Evil Genius with Russell Kane - Father of bodybuilding, Joe Weider

Download Father of bodybuilding, Joe Weider

You might not have heard of Joe Weider, but he was the man who invented modern bodybuilding. Formalised training, published magazines, birthed massive international competitions, and unearthed a megastar in Arnold Schwarzenegger. But was he a genius who built himself up from nothing to bring health and fitness mainstream? Or a charlatan who unleashed toxic masculinity on the world, who encouraged steroid use, and ripped people off on his way to making his fortunes? Jess Fostekew, Joe Sutherland and Emmanuel Sonubi join Russell Kane to flex their intellectual muscles to decide, is Joe Weider evil or Genius?

Additional Material: Eve Delaney
Researcher: Miriam O’Byrne
Sound Editor: Kate Mac
Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Executive Producer: Paul Smith

The Producer was Gwyn Rhys Davies. Evil Genius with Russell Kane is a BBC Studios Audio Production for BBC Sounds.
An EcoAudio certified production.

Published on Wednesday, 25th June 2025.

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