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Embodied

WUNC

Sex and relationships are intimate — and sometimes intimidating to talk about. In this weekly podcast from North Carolina Public Radio WUNC, host Anita Rao guides us on an exploration of our brains and our bodies that touches down in taboo territory.

Follow the show on Instagram and Twitter @embodiedwunc. You can find Anita on Twitter @anisrao.

2022 WUNC Podcasts

Sex and relationships are intimate — and sometimes intimidating to talk about. In this weekly podcast from North Carolina Public Radio WUNC, host Anita Rao guides us on an exploration of our brains and our bodies that touches down in taboo territory.

Follow the show on Instagram and Twitter @embodiedwunc. You can find Anita on Twitter @anisrao.

2022 WUNC Podcasts
107hr 4min
Thumbnail for "Perceived: Disrupting The Blind Stereotype".
Anita got glasses young, and as a kid every time her prescription got worse, her anxiety about losing her vision spiked. She realizes now how much of that fear was ableism at work.
Thumbnail for "Desiring Disability in Fashion".
Anita meets three disabled fashionistas who design with disabled bodies as a starting point, not an afterthought.
Thumbnail for "What Kids' Books Teach Us About Our Bodies".
Anita meets Tyler Feder and Shelly Anand, the creators behind the books "Bodies Are Cool" and "Laxmi's Mooch."
Thumbnail for "Intersex Reframes On Sex & Gender".
An intersex physician tells Anita about the decades-long attempt to erase intersex folks from existence, and a parent and two young adults share their advice on how to best support adolescents who defy the sex and gender binary.
Thumbnail for "Masked: Coming Out As Autistic In Adulthood (Revisited)".
Many autistic people assigned female at birth remain undiagnosed at 18, so what's it like to get an autism diagnosis in your adulthood?
Thumbnail for "Bisexuality Beyond The Binary".
Anita meets two people who have grappled with bisexuality’s history, meaning and power for building community.
Thumbnail for "Popped: Adult Acne In The 'Perfect Skin' Era (Revisited)".
Adult acne is often seen as your skin's worst nightmare. These influencers and artists are working to change that.
Thumbnail for "Reimagining The Wedding Ceremony".
On her one-year wedding anniversary, Anita talks to the Hindu officiant who helped her build a ceremony that bridged the gap between her values and her dad's traditional desires. Plus, a comedian and queer ex-nun explains how she takes people from the place of "marriage is a dumpster fire" to a ceremony they're excited about.
Thumbnail for "BONUS: Kennedy Ryan's Recipe For Romance".
Thumbnail for "Retrieved: What Egg Donors Want You To Know (Revisited)".
Anita talks with two egg donors about why they donated and what they wish they'd known earlier. Plus, a medical anthropologist shines a light on the messy world of donor compensation.
Thumbnail for "Dyslexia And The Reading Brain".
An author who learned to read when he was 18 and a dyslexia scholar help Anita understand how reading develops in the brain and what's at stake if dyslexic learners are left by the wayside.
Thumbnail for "Dating, Sex & Love With HIV".
Anita meets a mixed-HIV status couple who shares how they've approached sex and intimacy in their 11+ year relationship. Plus, a woman who was born HIV positive talks about dating, disclosure and overcoming the fear of rejection.
Thumbnail for "Smooched: Why You'll Never Forget Your First Kiss (Revisited)".
A scientist tells Anita why our brains respond so strongly to kissing and how our kissing customs have changed over time. She also unpacks the power of a kiss with a photographer who documents queer Black love in public and three Gen Zers school her on contemporary kissing culture.
Thumbnail for "Bonus: Making Music From Family Secrets".
Thumbnail for "(Un)Circumcised: How Parents Decide (Revisited)".
Anita talks with a urologist about what medical advice to consider while making the circumcision decision (and where medicine doesn't have the answers). She also meets a rabbi and mother who offers alternatives to centuries-old circumcision rituals and hears from a circumcised father raising an uncircumcised son.
Thumbnail for "Life After A Gray Divorce".
Anita gets personal accounts from two gray divorcees about what it was like to rebuild their identities, finances and freedom post-divorce.
Thumbnail for "The Making Of Great Erotica".
Anita goes behind the scenes with two prolific erotica author-editors and a former producer for the audio erotica app Dipsea to figure out how the sausage — and the butt slaps — get made.
Thumbnail for "Amplified: Building Intimacy With Hearing Loss (Revisited)".
