Embodied

When Philip Hoover and his wife Lauren Hill-Hoover tested positive for COVID-19 three years ago, they thought they knew what to expect. But then Philip’s symptoms persisted, morphed and intensified. They talk to Anita about how an illness that’s affected tens of millions of Americans upended their life and forced them to confront big, existential questions, like: What does caring for each other in sickness and in health *really* mean? Meet the guests: - Philip Hoover is a writer who has long COVID - Lauren Hill-Hoover is Philip's wife Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Buy tickets for our August event at Motorco, all about transformation! Dig deeper: Philip's Modern Love essay

When Yowei Shaw got laid off two years ago, there was no amount of bad TV, fried food or even therapy that could get her out of a deep emotional rut. So, she turned to the one thing that had worked in the past: reporting on her feelings. That journey led her to starting a new podcast called Proxy and inventing a new journalism beat: emotional investigative journalism. Anita talks to Yowei about why and how she reports on emotions (both hers and other people’s) and the surprising discoveries she’s made along the way. Meet the guest: - Yowei Shaw is the host and creator of Proxy Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Buy tickets for our August event at Motorco, all about transformation!

Abraham Verghese has two acclaimed careers. He’s an infectious disease specialist known for his focus on the human side of medicine and a bestselling author of books like “My Own Country” and “The Covenant of Water.” In a recorded live event in Pittsboro, North Carolina, Anita talks to him about the shared philosophy he brings to both professions and probes him about how his own experiences inform how he writes about bodies and relationships. Meet the guest: - Dr. Abraham Verghese, acclaimed physican and author Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Special thanks to McIntyre’s Books in Fearrington Village for hosting this event.

Our understanding of the term bisexuality has been in a state of constant evolution. In a moment when bisexual adults make up the largest share of the LGBTQ+ population, how is bisexuality being re-imagined, reclaimed — and sometimes relinquished? Anita meets two people who have grappled with the term’s history, meaning and power for building community. Meet the guests: - J.R. Yussuf is the author of “Dear Bi Men: A Black Man's Perspective on Power, Consent, Breaking Down Binaries, and Combating Erasure” - Jazmín Aguilar is a host and senior audio producer at the Boston Globe Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Please note: This episode originally aired October 10, 2024. Update: J.R. Yussuf’s book, “Dear Bi Men,” was a finalist for the Foreword INDIES award.

When Jessica Slice was 28 years old, a bout of heat exhaustion triggered an underlying neurological disorder that led to permanent physical disabilities. In the 14 years since, Jessica met her now-husband David Yourdon and started a family. They talk to Anita about how their parenting experience has been one of adaptation and creativity — from learning how to separate their worth from external standards to accepting that all bodies have changing needs that require attention and care. They share the nitty gritty of their parenting life, with wisdom that’s relevant for all families. Meet the guests: - Jessica Slice, author of “Unfit Parent: A Disabled Mother Challenges an Inaccessible World" - David Yourdon, Jessica's husband Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Dig deeper: Jessica's newsletter, Whatever What Is

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 resilience in the face of systemic oppression. Meet the guests: - Sahaj Kaur Kohli is a psychotherapist, the founder of Brown Girl Therapy and the author of “But What Will People Say?” - Jor-El Caraballo is a therapist, the co-founder of Viva Mental Health and Wellness and the author of “Self-Care for Black Men” Special thanks to Lisa R. Savage, Erinn Scott, Melody Li and Susan Chung for contributing to this week's episode. Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Please note: This episode originally published July 25, 2024.

Anita hands over the mic to Embodied’s intern, Nina Scott. After listening to our recent episode about country queers living in rural America, Nina became interested in exploring the Black queer South. Drawing from her own personal experience as a Black lesbian born and raised in the South, Nina speaks to an artist and an academic who are dedicated to contextualizing the experience of Black Southern lesbians. Meet the guests: - Shirlette Ammons is a musician, poet and producer - Dr. Nikki Lane is an anthropologist, writer and assistant professor at Duke University Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Here are the academics Dr. Nikki Lane mentioned who are exploring the experiences of Black lesbians: - E. Patrick Johnson - Kemi Adeyemi - Mignon Moore

Anita's been deep in romantasy land this year reading Fourth Wing & ACOTAR. And it's gotten her thinking about the skill required to make steamy sex scenes come alive on the page and out loud. She 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. Meet the guests: - Rachel Kramer Bussel has been published in more than 100 erotica anthologies, edited at least 70 others and is the author of “How To Write Erotica” - Cecilia Tan has written science fiction and fantasy erotica for 30 years and is the founder of the publishing company Circlet Press - Selene Ross is a former audio producer for the popular audio erotica app Dipsea and an artist and musician with an MFA in fiction from Oregon State University, where she teaches podcast storytelling and writing Special thanks to Megan Hart and Lee Suksi for contributing to this episode! Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Please note: This episode originally aired August 8, 2024. Update: Some of Cecilia Tan’s stories are now free to read on a brand new erotica and romance reading site called Theo.

