Embodied

It took Anita 12 years and five therapists to find someone who could help her tackle questions of racial and cultural identity. She meets two therapists of color working to make that kind of support more accessible. Sahaj Kaur Kohli, founder of Brown Girl Therapy, talks about approaching wellness from a more collectivist lens, and Jor-El Caraballo shares how he helps clients build tools for resili...

Long-term stays in psychiatric institutions were once a relatively common treatment in this country. They’re not anymore, but that doesn’t mean they’ve gone away entirely. 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. Meet the guests...

When you live in a disabled body, you don’t always get to see yourself in the love stories you consume. Anita talks with three folks changing that through their own writing. She meets a novelist, essayist and activist who share their disability love stories and how writing has changed their relationships with others and themselves. Meet the guests: - Keah Brown , journalist and author of " The Pre...

Anita's nail habit has evolved in the past decade from $10 drop-in manicures to 90 minute appointments with a nail artist. That artist joins her for a conversation 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. Me...

It’s been two years since the Supreme Court revoked the federal right to an abortion. Now, nearly one in five people seeking abortion care has to cross state lines to get it. 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. Meet the guests: -...

The vast majority of people living with dementia receive essential care from their own family and friends. This work is emotionally rigorous, but also filled with joy, surprise and creativity. More than 11 million Americans are doing this unpaid caregiving, and Anita meets two of them: a millennial who supported her mom and grandmother through different stages of Alzheimer's disease and a man in h...

Male fertility issues make up half of all infertility cases … but you’d never know it from consuming fertility content through culture, media and even medicine. Anita meets three men breaking the silence in hopes that others get the help and support they need. Meet the guests: - Jared Wright , journalist who wrote a piece about his infertility journey for VICE , talks through his first time in a f...

Puberty is a right of passage that most of us experience as teenagers. But for some trans folks, big hormonal changes happen again in adulthood. 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. Meet the guests: - Julian Socha , actor,...

Building intimate friendships can be difficult, especially for men and masculine-of-center people. And once you add up the challenges presented by patriarchy, racism and sexism, it’s even tougher for Black men. Guest host Omisade Burney-Scott talks to four Black men about masculinity, friendship and vulnerability. Meet the guests: - Derrick Beasley , artist and community organizer, links male frie...

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. A writer-poet talks about navigating new romantic connections, and a married couple shares how they’ve built a strong foundation for weathering mental health ups and downs over 15 years to...

Anita learned in the early days of this show that there's no such thing as "normal" sexual behavior. But what *is* worth considering: how your relationship with sex affects your life. She 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. Meet the guests: - Krista Nabar , the e...

Since late 2020, Jordyn Hakes has been on a quest to bring more pleasure and playfulness into her own relationship and those of her many listeners. Anita talks to Jordyn about the upheaval in her life that set her on this path and her best tips for sustaining connection in long-term intimate relationships. Meet the guest: - Jordyn Hakes , host of " The Horny Housewife " podcast, shares tips to kee...

There's a growing number of women challenging the expectation that you need a partner to have a child. In honor of Mother's Day, Anita meets two single moms by choice. They talk about why they chose this parenting path and how they navigate everything from false assumptions to dating. Plus, one of their daughters – 10-year-old Estela – joins the conversation to share her take on growing up in a no...

Something Special for you all: an episode from " Me and My Muslim Friends ," featuring Sameera Qureshi. She is a therapist and founder of Sexual Health for Muslims . Her approach to sex education, therapy, and health is grounded in the Islamic framework and the Islamic understanding of the soul.  Unfortunately, most Muslims don’t have access to a comprehensive sex education growing up. Host Yasmin...

Religion and sexuality are often pitted against one another...so where does that leave folks who feel attuned to both? Anita interrogates that question alongside Lamya H., the author of "Hijab Butch Blues," a memoir they wrote to be "unapologetically queer and unapologetically Muslim." Meet the guest: - Lamya H. , author and activist, explains how their identity as a Muslim and as a queer are inte...

People with disabilities are disproportionately affected by climate change yet often sidelined from policy conversations. Anita marks Earth Day by meeting three disability activists working to turn the tides. They share how their lives and bodies have been impacted by global warming — and how their wisdom could shift climate conversations. Meet the guests: - Daphne Frias , youth activist, shares h...

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.  On this episode: When Nimish left Nepal for college in the United States, he expected some serious challenges, like adjusting to a new culture and stud...

A significant portion of the funeral home workforce is entering retirement...but there's a crop of young people who are ready to take the helm. Anita meets two young funeral directors who felt called to this work at a young age. They take her inside their world -- from organizing end of life ceremonies to learning how to embalm for the first time. Plus, they share their hopes for a more death-posi...

Anita has many close friends who defy all stereotypes about only children. But when it comes to thinking about having her own kids, she still can't shake some of those ingrained ideas. She 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. Meet the guests: - Laur...

True or false? Victorian doctors invented the vibrator to cure women's "hysteria" by bringing them to sexual climax. The answer may surprise you...as it did Anita! She gets the truth about vibrator history from journalist Hallie Lieberman and meets Anna Lee, the engineer behind the first-ever “smart” vibrator that can help you better understand your arousal patterns. Meet the guests: - Hallie Lieb...

A gender transition is a moment of personal flux that can also have a big impact on a romantic relationship. 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. Meet the guests: - Summer Tao and Lucy Aalto , partners and freelance writers...

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 . Enjoy this episode from our friends at The Happiness Lab . The Gottmans join Dr Laurie Santos to talk us through how to raise complaints with our partners and h...

American Sign Language is the third-most used language in the U.S. ASL has its own culture and art forms, and for many Deaf folks, ASL is about much more than just communication. Anita talks to Deaf author Sara Nović and Deaf ASL Slam poet Douglas Ridloff about how ASL gave them tools for self-understanding and artistic expression. Then she learns from scholars Carolyn McCaskill and Joseph Hill ab...

Anita finds a lot of ASMR videos to be deeply relaxing, but she doesn't get the well-hyped/well-documented 'brain tingles.' Why? She puts the question to a physiologist who's been exploring the science of ASMR for the past decade. Plus, she meets an ASMR artist who's entranced hundreds of thousands of people with her medical role play videos and a woman who turned to the world of Boyfriend ASMR to...

Egg donation in the U.S. is a multibillion dollar industry with high stakes and complicated dynamics. 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 and why some eggs are valued higher than others. Meet the guests: - Julie Ventura , egg donor and nail artist , sha...