Anita meets an interabled couple who share the sometimes humorous, sometimes challenging moments that accompany sex and dating with hearing loss, and former guest Yat Li returns to talk about deafness, disclosure and disabled identity.
Thumbnail for "Bonus Episode: Introducing Tested from CBC and NPR".
Anita shares the first episode of a new podcast she's interested in, called Tested.
Thumbnail for "Why We Need More Therapists Of Color".
Anita meets two therapists of color working to increase awareness of and access to mental health services among BIPOC communities while fighting burnout and structural barriers to getting into therapy work.
Thumbnail for "Committed: Life Inside A Psychiatric Hospital".
Anita meets someone who spent three years living in a psychiatric hospital in the early 90s and talks with an activist whose time spent in contemporary psychiatric hospitals pushed them to fight for alternatives.
Thumbnail for "Written: Disability Love Stories".
Anita meets a novelist, essayist and activist who share their disability love stories and how writing has changed their relationships with others and themselves.
Thumbnail for "Polished: Why We Care About Our Nails (Revisited)".
Anita talks to her nail artist about how Black women have shaped nail culture. Plus a fashion historian details nail history from Egyptian mummies to ‘90s Chanel colors, and a Vietnamese-American woman tells the story of growing up inside her parents' nail salons.
Thumbnail for "Journeyed: Crossing State Lines For Abortion ".
Anita meets someone who spent 20 hours on the road to get her abortion, learns how folks afford thousands of dollars worth of travel and reviews the ways that Hollywood has taken on the abortion road trip.
Thumbnail for "Tended: The Creative Work Of Dementia Caregiving".
Anita meets two caregivers of loved ones with dementia.
Thumbnail for "Isolated: The Silence Around Male Infertility (Revisited)".
Anita meets three men breaking the silence around male infertility in hopes that others get the help and support they need.
Thumbnail for "Adjusted: Second Puberty After Testosterone".
Anita meets three transmasculine people who started taking testosterone as adults...and experienced everything from emotional fluctuations and voice changes to acne and new body hair in a period of second puberty.
Thumbnail for "Opened Up: Black Masculinity and Friendship".
Guest host Omisade Burney-Scott talks to four Black men about masculinity, friendship and vulnerability.
Thumbnail for "Balanced: Love & Bipolar Disorder".
When you’re living with a stigmatized mental illness like bipolar disorder, opening up to romantic partners can be tough, but Anita brings on two people who’ve found their own way through love and mental health.
Thumbnail for "Hypersexualized: Understanding Sex Addiction (Revisited)".
Anita meets two women whose compulsive sexual behaviors led them to seek support, and a sex-positive psychologist shares how she helps folks with sex addiction in their recovery.
Thumbnail for "Bonus Episode: Meeting ‘The Horny Housewife’".
Thumbnail for "(Single) Mothered: Choosing To Parent Solo".
In honor of Mother's Day, Anita meets two single moms by choice — and one of their daughters.
Thumbnail for "Bonus Episode: The Birds and the Bees, from Me and My Muslim Friends".
Anita hands it over to Yasmin Bendaas of "Me and My Muslim Friends," and Sameera Qureshi, a therapist and founder of Sexual Health for Muslims.
Thumbnail for "Expanded: Sexuality in Conversation with Islam".
Anita talks to Lamya H., the author of "Hijab Butch Blues," a memoir they wrote to be "unapologetically queer and unapologetically Muslim."
Thumbnail for "Advocated: How Disabled Activists Are Shaping Climate Justice".
Anita marks Earth Day by meeting three disability activists who share how their lives and bodies have been impacted by global warming — and how their wisdom could shift climate conversations.
Thumbnail for "Bonus Episode: The Parent Trap, from Love Letters".
Sharing something special today, an episode of the Love Letters podcast. Love Letters tells stories about romance, marriage, partnership, sex, loss and the human heart, all served with a side of advice by Boston Globe columnist Meredith Goldstein.
Thumbnail for "Undertaken: The Next Generation Of Funeral Directors".
Anita meets two young funeral directors who felt called to this work at a young age, and they take her inside their world.
Thumbnail for "Singled: Inside The Only-Child Family (Revisited)".
Anita hears three perspectives on single-kid families (including that of former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins) and learns why the debunked mythology around only children still lingers today.
Thumbnail for "Stimulated: How Vibrators Became America's Favorite Sex Toy (Revisited)".
Anita gets the truth about vibrator history and meets the engineer behind the first-ever “smart” vibrator.