When you board a plane, flight attendants greet you with practiced smiles and seamless service. But there’s a lot of mental and emotional labor that passengers don’t see. Missy, a Hawaii-based flight attendant, takes Anita inside her world and shares stories from her close to five years on the job — from managing unruly passengers to dealing with medical emergencies. Travel journalist Natalie Compton also shares her reporting on the financial precarity some flight attendants face and how understanding more about their reality has changed the way she approaches air travel. Meet the guests: - Missy is a Hawaii-based flight attendant who is using only her first name since she's not authorized to speak on behalf of her airline - Natalie Compton is a travel reporter for The Washington Post Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Dig deeper: Natalie's reporting on the financial precarity of early-career flight attendants Natalie's reporting on flight attendant training

Rae Garringer grew up on a sheep farm in rural West Virginia, and once they left for college and came out as queer, they weren't sure they could ever move back. They believed the story they’d been told: to thrive as an out, LGBTQ+ person, you have to live in a city. But when Rae did move back in 2011, they realized that story was a lie. Anita talks to Rae about making queer life work in the country — from navigating dating challenges to getting along with neighbors you disagree with. They also talk about Rae’s oral history project, podcast and book “Country Queers,” which documents queer, rural life in 21 states around the country. Meet the guest: - Rae Garringer is the founder and director of Country Queers, an oral history project and podcast, and the author of "Country Queers" Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied

What would you do if you knew your brain would stop functioning normally in just a decade? For brothers Ansel Dow (31) and Cosmo Hinsman (26), this isn't hypothetical. They carry a rare genetic mutation that makes frontotemporal dementia almost inevitable by their mid-40s. It’s the same condition that has altered the lives and personalities of their mother and five of her siblings. In conversation with Anita, the brothers reveal how this genetic legacy influences their most personal choices about love, friendship and building a meaningful life against a countdown. Meet the guests: - Ansel Dow is a community organizer and an advocate for more research into FTD - Cosmo Hinsman holds a MFA in fiction writing Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied You can check out Climbing the Walls here.

Sex has no age limit. But having a robust intimate life well beyond age 65 comes with distinct challenges, particularly when you no longer live in the privacy of your own home. Anita talks with two people dedicated to making good sex possible for older adults, whether they are navigating dementia and living in a nursing home, or forging a new relationship with someone in their assisted living community. Sexuality educator Jane Fleishman and research psychologist Maggie Syme discuss the policy landscape affecting older adults’ sexual wellness and share stories from their day-to-day work building an intimacy revolution in elder care. Meet the guests: - Jane Fleishman is a sexuality educator who also identifies as an older adult - Maggie Syme is a research psychologist Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied You can check out Climbing the Walls here.

A new crop of children’s book authors are trying to help kids develop curiosity about their physical bodies. But how exactly do they turn fraught body politics into compelling children's stories? Anita gets answers when she meets Tyler Feder and Shelly Anand, the creators behind the books "Bodies Are Cool" and "Laxmi's Mooch." Meet the guests: - Tyler Feder, the author and illustrator behind the book “Bodies are Cool" - Shelly Anand, the author of “Laxmi’s Mooch" Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Please note: This episode originally aired November 1, 2024. Update: “Bodies Are Cool” is now available as a board book. You can check out Climbing the Walls here.

Sharing something special with you this week, it’s an episode of Other People’s Problems, from CBC. Normally, therapy sessions are totally confidential — but this podcast opens the doors. In this season, the host Dr. Hillary McBride explores the transformative power of psychedelics in a therapeutic setting. With her psychological expertise, Dr. Hillary leads clients through drug-assisted therapy, guiding them to new heights on their healing journeys. You’ll experience these real, unscripted sessions firsthand as they unfold, and get an unprecedented look at therapy using psychedelics and psychoactive drugs, demystifying this often misunderstood practice as a powerful tool in trauma recovery. In this episode, we hear from Donovan, who has lived in fear and anger ever since he told the truth about being abused by his mother’s boyfriend and then felt betrayed by social workers who were supposed to help. Now, after several ketamine therapy sessions, Donovan can finally look back upon his child-self with care and calm and works to become the kind of adult he needed for his own children. You can listen to more Other People’s Problems here.

