A College Football Player and the Girlfriend Who Never Existed

This is Extra Point: Fit Cult's weekly guide on what to watch, listen to and read in the world of fitness culture.

Watch

Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist. In 2013, Deadspin broke a story about Notre Dame football player Manti Te’o. A skilled linebacker, Te’o had made headlines during his senior year for bravely playing through the pain of losing his beloved grandmother and his girlfriend on the same night. The only problem was the dead girlfriend never existed. Te’o had been catfished and when Deadspin published its piece, the media went into a frenzy and Te’o’s life changed forever.

The fascinating two-part documentary explores all angles of the story—how and why the catfishing happened, how it was exposed, the impact it had on Te’o and why so many media outlets got it wrong in the first place. The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist is streaming on Netflix.

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Lifespan with Dr. David Sinclair. In this nine-episode podcast, professor of genetics and co-director of Harvard Medical School's Center for Biology of Aging Research, Dr. David Sinclair, talks about the science behind why we age. Episode topics include the science of keeping the brain healthy and the science of looking younger, longer.

Read

Serena Williams Says Farewell to Tennis On Her Own Terms—And In Her Own Words. Serena Williams’ third-round match at the U.S. Open, which turned out to be her final appearance on court, was the most watched tennis match in ESPN history. In this thoughtful piece for Vogue magazine, she writes about her decision to pivot away from a career that has both defined her and cemented her status as the greatest tennis player of all time.