Thumbnail for "Transitioned: When One Partner Comes Out As Trans".
Anita meets two couples who continued to choose each other after one partner came out as trans: a South African couple in their 20s and an American couple who went through a transition after 22 years of marriage.
Thumbnail for "Bonus Episode: Can Couples Learn to Argue Better? from The Happiness Lab".
No matter how much you love your partner, your relationship will never be totally free from disagreement. And nor should it be, say researchers Dr John Gottman and Dr Julie Schwartz Gottman. We actually just need to learn to argue better.
Thumbnail for "Signed: How ASL Became A Language Of Resistance".
Anita talks to two Deaf artists about how ASL gave them tools for self-understanding and artistic expression. Then she learns from two scholars about Black American Sign Language (BASL).
Thumbnail for "Tingled: Your Brain And Heart On ASMR".
Anita talks to a physiologist who's been exploring the science of ASMR for the past decade. Plus, she meets an ASMR artist and a woman who turned to the world of Boyfriend ASMR to heal her broken heart.
Thumbnail for "Retrieved: What Egg Donors Want You To Know".
Anita talks with two egg donors about why they donated and what they wish they'd known earlier. Plus, a medical anthropologist shines a light on the messy world of donor compensation.
Thumbnail for "Lifted: Wanting (And Getting) A Bigger Butt".
Anita learns about the ins and outs of the Brazilian butt lift from a plastic surgeon and a BBL recipient. Then a scholar puts our obsession with big butts in historical context.
Thumbnail for "[Simulated Part Three] Immortalized: Building An AI Afterlife".
Anita meets a tech journalist who built bots of her parents to see how AI could preserve their memories for the long term. She also talks with a philosophy professor about the ways that ancient Chinese philosophy can address AI's emerging ethical issues and how grief tech fits into a long history of traditions around death and mourning.
Thumbnail for "[Simulated Part Two] Fantasized: The Arrival Of The Sex Robots".
Anita talks to an artificial intelligence scholar who's traced sex robots from Greek mythology to the prototypes on the market today. Plus, a writer shines a light on the dark world of a futuristic brothel … explored from the perspective of an AI Sex Bot herself.
Thumbnail for "[Simulated Part One] Auto-mated: When A Bot Becomes Your Boo".
AI chatbots fill a variety of roles from customer support to text generator. But what about their romantic potential?
Thumbnail for "Menstruated: What Our Period Blood Tells Us".
Menstruation has long been stigmatized. Guest host Omisade Burney-Scott wonders: what can we learn by embracing it?
Thumbnail for "Bonus Episode: How y'all conquered the world".
English speakers outside the South are embracing the word y’all. And the reasons may surprise you.
Thumbnail for "Obsessed: Breaking the OCD Cycle (Revisited)".
How does an OCD diagnosis affect a marriage? What about dating life and friendships? Anita asks three writers to find out.
Thumbnail for "Sobbed: Why We Cry (Revisited)".
Crying with emotion is a uniquely human phenomenon. Host Anita Rao digs into the science of why that is and what it tells us about ourselves.
Thumbnail for "Normalized: Speaking Up About Erectile Dysfunction".
Erectile dysfunction is more common than we think. Two men and a sex therapist share their stories.
Thumbnail for "(Self) Helped: Inside The Industry That Wants To Change Your Life".
America loves self-help books. Why has this industry hooked us for decades?
Thumbnail for "Stuttered: Diversifying The Way We Speak (Revisited)".
Stuttering has long been the butt of many jokes. People who stutter are working to change that.
Thumbnail for "Separated: Growing Up With An Incarcerated Father (Revisited)".
Anita talks to two folks whose work is informed by their personal experiences growing up with incarcerated fathers.
Thumbnail for "Popped: Adult Acne In The 'Perfect Skin' Era".
Adult acne is often seen as your skin's worst nightmare. These influencers and artists are working to change that.
Thumbnail for "Cared: The Last Decades Of Our Lives".
More Americans are living into their 90s and 100s. What does this mean for friendships, relationships and combatting social isolation?
Thumbnail for "Gripped: The Passion For Pole Dancing".
Pole dance fitness studios have exploded in popularity in recent decades. Host Anita Rao investigates the sport's origins in strip clubs and the relationship between dance and identity.
Thumbnail for "Commodified: When 'Wellness' Makes Us Unwell (Revisited)".
Wellness industry insider and journalist Rina Raphael shares how this $4 trillion industry misleads all of us, and 'Dope Black Social Worker' Kim Young gives us the wellness reframes we all need.
