Anita's idea of relaxation often involves a good book. She'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. Three neurodivergent authors tell her about writing the characters they longed for as readers and making space for new takes on the "happy ending." Meet the guests: - E.S. Yu , author of the paranormal romance “ Human Enough ” talks about the way ...
Jul 22, 2022•29 min
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. She talks with two sets of couples in very different professional industries about their strategies for tackling finances, alone time and intimacy. Meet the guests: - Sarah & Austin McCombie , the married duo behind the North Carolina-based band Chatham Rabbits talk about how they learned to give each other constructive creativ...
Jul 15, 2022•38 min
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. Most recently: during the pandemic. While some of us started drinking more, another group of folks committed to sober curiosity: a movement encouraging introspection about your relationship with alcohol. She meets two people who are years into building sober lives and asks them to reflect on how their sobriety journeys have shaped everything from re...
Jul 08, 2022•35 min
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. She reconnects with one of them, Dr. Rathika Nimalendran, who has been providing access to abortions in North Carolina for years, to talk about what action she's taking in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Meet the guest: ...
Jul 01, 2022•30 min
Anita comes from a tea-drinking family, but she's happiest when she's holding a mug of coffee the size of her face. For years, she'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: Dr. Rao (her dad) is back to explain why coffee makes you poop, and how it affects your gut. A neuroscientist tells her about what her brain is doing once coffee hits her system. And two folks with deep ties to java talk about...
Jun 24, 2022•34 min
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. But culturally there is a lot of silence around how challenging it can be and recognizing deteriorating mental health while caring for another person can be isolating. In part two of the postpartum series "Delivered," she meets a prolific artist whose experience with postpartum depression catal...
Jun 17, 2022•34 min
Anita has been around enough postpartum folks to know that there's a whole lot they felt unprepared for when it came to how their physical bodies would experience pregnancy and childbirth. In part one of a two-part series, she hears from folks about meeting their new postpartum bodies. A postpartum doula talks about her trauma-informed approach to caring for the physical body; a photographer shares why they're trying to diversify the images we associate with postpartum bodies; and a former Marin...
Jun 10, 2022•33 min
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. Three artists who've lost their sight and found myriad ways to fortify a culture of blind pride show her it's about disrupting the binary and pushing for a more accessible, creative future Meet the guests: - Dr. M. Leona Godin , writer, performer, educator, and the author of " There Plant Eyes: A Personal and Cultural...
Jun 03, 2022•33 min
Anita finally learned how to put on sunscreen properly and care for her body’s largest organ, thanks to medical and skincare industry experts who give advice she revisits in this episode. Their tips helped her figure out what to focus on in her skincare routine, and how to resist the temptation to fall down Tik-Tok beauty rabbit holes. Meet the guests: - Dr. Chesahna Kindred , a board-certified dermatologist at the Kindred Hair & Skin Center in Maryland, teaches Anita about the science of th...
May 27, 2022•33 min
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. First, Omi talks with her former romantic partner about their evolution from significant other to co-parents. Plus, she meets a woman who is part of a four-person parenting structure and hears from someone who is creating resources for folks in blended families. Meet the guests: - Michael Scott, Omisade’s coparent and father of Taj talks about their evoluti...
May 20, 2022•35 min
Anita knows there's no way she can prepare herself or her loved ones for the ways a terminal illness can alter their lives. But meeting people with incurable conditions, and their loved ones, helps her understand what is possible when time suddenly becomes limited. A couple navigating a terminal ALS diagnosis share their story and how their definition of intimacy has evolved. Plus, a woman in her 20s talks about building a dating profile and keeping her sense of humor when her life expectancy is...
May 13, 2022•28 min
Anita's clocked hundreds of hours in therapy, and she's a fan. But there's a part of the profession she hasn't tapped yet: sex therapy. This kind of counseling is designed to support couples — and individuals — through challenges with their bodies and in the bedroom. Some experts join her to share how it can help people reconnect, plus she tests a smartphone app that helps folks broach uncomfortable sexual conversations. Meet the guests: - Dr. Lauren Walker , a registered clinical psychologist a...
May 06, 2022•34 min
Anita sniffs out what's so fascinating about the science of smell — and gets her mind blown. 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. Meet the guests: - Bonnie Blodgett, author of “ Remembering Smell " talks about what it was like to lose her sense of smell - Rachel Herz , neuroscientist and author of “ The Scent ...
Apr 29, 2022•32 min
Anita shares an episode of a podcast produced by her colleagues that gets her teary every time she listens (but in a good way). “Black Widow” from the podcast Great Grief features Grammy-nominated musician Nnenna Freelon reflecting on what’s changed for her in the years since her husband Phil’s passing. Nnenna’s now grappling with a brand new identity: widow.
Apr 22, 2022•29 min
Anita has been inhaling the Netflix show "Sex Education." It's bold, not just in its approach to representation and inclusivity, but also sex. A critic, sex therapist and show superfans join her and guest host Anthony Howard (Embodied's intern) to talk about what the show taught them about self-pleasure, boundaries and methods for healthier sexual relationships. Meet the guests: - Drew Gregory , screenwriter, staff writer for Autostraddle, and co-host of the podcast “ Wait Is This a Date ?” shar...
Apr 15, 2022•34 min
Anita remembers only a few things about her in-school sex education: humor-laden condom demos and pregnancy fear. It's safe to say, she had a lot to figure out on her own after class, and that's typical. Only half of U.S. students get info that meets national standards, so it's clear that something has gotta change! Two high schoolers share why they've taken it upon themselves to give their peers inclusive, shame-free sexuality education. Plus, an expert on college sex lives tells us how the sex...
