Curse of: America’s Next Top Model Podcast By iHeartPodcasts and Glass Podcasts cover art

Curse of: America’s Next Top Model

Curse of: America’s Next Top Model

By: iHeartPodcasts and Glass Podcasts
Listen for free

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?

2026 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia Art Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Introducing Curse of: America's Next Top Model

    Introducing Curse of: America's Next Top Model
    Sep 9 2025

    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.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
    Show more Show less
    4 mins
  • The Set-Up | EP 1

    The Set-Up | EP 1
    Sep 16 2025

    Tyra Banks screamed it, but was she ever really rooting for these girls? In the series opener, host Bridget Armstrong explores one of ANTM’s biggest criticisms—that the show didn’t create any top models. We go back to the beginning to figure out how this germ of an idea in Tyra Banks’ imagination ended up on our screens. We talk about Tyra’s accomplice, ANTM Executive Producer Ken Mok, and explore how America’s Next Top Model was built on a formula of entertainment, desperation, and humiliation.

    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.
    Show more Show less
    39 mins
  • The Blueprint | EP 2

    The Blueprint | EP 2
    Sep 23 2025

    Cycle 1 was messy, low-rent, and groundbreaking. It was also the blueprint for everything ANTM would become. It introduced us to the larger-than-life personalities that became synonymous with the show. Cycle 1 also laid the groundwork for the body shaming, humiliation, and on-screen drama that made ANTM iconic. From the beginning, ANTM loved a Cinderella story. While Cycle 1 winner Adrianne Curry may have gotten the crown, she didn’t get her happily ever after.

    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.
    Show more Show less
    51 mins
No reviews yet