Thumbnail for "Complicated: Healing from Complex PTSD".
What happens when trauma occurs not as a single isolated event, but millions of smaller, ongoing incidents?
Thumbnail for "Traveled: The Lives Of Third Culture Kids".
What is life like when your childhood is full of international travel in cultures outside of even your parents' experiences? Two third culture kids talk about identity, friendship and family.
Thumbnail for "Adored: How Fandoms Build Community ".
We hear a lot about toxic fandoms — but guest host Anisa Khalifa has a lot to share about the brighter side.
Thumbnail for "Masked: Coming Out As Autistic In Adulthood".
Many autistic people assigned female at birth remain undiagnosed at 18, so what's it like to get an autism diagnosis in your adulthood?
Thumbnail for "Posed: Intimate Photography Goes Beyond Nudes (Revisited)".
Anita goes behind the scenes of intimate photo shoots.
Thumbnail for "Seen: Living With The Schizophrenias".
When Anita first picked up “The Collected Schizophrenias" by Esmé Weijun Wang, she realized how rare it was to find a first-hand account of someone navigating periods of psychosis. She brings Esmé on to talk about the relationship between mental illness and identity. Plus, she meets an artist who explores his hallucinations through drawing and a blogger documenting her experience as a mother with schizoaffective disorder.
Thumbnail for "Guided: Practicing Intimacy & Sex With A Surrogate".
Two surrogate partners take Anita inside the day-to-day of their jobs, and a certified sex therapist shares why she hopes others in her industry will be more welcoming to the practice.
Thumbnail for "Plucked: The Calm And Chaos Of A Hair-Pulling Disorder (Revisited)".
Anita agrees to a suggestion posed by a listener: Explore why the hair-pulling disorder trichotillomania is so taboo.
Thumbnail for "Inked: Rewriting Your Body’s Story With Art".
Anita talks with a heavily-tattooed scholar who's interrogated how society treats tattooed women; a queer, Jewish tattoo artist reclaiming body art; and an artist who's pushing back on the misconceptions of tattooing melanated skin.
Thumbnail for "Dominated: Getting Kinky With BDSM".
A dominatrix and community leader introduce Anita to kink and BDSM spaces rooted in community and healing. Plus, a scholar talks about the long history behind our understanding of masochism.
Thumbnail for "Mourned: Life After Losing A Parent".
Anita meets two people who've built specific communities around their grief around losing a parent on the internet and a writer who experienced losing his dad twice.
Thumbnail for "Reconstructed: Building New Definitions Of Masculinity".
Anita talks with a trans man and a non-binary person about what's possible when we take a more gender-fluid approach to manhood.
Thumbnail for "Unfriended: When Your BFF Breaks Your Heart (Revisited)".
Anita talks to folks about the distinct pain of a platonic breakup and gets some tools for building strong friendships, setting boundaries and figuring out when it's time to let go.
Thumbnail for "Co-Worked: The Good, Bad & Ambivalent Of The Office Bestie (Revisited)".
A psychologist answers Anita's burning workplace relationship questions and dives into the surprising amount of data about work besties. Plus, a Gen Z writer urges her to re-think the importance of work as a primary social hub.
Thumbnail for "Uncoupled: Thank U, Next (Revisited)".
Advice columnists Meredith Goldstein and Stacia Brown give guidance on breaking up "well," going no-contact, navigating social media and finding the right breakup anthem for the moment.
Thumbnail for "Hooked Up: The Myth Of Sex With No Strings Attached (Revisited)".
Anita talks to a recent college grad about her research on the sex lives of her peers, plus a therapist who shares her take on why it doesn't feel as liberating as we think it should. Then she dives into Celibacy TikTok — a space where Gen Zers are committing to being sex-free.
Thumbnail for "Mixed (Parent Edition): The Rao Family Talks Racial Identity".
Anita hears her parents' take on our recent episode "Mixed," about growing up biracial.
Thumbnail for "Polished: Why We Care About Our Nails".
Anita talks to her nail artist about how Black women have shaped nail culture. Plus a fashion historian details nail history from Egyptian mummies to ‘90s Chanel colors, and a Vietnamese-American woman tells the story of growing up inside her parents' nail salons.
Thumbnail for "Mixed: Owning Your Multiracial Story".
Anita meets two mixed race college seniors and they talk through navigating everything from "Where do I belong?" to "How do I date?" Plus she hears wisdom from a life coach who helps mixed adults tell new stories about identity.