Apr 08, 2022•31 min
Anita grew up in the 1990s, the era of Purity Culture. Unlike Britney (Spears) and Jessica (Simpson), she had no purity ring, but she's seen how abstinence messaging shaped her generation's relationship with sex, religion, pleasure and their bodies. She talks to two folks who've been unraveling their own indoctrination, and meets someone who's on an mission to help parents recover from purity culture and raise a more sex-positive generation. Meet the guests: - Lyz Lenz , the author of " God Land...
Apr 01, 2022•28 min
Anita declines invites to gender-reveal parties, but she gets why some expectant parents look to gender as a way of organizing the world — they've been socialized to do so. So what happens when a kid comes out as trans or gender nonbinary? Anita talks to three parents of gender-expansive kids about learning to support and advocate for their children. The parents, and one of their kids, share what it's looked like for them to push back on the gender binaries present everywhere: from doctors offic...
Mar 25, 2022•33 min
Anita is confused about hook up culture. Is it a thing, and if so, who makes the rules? She 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. Meet the guests: - Sophie Aaron , a writer, researcher and 2021 graduate of Oberlin College shares insights from her senior thesis on h...
Mar 18, 2022•32 min
The name Embodied came to Anita in a dream, and she's on a quest to figure out how that happened. She talks to a dreamworker about strengthening the bridge between dreaming and creativity, unpacks weird COVID-19 dreams and learns about nightmare therapy. Meet the guests: - Angel Morgan , an artist, filmmaker and the founder of Dreambridge , gives Anita a Dream Science 101 lesson and shares how folks can better connect their dreams to their creativity - Chris Ufere, the founder and CEO of uDreame...
Mar 11, 2022•30 min
Anita got friend dumped for the first time in 6th grade, and she's still not over it. She 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. Meet the guests: - Michelle Elman , an author and life coach best known for her activism campaign Scarred Not Scared, tells Anita about "the mass exodus" — a period of time in which she went through multiple friend breakups - Tony Liu...
Mar 04, 2022•24 min
Anita has no qualms about being an armchair therapist for friends going through a breakup. But sometimes she wonders how her advice aligns with what relationship experts say. 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. Meet the Guests: - Meredith Goldstein , writer and podcast host behind The Boston Globe column and podcast "Love Letters," shares insights...
Feb 25, 2022•34 min
Anita has a close nuclear family unit but knows that's not the case for everyone. Meeting folks who — by choice or circumstance — are estranged from members of their family, she hears reflections on finding belonging elsewhere and seeking support from non-traditional sources. She also learns from two siblings who were estranged for more than 40 years that while reconciliation is possible, it's not for everyone. Meet the Guests: - Raksha Vasudevan , a writer, talks about her estrangement from her...
Feb 18, 2022•33 min
Anita figures out why everybody's talking about the pelvic floor. Turns out, getting-to-know the hammock-like structure of muscles we carry around has helped some people heal their relationships with sex and their bodies. She also uncovers the game-changing ways her own dad has contributed to pelvic floor medicine. Meet the Guests: - Ijeoma Nwankpa, a certified specialist in pelvic health, trained sexuality counselor and owner of the Center of Pelvic Excellence Physical Therapy & Wellness LL...
Feb 11, 2022•25 min
Anita's voice is her bread and butter, but yours likely means a lot to you too. How we sound speaks volumes about our identities...but should it? A vocalist, a vocal coach and an artist sound out the links between voice and gender, and what our built-in instruments reveal about who we are. Meet the Guests: - Tona Brown, a violinist and vocalist who founded Aida Studios , talks about becoming the first trans vocalist to headline at Carnegie Hall and the space she's creating for other students as ...
Feb 04, 2022•31 min
Anita applies herself to learning the fascinating history of her favorite item of makeup: bold red lipstick. Experts and aficionados tell her about influencers who have shaped makeup throughout history, from Rosie the Riveter to Rihanna, and how the cosmetics industry has evolved over time. Meet the Guests: - Rae Nudson, the author of "All Made Up: The Power and Pitfalls of Beauty Culture from Cleopatra to Kim Kardashian ," takes us through the history of products like bold red lipstick and blue...
Jan 28, 2022•28 min
Anita brings the RESOLVED series to a close by revisiting a conversation about body neutrality. 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 about why body neutrality is a helpful step for some in their body liberation journey - Tigress Osborn , th...
Jan 21, 2022•33 min
Intuitive eating is an approach to food and health that encourages tuning into your body’s signals about when, what and how much to eat. Anita talks to a neuroscientist about how our brains respond to dieting and two registered dieticians walk her through the 10 principles of intuitive eating and what can change for folks when they relearn their body's food cues. Meet the Guests: - Sandra Aamodt , a neuroscientist and author of Why Diets Make Us Fat: The Unintended Consequences of Our Obsession ...
Jan 14, 2022•28 min
Diet culture is the water we're all swimming in. Anita unpacks the science that props it up with a registered dietician and certified internal medicine physician. She also hears how folks are pushing back against the ways it manifests in the doctor's office, on the trails, and in the gym. Meet the Guests: - Christy Harrison, an anti-diet registered dietician and a certified intuitive eating counselor takes us inside the history she explores in her book: "Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well...
Jan 07, 2022•31 min
Athletes who push their bodies to muscular limits take Anita inside their physique sport. She explores their personal motivations and talks with a health professional about the toll this kind of training takes on competitors' physical and mental health. Meet the Guests: - Coryne Butler , a bodybuilding lifestyle and transformation coach with FitBody Fusion , shares her experience as a woman in the sport of bodybuilding - Tommy Murrell, a personal trainer and former bodybuilding competitor, expla...
Dec 17, 2021•23 min
