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Verge ESP: Mermaids, fad diets, and #FreeKesha

Verge ESP: Mermaids, fad diets, and #FreeKesha

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Emily is eating more healthfully and seeing a personal trainer; Liz had Cheez-Its for breakfast

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We all know the myth: Once upon a time, there was a little mermaid, and her mer-family sent her to land to kill the property developer who's destroying their home. Naturally the mermaid and the property developer fall in love. Stephen Chow's The Mermaid is the biggest movie in Chinese history, ($440 million since Feb. 8) and it's really, really funny. But it's also a radically environmentalist film that isn't shy or subtle about its message. A goofy, lovable environmentalist film — a rare creature indeed.

And in an attempt to get ripped in 2016, Emily talks about going on a diet — the Whole 30 Program — and getting a personal trainer. Why is it so hard to eat well and why is Liz eating Cheez-Its for breakfast? How can you tell the difference between a fad diet and real food? And what does social class have to do with it.

Finally, Liz and Emily plot a horror movie where a young woman is left alone with a producer in a sound booth in the woods, where the producer has the ultimate power. Oh, hahaha, no, actually, that's just life. A judge ruled that Kesha must work with Dr. Luke, a man she says abused her. Please note: Kesha did not try to bring charges for abuse or assault; she merely wanted to work with someone else. And apparently that's an undue burden to place on Sony.

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