Thumbnail for "Partnered: Mixing Business With Pleasure (Revisited)".
Anita talks with two sets of couples in very different professional industries about their strategies for tackling finances, alone time and intimacy.
Thumbnail for "Sexted: Authoring Your Own Erotica".
A pleasure enthusiast advises Anita on the art of a good sext; a sexting expert traces the short and spicy history of sexting in this country; and a high schooler breaks down the relationship between sexting and consent.
Thumbnail for "Intentioned: Parenting Ourselves And Our Kids".
Guest host Omisade Burney-Scott talks with two other Black mothers about their definitions of gentle parenting and how it can break cycles of generational trauma. Then her older son shares how he has seen her parenting evolve over the past three decades.
Thumbnail for "Isolated: The Silence Around Male Infertility".
Anita meets three men breaking the silence around male infertility in hopes that others get the help and support they need.
Thumbnail for "Distracted: Adulting With ADHD".
Anita passes the mic to our friends at the feminist documentary podcast "Bodies" for an exploration of ADHD and identity.
Thumbnail for "Unpartnered: Building A Full, Single Life".
Anita meets three people who have chosen singlehood: a scholar who examines the double standard of relationship status, a single mother of two by choice and a man shedding toxic masculinity to build a deliberately single life.
Thumbnail for "Smooched: Why You'll Never Forget Your First Kiss".
A scientist tells Anita why our brains respond so strongly to kissing and how our kissing customs have changed over time. She also unpacks the power of a kiss with a photographer who documents queer Black love in public and three Gen-Zers school her on contemporary kissing culture.
Thumbnail for "Sobbed: Why We Cry".
Anita explores crying with a poet who spent years diving deeply into the science and culture of crying and a forerunner of the "crying selfie" trend.
Thumbnail for "Delivered (Part Two): No More Postpartum Silence (Revisited)".
Anita meets a prolific artist whose experience with postpartum depression catalyzed a mental health journey and a diagnosis of Bipolar II Disorder. She also talks to a couple about what folks should know about sex and relationships postpartum and why the mental health of non-birthing partners should be part of the postpartum conversation.
Thumbnail for "Delivered (Part One): Supporting A Post-Baby Body (Revisited)".
In part one of a two-part series, Anita hears from folks about meeting their new postpartum bodies.
Thumbnail for "Obsessed: Breaking The OCD Cycle".
Anita meets a married couple shares how obsessive-compulsive disorder put them in survival mode and a woman whose OCD symptoms began in kindergarten talks about learning how to open up about her experience in friendships and dating.
Thumbnail for "(Un)Circumcised: How Parents Decide".
Anita talks with a urologist about what medical advice to consider while making the circumcision decision (and where medicine doesn't have the answers). She also meets a rabbi and mother who offers alternatives to centuries-old circumcision rituals and hears from a circumcised father raising an uncircumcised son.
Thumbnail for "Decided: Child-Free By Choice".
Anita talks with three women about making their child-free decisions and meets a psychotherapist who's devoted her career to helping people find clarity in that choice.
Thumbnail for "Scented: Life According To Your Nose (Revisited)".
A psychologist shares why smell is our most emotional sense, plus stories about the mental health consequences of anosmia (losing your sense of smell) and a scent designer describes how to re-create memories through candles.
Thumbnail for "Stuttered: Diversifying The Way We Speak".
Two speech-language pathologists and a comedian help Anita question cultural assumptions about stuttering and explore the growing movement to embrace speech diversity.
Thumbnail for "Naked: No Clothes, No Problem (Revisited)".
Anita learns about non-sexual, social nudity and why opting to live life mostly in the nude could actually make her think about her body LESS.
Thumbnail for "Stimulated: How Vibrators Became America's Favorite Sex Toy".
Anita gets the truth about vibrator history and meets the engineer behind the first-ever “smart” vibrator.
Thumbnail for "Singled: Inside The Only-Child Family".
Anita hears three perspectives on single-kid families (including that of former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins) and learns why the debunked mythology around only children still lingers today.
Thumbnail for "Dreamed: Inside Your Night Brain (Revisited)".
The name Embodied came to Anita in a dream, and she's on a quest to figure out why.
Thumbnail for "Commodified: When 'Wellness' Makes Us Unwell".
Wellness industry insider and journalist Rina Raphael shares how this $4 trillion industry misleads all of us, and 'Dope Black Social Worker' Kim Young gives us the wellness reframes we all need.
