“Super Size Me,” Twenty Years Later

Twenty years ago, Morgan Spurlock released his low-budget documentary Super Size Me, and achieved success that most documentary filmmakers can only dream about. The film made millions at the box office, it was nominated for an Academy Award, and it turned Morgan into a star. To this day, the film is still shown in middle school and high school health classes across the country. But in 2017, Morgan made a shocking confession that derailed his career and called into question Super Size Me’s original claims. Earlier this year, Morgan died of cancer. In this week’s show, Sporkful senior producer Andres O’Hara talks with some of the people closest to Morgan to figure out: Who really was Morgan Spurlock? How did Super Size Me become such a huge hit? And after all these years, should we still be showing it to kids?

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Nora Ritchie, Jared O'Connell, and Giulia Leo. Editing by Kameel Stanley. Publishing by Shantel Holder and transcription by Emily Nguyen.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Get all your favorite podcasts, more than 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era, and live sports coverage with the SiriusXM app.