Gen Z is anxious about climate change, and it’s impacting their family planning. Anita talks to researcher Jade Sasser, who's been studying young people’s attitudes about climate change and reproductive choices while unpacking her own experiences with climate anxiety. They’ll talk about how to manage climate emotions while making big life decisions, and how “the kid question” isn’t just about babies — it’s about what bringing new life into an uncertain world represents. Meet the guest: - Jade Sasser is the author of “Climate Anxiety and the Kid Question: Deciding Whether to Have Children in an Uncertain Future” and an associate professor at the University of California, Riverside Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied

When the #MeToo movement exploded in 2017, journalist Ruth Whippman — nearly nine months pregnant with her third son — experienced a profound conflict. As a feminist, she celebrated the movement; as a mother, she worried: "How am I gonna raise these boys to be good?" This tension launched Ruth on a quest to understand modern American boyhood and what's not working. Ruth and her husband Neil Levine tell Anita about their journey of putting Ruth’s research into practice, working to give their sons the emotional tools to thrive in a changing world — and what’s at stake if we don’t shift our approach to raising boys. Meet the guests: - Ruth Whippman is the author of "BoyMom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity" - Neil Levine is Ruth's husband Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied You can check out Climbing the Walls here.

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 together. Meet the guests: - Michelle Yang, a writer and advocate, shares her journey to a bipolar I disorder diagnosis, how she navigated disclosure of her diagnosis early on in her relationship with her husband and her work to separate trauma from culture - Bob Zammit, Michelle's husband, gives his perspective on managing mental health in their family and how he and Michelle have thought about raising their 10-year-old son to be conscious of mental health - Hannah Blum, author of “Oh Mind, Where Have You Gone Today?”, explains how she approaches disclosure of her bipolar II diagnosis in romantic connections and what kind of mental health support she appreciates from intimate partners Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Please note: This episode originally aired May 24, 2024. Update: Michelle Yang is on her book tour for her memoir. You can find more information here. You can check out Climbing the Walls here.

In Anita's lifetime, the divorce rate for Americans over 55 has doubled. People are living longer, divorce stigma has decreased and women are more financially independent. But leaving a decades-long marriage … is a big life upheaval. Anita gets personal accounts from two gray divorcees about what it was like to rebuild their identities, finances and freedom post-divorce. They discuss money management, surfing and why women initiate divorce most often in heterosexual partnerships. Meet the guests: - Laura Stassi is a writer, editor and the host of the podcast "Dating While Gray" - Dr. Stephanie Han is a literature scholar, award-winning author and educator Special thanks to Nanette Murphy and Linda Lingo for sharing their thoughts for this episode! Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Please note: This episode originally aired August 15, 2024. Update: Stephanie’s guide to writing your divorce story and her class on the same topic was featured on Oprah Daily. You can check out Climbing the Walls here.

American men are in a friendship recession. Compared to a few decades ago, five times as many men have no close friends. So what’s going on? Anita talks with Mark Pagán, creator and host of the podcast “Other Men Need Help,” about what makes close friendships among men so fraught — and what we can do about it. They talk about everything from why Mark loves secret handshakes to his ongoing journey of making himself say the hard stuff out loud. Meet the guest: - Mark Pagán is the creator and host of the podcast "Other Men Need Help" and writes the substack "Other Men" Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied You can check out Climbing the Walls here.

Doctors are expected to make high-stakes decisions quickly and often. And while plenty of medical guidelines exist, sometimes finding the right answer relies on intuition as much as logic. So what happens when suddenly that intuition is … gone? Retired anesthesiologist Dr. Ronald Dworkin tells Anita about the day he lost his intuition and how he got it back. She also talks to one of her favorite medical minds (her brother-in-law, Dr. Amit Gupta) about training intuition in the next generation of doctors. Meet the guests: - Dr. Ronald Dworkin is a research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia and a retired anesthesiologist - Dr. Amit Gupta is a gastroenterologist, assistant professor of medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill and Anita's brother-in-law Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied You can check out Climbing the Walls here.