Thumbnail for "Slayed: Gender Performance Beyond The Binary".
After not seeing a drag show for the first 30 years of her life, Anita now dives in.
Thumbnail for "Separated: Growing Up With An Incarcerated Father".
Anita talks to two folks whose work is informed by their personal experiences growing up with incarcerated fathers.
Thumbnail for "Amplified: Building Intimacy With Hearing Loss".
Anita meets an interabled couple who share the sometimes humorous, sometimes challenging moments that accompany sex and dating with hearing loss, and former guest Yat Li returns to talk about deafness, disclosure and disabled identity.
Thumbnail for "Refused: When You're Too Fat For Top Surgery".
Anita hands the mic over to audio journalist H Conley, who follows a 26-year-old Black nonbinary food writer as they overcome repeated barriers to getting top surgery due to body size.
Thumbnail for "Hypersexualized: Understanding Sex Addiction".
Anita meets two women whose compulsive sexual behaviors led them to seek support, and a sex-positive psychologist shares how she helps folks with sex addiction in their recovery.
Thumbnail for "Sobered: Reexamining Your Relationship With Alcohol".
Anita has not participated in a Dry January, but there are times when she's motivated to pay extra-close attention to her relationship with alcohol.
Thumbnail for "Inherited: Healing From Generational Trauma".
Anita talks with three women who've investigated how events in their own family histories have rippled through the generations to influence their bodies, parenting and culture.
Thumbnail for "Purified: A Live Event Turned Podcast (Part Two)".
Anita presents part two of our purity culture storytelling event "Purified Live," featuring two storytellers.
Thumbnail for "Purified: A Live Event Turned Podcast (Part One)".
Anita presents part one of our purity culture storytelling event "Purified Live," featuring three storytellers.
Thumbnail for "Navigated: The Rao Sisters On Holiday Conversations".
Anita invites her older sister Priyanka onto the podcast to reflect on tricky — but often inevitable — conversations with family members.
Thumbnail for "Co-Worked: The Good, Bad & Ambivalent Of The Office Bestie".
A psychologist answers Anita's burning workplace relationship questions and dives into the surprising amount of data about work besties. Plus, a Gen Z writer urges her to re-think the importance of work as a primary social hub.
Thumbnail for "Involved: A Front-Row Seat To Your Parent’s Love Life".
Anita shares an episode of the podcast “Dating While Gray” that features conversations between parents and their adult kids about the ongoing search for a happily ever after.
Thumbnail for "Posed: Intimate Photography Goes Beyond Nudes".
Anita goes behind the scenes of intimate photo shoots.
Thumbnail for "Plucked: The Calm And Chaos of A Hair-Pulling Disorder".
Anita explores why the hair-pulling disorder trichotillomania is so taboo.
Thumbnail for "Valued: Unpacking Your Money Baggage".
Anita talks with a financial therapist and a money coach about their work to help people better understand their money hang-ups and explores some unconventional ways to think about your money.
Thumbnail for "Provided: A Gender-Inclusive Guide To Pelvic PT".
Anita revisits the topic of pelvic floor PT with a focus on access for trans and gender nonconforming folks.
Thumbnail for "Carried: How Surrogacy Grows Families".
Anita demystifies surrogacy with the help of a three-time gestational surrogate and intended parent.
Thumbnail for "Disobeyed: Elissa Wall’s Journey To Reclaim Her Body".
Anita talks to Elissa Wall about growing up in (and then leaving) an isolated, polygamist religious community.
Thumbnail for "Horrified: Joy, Memory & The Body In Black Horror".
Guest host Omisade Burney-Scott talks with a filmmaker, director and horror scholar about how they see their own experiences reflected in the Black horror renaissance.
Thumbnail for "Supported: The Stories Behind Our Bras".
Anita learns about the surprising history and technology of the brassiere.
Thumbnail for "Secured: Health Data In A Post-Roe World".
Anita has long taken a laissez-faire approach to digital security. But as she's learned (the hard way), just because she doesn't have something to hide, doesn't mean she has nothing to lose.
Thumbnail for "Feminized: Aligning Your Inner And Outer Selves".
Anita revisits a conversation with folks who've undergone facial feminization surgery as part of their gender confirmation process.
Thumbnail for "Destined: Using The Stars As A Guide".
Guest host Omisade Burney-Scott is a proud Aries Sun-Leo moon-Virgo rising and has been looking to the stars since the 70s. She leads Embodied's exploration of astrology.
