model. As you can imagine, we had to leave a lot on the cutting room floor. In this special bonus episode, we hear more behind-the-scenes details and stories from the models. We also take a field trip through time, to explore the surprising origins of reality television and its parallels with psychological experimentation. Plus, we revisit early 2000s body shaming and the climate that made ANTM possible. Looking to place a face to the name and hear bonus content? Check out our Instagram account, @glasspodcasts , where we recap each episode with show notes that include the people, places, and even video clips referenced in the episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 21
Experiencing “Curse of” withdrawal? We’re bringing you a taste of a show we love: Smart Girl Dumb Questions . In this episode excerpt, host Nayeema Raza asks relationship expert Esther Perel: Why is falling in love harder as we get older? Is it age, apps, materialism, modern feminism, or the trad wife trend? Also … what is worth fighting about in a relationship? AND: if you’re seeing a therapist for 10 years, is the therapy working? To get the full conversation, follow Smart Girl Dumb Questions on Apple , Spotify , YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop every Tuesday ... and you can already binge dozens of episodes of this "curiosity party in a podcast." Enjoy! ... and if you're curious, find @nayeemaraza and @smartgirldumbquestions on Instagram. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 18
No matter who won, Tyra Banks was always the real star of ANTM. But was she a fairy godmother, a villain, or both? On this final episode, we explore Tyra’s on-camera persona and off-camera legacy. We hear from models who went through the ANTM machine, and find out what they think they’re owed. Looking to place a face to the name and hear bonus content? Check out our Instagram account, @glasspodcasts , where we recap each episode with show notes that include the people, places, and even video clips referenced in the episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 11
To this day, Tyra Banks hails ANTM as a champion of body positivity. But in reality, the show was one of the biggest body shaming offenders of our generation. Season after season, ANTM picked apart contestants’ bodies, shamed them for their weights, and even brought on plus-size models, only to tell them there was no place for them in the industry. The show cast women with eating disorders and criticized their bodies, too. In this episode, we hear from contestants who went on the show with confidence and left with body dysmorphia, eating disorders, and other body image issues. If you or someone you know is struggling with disordered eating, help is available. Call NEDA, the National Eating Disorder Association at (800) 931-2237 or text “NEDA” to 741-741. Looking to place a face to the name and hear bonus content? Check out our Instagram account, @glasspodcasts , where we recap each episode with show notes that include the people, places, and even video clips referenced in the episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 4
America’s Next Top Model was a pioneer of LGBTQIA+ representation on reality TV. The show gave us iconic queer judges, featured an openly lesbian contestant on season one, and even made groundbreaking decisions to cast a transgender model in 2008. But like many things with this show, the way production treated these contestants and their identity was flawed. In this episode, we explore how Top Model broke barriers and reshaped the culture, while hearing from the queer contestants who paid the price for its flaws. CORRECTION: This episode has been updated for accuracy. Episodes downloaded before November 5th, 2025 will not reflect the correction. Looking to place a face to the name and hear bonus content? Check out our Instagram account, @glasspodcasts , where we recap each episode with show notes that include the people, places, and even video clips referenced in the episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 28
ANTM was one of the most racially diverse reality shows of its era. So why did so many of its episodes look so racist? This episode investigates how ANTM represented, performed, and exploited race. We hear from models who were put in Blackface for the infamous race-swapping photo shoots and talk about the racial dynamics at play during the “We Were Rooting for You” moment. We unpack the show’s racial stereotypes and contradictions, including the paradox of a Black woman at the helm of a show that stereotyped and harmed other Black women. Looking to place a face to the name and hear bonus content? Check out our Instagram account, @glasspodcasts , where we recap each episode with show notes that include the people, places, and even video clips referenced in the episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 21
ANTM was never really about creating top models. It was a reality TV disguised as a modeling competition, and it showed. We break down how photo shoots were designed to create unforgettable moments and reactions on screen and how casting prioritized personalities over potential. We also explore why the winners rarely became working models. From laughable challenges to unusable portfolios, this episode exposes the truth: The show cared more about TV drama than the contestant’s modeling careers. Looking to place a face to the name and hear bonus content? Check out our Instagram account, @glasspodcasts , where we recap each episode with show notes that include the people, places, and even video clips referenced in the episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 14
CONTENT WARNING: This episode mentions sexual assault, suicide, and suicidal ideation. We continue our discussion about the ANTM psychological evaluation. We hear from models who say the traumatic experiences they shared with the show’s psychologists were later used to manipulate them for the cameras. We discuss contestants who may have slipped through the cracks of the psych eval and later met tragic ends. Then we explore the story of one model who says being on ANTM sent her into a downward spiral towards drugs and crime. Looking to place a face to the name and hear bonus content? Check out our Instagram account, @glasspodcasts , where we recap each episode with show notes that include the people, places, and even video clips referenced in the episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
