Embodied

Anita acknowledges that looking in the mirror and loving everything she sees may be unrealistic. Fat activists teach her about radical reframes, including body positivity and a newer term to her: body neutrality. Meet the Guests: - Virgie Tovar , a fat activist, host of the  Rebel Eaters Club podcast  and author of “ The Self-Love Revolution: Radical Body Positivity for Girls of Color " talks abou...

Anita's only had a handful of up-close experiences with dying people, and it's something she'd rather not think about. It's the antithesis to the philosophy of some folks she admires: death doulas. They say: Spend more time looking head-on at the inevitable. Respect death, don't fear it. Turns out, this uncomfortable approach may make things more comfortable in the end. Meet the guests: - Vivette...

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. Meet the guests: - Naomi Prioleau , a reporter and host at WUNC, talks about her personal journey to becoming a practicing naturist. - Jay Shapiro , lead coordinator and president of Triangle Area Naturists LLC , shares how to separate sex from nudity. - Sa...

Anita shares an exciting announcement about the Embodied podcast and what you can expect in your feeds starting next week! Follow Embodied on Twitter and Instagram

Anita loves a good romantic story — especially when lovers prevail against all odds. There are a million reasons to give up on happily ever after when one or more people in a relationship are incarcerated. But for those who stay together despite prison walls, a special kind of connection is created, as we learn in the season two finale. Meet the guests: - Monae and Adriel Alvarado share their one-...

Anita may not shy away when conversations get uncomfortable, but approaching difficult topics can depend on who you're talking to and which self you're bringing to the discussion. In this special episode, she exchanges notes and kinship with Anna Sale and Allison Behringer, hosts of the podcasts "Death, Sex & Money" and "Bodies" respectively. Meet the guests: - Anna Sale , host of "Death, Sex...

Anita has little trouble knocking out for a good night's sleep. But feeling well rested all the time? That's a little more complicated. Why do our bodies struggle to do what we know is good for us? Meet the guests: - Jade Wu , a psychologist and sleep specialist, gives us some sleep science 101 and shares her top tips on battling insomnia. - Andre Royal Sr. shares how narcolepsy affects his relati...

Anita surprised herself with judgements she made about others with only a photo to go on during her years of online dating. Such bias and misconceptions are something folks with physical disabilities contend with every day on the apps...and IRL.     Meet the guests: - Julie-Ann Scott-Pollock , a performer and communication studies scholar, talks about living with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy an...

Anita has the skin privilege of a white woman and the upbringing of an Indian-American girl. That can make belonging a challenge, something like what transracial adoptees often experience in their own families. Meet the guests: - Shruti Shah talks about growing up as a transracial adoptee in a mixed-race family in Memphis. She also brings on her parents to ask them some lingering questions. - Writ...

If Anita weren't boo'd up, she might wonder if there's someone in her life she already knows who is a good romantic match for her. But is it healthy to look to the past for a chance at future happiness? With help from the podcast Dating While Gray, we examine the pros and cons of "boomerang love." Meet the guests: - Jeannie Thompson talks about her own boomerang heartbreak that led her to leading...

Anita, like many of us, was essentially taught that a herpes diagnosis means the end of a good sex life. Now it's time for a real education about the sexually transmitted infection, which is extremely common and far less terrifying once you open the door to conversation about it. Meet the guests: - Sex and culture critic Ella Dawson talks about her experience navigating a herpes diagnosis and how...

Anita is over adulting and would love to lose herself in some serious play time. She's never been a gamer but is intrigued by how video games help us tap into the fun side of our brains while creating spaces designed to help us strengthen our connections with others. Meet the guests: - Hadley Causey talks about founding Spectrum , a queer exclusive server on Discord (a social network for gaming co...

Anita appreciates how movies and TV are now more representative in portraying narratives about pregnancy termination. But those stories can't compete with talking to real people about their experience having an abortion. Meet the guests: - Gretchen Sisson , a sociologist, talks about how television and real life diverge when it comes to abortion — and how fictional portrayals influence our underst...

Anita combs through her own tangled relationship with body hair and asks why so many of us invest time and money on removal methods. Meet the guests: - Scholar Rebecca Herzig explains when and why we started caring so much about body hair and how hair removal practices have evolved over the centuries. - Sharan Dhaliwal , founder and editor-in-chief of Burnt Roti , talks about about coming to terms...

Embodied is back for a second season!

Anita says all the time "what's personal is political." So, she's interested to see how a new presidential administration will affect the ability of transgender Americans to serve in the U.S. military, which has long suffered from barriers to equity for troops and veterans from marginalized communities. Meet the guests: - Lt. Col. Bree Fram , the highest-ranking, out transgender officer in the Dep...

Anita is all kinds of in love with her newborn niece, a relationship that has her thinking more about motherhood. Her thoughts on the matter are at least somewhat informed by listening to "The Double Shift" podcast, which challenges the status quo for moms. This episode explores the roles of gender and community in raising kids through the story of a transgender man named Ted. Plus, Anita extends...

Anita is admittedly anxious about aging and what she'll have to re-negotiate about her body and her relationships as she gets older. Wisdom wanted. Meet the guests: - Omisade Burney-Scott, creator and host of "The Black Girls' Guide To Surviving Menopause" talks about how aging has affected her mind, body and spirit - Pepper Schwartz , a sociologist, sexologist and relationships expert, talks abou...

Anita knows how frustrating it can be to find the right doctor and get good healthcare. Transgender people have to navigate all those challenges and take extra measures to advocate for their wellbeing with medical providers who are too often untrained to treat them. Meet the guests: - Max Brown, a transgender teenager living in North Carolina, talks about being misgendered in the healthcare system...

Anita is thinking more and more about entering the club of motherhood. But first, she'd appreciate a reality check on things we don't often talk about — like child care and health concerns around pregnancy and labor. Meet the guests: - Angela Garbes , writer and author, talks about the cultural baggage surrounding American motherhood and how she separates the signal from the noise - Dani McClain ,...

Anita loves podcasts, especially ones that make space for intimate, unexpected conversations. "The Only One In The Room," hosted by Laura Cathcart Robbins, is one of those shows. This episode explores the excitement and emotions of being in an open marriage. Read the transcript Follow Embodied on Twitter and Instagram

Anita has a gut feeling none of us know as much as we should about the connection between our intestinal health and how our minds work. Meet the guests: - Ian Carroll, assistant profession of nutrition at UNC-Chapel Hill teaches us what we need to know about our gut microbiome. - Lin Chang, a gastroenterologist and co-director of the G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience,...

Anita is a workaholic. Being overworked stresses Anita out. Too much stress leads to poor health. Don't be like Anita. Meet the guests: - Amelia Nagoski , conductor and co-author of "Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle" talks about the physical and psychological signals our body sends when its in distress. - Emilio Vicente , activist and communications manager for Familia: Trans Quee...

Anita questions whether her inner feminist will ever let her come around to enjoying porn without shame. Meet the guests: - Monèt Noelle Marshall , an artist and activist, talks about creating an artistic project exploring sexual shame. - Shine Louise Houston , founding director and producer of Pink and White Productions, takes us behind-the-scenes of creating ethical porn. - Mia Little , an adult...

Anita realizes she never got 'the sex talk' growing up. And even if she had, it probably wouldn't have gone like this. Meet the guests: - Emily Nagoski , author and sex educator, introduces a new framework for thinking about sex and pleasure. - Carin Bondar , biologist and science communicator, talks about what humans can learn from understanding how sex works in the animal kingdom. - Anita's pare...