Thumbnail for "Invested: When It Gets Uncomfortable With Family".
Anita shares an episode of “This Is Uncomfortable,” a podcast from Marketplace that explores the ways money messes with our relationships and life plans.
Thumbnail for "Renounced: Leaving A Religious Community".
Anita meets two people who chose to leave tight-knit religious communities.
Thumbnail for "Undaunted: How Abortion Doulas Support You".
Anita meets two abortion doulas who share the practical and philosophical components of their job.
Thumbnail for "Aged Out: Life After Foster Care".
Two women who aged out of foster care tell Anita about their experiences and how they informed the relationships they're building today. Plus, she meets someone who's seen the foster care system from both sides — as a kid, and as a foster parent.
Thumbnail for "Remembered: How To Grieve An Animal Loved One".
Anita talks with pet owners, a veterinary social worker, a vet and her own parents about making space for pet grief and memorializing the animal companions we have loved.
Thumbnail for "Neurodiversified: New Representation In Romance Novels".
Anita's begun exploring the vast world of romance novels and was surprised to learn how much more diverse the genre has become since the days when Fabio was the only inspiration for sexy book covers.
Thumbnail for "Partnered: Mixing Business With Pleasure".
Anita does not work with her boo, but after sharing home office space for two pandemic years, she's started to wonder how couples who *do* work together make it work.
Thumbnail for "Sobered: Reexamining Your Relationship With Alcohol".
Anita has not participated in a Dry January, but there are times when she's motivated to pay extra-close attention to her relationship with alcohol.
Thumbnail for "Overturned: Accessing Abortion Care In A Southern State Where You Still Can".
Anita's now living in one of the few places in the U.S. South without an abortion ban. As her home state becomes the nearest safe provider for millions of people, she's observing how abortion providers here are preparing for the spike in demand.
Thumbnail for "Caffeinated: The Science & Culture Of Your Coffee Habit".
For years, Anita's been reading headlines about why coffee is "good" for you, but she's not sure where myth ends and fact begins. So, she turns to the experts. And two folks with deep ties to java talk about coffee culture, from bean to brew.
Thumbnail for "Delivered (Part Two): No More Postpartum Silence".
Anita treasures sleep and moments of silence. So when she hears typical narratives of early parenthood that include unending cries and restless nights, she has concerns for the mental toll on new parents.
Thumbnail for "Delivered (Part One): Supporting A Post-Baby Body".
In part one of a two-part series, Anita hears from folks about meeting their new postpartum bodies.
Thumbnail for "Re-Cleansed: Skip The 10-Step Routine, But Not Your SPF".
Anita finally learned how to put on sunscreen properly and care for her body’s largest organ.
Thumbnail for "Co-Parented: Raising Children In Community".
Anita turns the mic over to guest host Omisade Burney-Scott to explore the many ways folks are raising kids outside the nuclear family unit.
Thumbnail for "Fated: Terminal Illness & No-Limit Love".
Anita knows there's no way she can prepare herself or her loved ones for the ways a terminal illness can alter their lives.
Thumbnail for "Counseled: How Sex Therapy Works".
Anita talks to experts about how sex therapy can help people reconnect with their bodies and in the bedroom.
Thumbnail for "Scented: Life According To Your Nose".
Anita sniffs out what's so fascinating about the science of smell.
Thumbnail for "Widowed: Living With 'Great Grief'".
Anita shares a podcast from her colleagues featuring musician Nnenna Freelon.
Thumbnail for "Televised: 'Sex Education' On Screen".
Anita shares why she's been inhaling the Netflix show "Sex Education."
Thumbnail for "Reimagined: The Sex Ed You Deserve (But Didn't Get)".
Anita meets folks who see what's at stake if sexuality education doesn't change.
Thumbnail for "Purified: The Lasting Legacy of The Abstinence Pledge".
Anita explores the experiences of folks who grew up immersed in Purity Culture.
Thumbnail for "Parented: Raising A Gender-Expansive Kid".
Anita talks to three parents of gender-expansive kids.
Thumbnail for "Hooked Up: The Myth Of Sex With No Strings Attached".
Anita examines the myths and realities of hook up culture.
Thumbnail for "Dreamed: Inside Your Night Brain".
The name Embodied came to Anita in a dream, and she's on a quest to figure out why.
Thumbnail for "Unfriended: When Your BFF Breaks Your Heart".
