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by WUNC
Dig into the underdiscussed corners of the human experience. Each week, host Anita Rao leads intimate conversations with people unafraid to question what we think we know about identity, relationships and health.
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- Yesterday50 min
Coming Of Age As A Chinese Restaurant Kid
Curtis Chin grew up inside Chung’s Cantonese Cuisine. His great-grandfather first opened the Detroit restaurant in 1940, and in the 1970s and ‘80s Chung’s was the backdrop for many of Curtis’s formative lessons about race, identity and belonging.He talks to Anita about his experience learning how to code-switch as an Asian American and gay kid in a Black and white city — and how serving and observing customers in the restaurant helped him find his own way as a writer, filmmaker and activist.Meet the guest:- Curtis Chin is the author of “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant”Read the transcriptFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for EmbodiedPlease note: This episode originally published December 18, 2025.Updates: The sequel to Curtis Chin's memoir is coming out in Spring 2028. It is called, "For Here or To Go," and his latest film for PBS is available on YouTube.
- 1 weeks ago50 min
Rethinking Contraception As A "Women's Issue"
When it comes to preventing pregnancy, women often bear the brunt of responsibility for birth control in their partnerships. Sociologist Krystale Littlejohn decided to dig into how it affects women’s lives to be told to "just get on the pill." She tells guest host Carvell Wallace about what she learned from interviewing over 100 young women and offers suggestions for making contraception less gendered. Carvell also talks with Matthew Treviño, a former participant in a trial for hormonal male birth control.Meet the guests:- Krystale Littlejohn is the author of "Just Get on the Pill: The Uneven Burden of Reproductive Politics" and an associate professor at the University of Oregon- Matthew Treviño is a former participant in a trial for hormonal male birth controlRead the transcript Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied
- 2 weeks ago50 min
The Healing Power Of Horror
Black horror writer Tananarive Due fell in love with the spectacle of horror when she was a little kid. But it was only after she was well into her horror writing career that she discovered that the genre can provide not just entertainment but healing. Tananarive talks to Anita about why she believes horror can help folks process real-world fears and trauma, using her most recent award-winning book “The Reformatory” as a case study. Meet the guest:- Tananarive Due is an educator and the author of several horror novels, including "The Reformatory"Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for EmbodiedPlease note: This episode originally published February 26, 2026.Update: Tananarive Due's latest novel, "Mazywood," is available now.
- 3 weeks ago50 min
Coming out as Trans in Later Life
Jillian Celentano felt that something was different about her gender identity when she was five years old. But this was in the 1960s. “Transgender” wasn’t a part of popular vocabulary, and trans folks who were in the public eye were often ridiculed…even arrested. So Jillian kept her identity hidden…until she was 55 years old. Jillian talks with guest host Carvell Wallace about why she finally transitioned in adulthood, and the joys and challenges of embracing a new identity. She also talks about the lessons she passes on as a trans elder to younger trans people.Meet the guest:- Jillian Celentano is a social worker, psychotherapist and the author of "Transitioning in Later Life: A Personal Guide"Read the transcript Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied
- 4 weeks ago50 min
Navigating Chronic Insomnia In A Sleep-Obsessed Culture
For almost 29 years, journalist Jennifer Senior was a self-described “brilliant sleeper.” Then, one night, something changed…and Jennifer has struggled with chronic insomnia ever since. She talks to Anita about insights on insomnia from both her reporting and personal life. Then, we meet a couple who share suggestions for navigating insomnia in a romantic partnership.Meet the guests:- Jennifer Senior is a staff writer for The Atlantic and the author of "Why Can't Americans Sleep?"- Gabrielle Moss and Jesse Rifkin are writers living in New York CityRead the transcript Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for EmbodiedPlease note: This episode originally published October 9, 2025.Update: Gabrielle Moss has a new book, "The Midlife Plot Twist: How to Reboot Your Life Without Burning It Down (Even If You Really, Really Want To)."
- Oct 8, 202650 min
What It Takes To Make Art Your Life
Building a life as an artist is an uphill climb. After decades of hustling to make it work, writer Stephanie Elizondo Griest had one big question: How do you determine if art is worth all the sacrifice it requires? Stephanie tells Anita about traveling the world for answers and what she learned about what it takes to build a life as a female artist.Meet the guest:- Stephanie Elizondo Griest is a professor of creative nonfiction at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the author of “Art Above Everything: One Woman’s Global Exploration of the Joys and Torments of a Creative Life”Read the transcriptFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for EmbodiedPlease note: This episode originally published September 11, 2025.Update: "Art Above Everything" is now available in paperback!
- Oct 1, 202650 min
Adapting in the Kitchen
How do you keep doing something that you love after your body changes ... and you can’t do it the way you used to? Yewande Komolafe was a cook for two decades before a medical crisis and multiple amputations forced her to change the way that she worked in the kitchen. She tells guest host (and Embodied producer) Kaia Findlay about her process of coming back to cooking and reconnecting to her identity as a chef. Plus, Christine Ha, “the Blind Cook,” talks about how gradual vision loss affected her abilities in the kitchen and how relearning everything from boiling water to knife skills helped her establish new methods for navigating the future.Meet the guests:- Yewande Komolafe is a recipe developer and cooking columnist at the New York Times- Christine Ha is a MasterChef winner, the owner of two restaurants and an authorRead the transcriptFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied
- Sep 24, 202650 min
Two Brothers, One Uncertain Future
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 writingRead the transcriptRead "The Vanishing Family" from the New York Times hereFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for EmbodiedPlease note: This episode originally published June 5, 2025.Updates: Ansel and Cosmo's Aunt Christy, the first in her generation to develop FTD, passed away last November at age 72. Journalist Robert Kolker wrote "The Vanishing Family" about Ansel and Cosmo's family, which is set for release on September 29th.
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