Anita got friend dumped for the first time in 6th grade, and she's still not over it.
Thumbnail for "Uncoupled: Thank U, Next".
Anita turns to advice experts for the breakup advice you need when you're nursing a broken heart.
Thumbnail for "Estranged: When Family Bonds Break".
Anita meets folks who — by choice or circumstance — are estranged from members of their family,
Thumbnail for "Floored: The Pelvic Muscles You Need To Know".
Anita figures out why everybody's talking about the pelvic floor.
Thumbnail for "Vocalized: The Sound Of Who You Are".
Anita explores the links between voice and identity.
Thumbnail for "Painted: The Politics Behind Every Red Lip".
Anita applies herself to learning the fascinating history of her favorite item: red lipstick.
Thumbnail for "Accepted: Bringing Body Neutrality Into The Conversation".
Anita revisits a conversation about body neutrality.
Thumbnail for "Intuited: Trusting Your Body On What And When To Eat".
Anita talks about an approach to food and health that encourages tuning into your body's signals.
Thumbnail for "Dieted: Unlearning Lessons From Thin-Obsessed Culture".
Anita unpacks the science that props up diet culture.
Thumbnail for "Muscled: Competitive Bodybuilders On Strength And Sacrifice".
Athletes who push their bodies to muscular limits take Anita inside their physique sport.
Thumbnail for "Unbuttoned: The Surprising History Of Lingerie".
A historian, model and designer take Anita into the world of undergarments.
Thumbnail for "Napped: The Right To Remain Rested".
Anita hears from people who are reclaiming their right to rest and pushing back against hustle culture through art, therapy and activism.
Thumbnail for "Primed: Getting Ready To Grow Old".
Anita talks to folks who are looking at the aging process head-on and thinking about how to build webs of community and care for their older selves.
Thumbnail for "Aced: Love, Romance And Asexuality".
Anita learns from folks who identify as the A on the LGBTQIA spectrum.
Thumbnail for "Feminized: Aligning Your Inner And Outer Selves".
Anita meets folks who've undergone facial feminization surgery as part of their gender confirmation process.
Thumbnail for "Menopaused: Life's Misunderstood Chapter".
Anita's mom and others navigating menopause share how it's shaped their relationships with their bodies, sex and where they turn for support.
Thumbnail for "Tracked: How Tech Can Be A Tool Of Abuse".
Anita learns about how smart devices contribute to the rise of a new type of intimate partner violence.
Thumbnail for "Coordinated: The Making Of A Sex Scene".
Anita learns about what goes on behind-the-scenes of some of her favorite TV sex scenes.
Thumbnail for "Cleansed: Skip The 10-Step Routine, But Not Your SPF".
Anita finally learned how to put on sunscreen properly and care for her body’s largest organ.
Thumbnail for "Overnighted: 24-Hour Childcare Center Workers Are An Extension Of Families".
Anita learns about daycare facilities open around the clock.
Thumbnail for "Snipped: Why A Vasectomy Is A Great Idea".
Anita learns the science behind the most effective form of birth control.
Thumbnail for "Accepted: Why Feeling Neutral About Your Body Can Be A Good Thing".
Anita learns about a new, radical reframe for body acceptance: body neutrality.
Thumbnail for "Transitioned: Death Doulas On Dying Well".
Anita meets people who encourage her to spend more time looking head-on at the inevitable.
Thumbnail for "Naked: No Clothes, No Problem".
Anita learns about non-sexual, social nudity.
Thumbnail for "TLDR: You'll Be Hearing More From Us".
Anita shares an exciting announcement about the Embodied podcast and what you…
Thumbnail for "Incarcerated: Love In Lockdown".
Anita meets couples who stayed together despite prison walls.
Thumbnail for "Discussed: Tips On Taking Conversations Into Tough Territory".
Anita exchanges notes about having uncomfortable conversations.
Thumbnail for "(Un)Rested: Awakening Our Understanding Of Sleep".
Anita learns about why some bodies struggle to get deep and nourishing rest.
Thumbnail for "Disabled: Dating And Sex In The Body You Have".
Anita hears from people with physical disabilities in the trenches of online dating.
Thumbnail for "Adopted: Claiming Space For Transracial Kids".
Anita meets three transracial adoptees who share their varied experiences of belonging.
Thumbnail for "Returned: Bouncing Back With Boomerang Love".
Anita hears stories of people who looked to the past for a chance at future happiness.
Thumbnail for "Infected: Putting Misinformation About Herpes To Bed".