Embodied

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SEXUALITY
UPDATED WEEKLY

Sex and relationships are intimate — and sometimes intimidating to talk about. In this weekly podcast from North Carolina Public Radio WUNC, host Anita Rao guides us on an exploration of our brains and our bodies that touches down in taboo territory. Follow the show on Instagram and Twitter @embodiedwunc. You can find Anita on Twitter @anisrao.

4 DAYS AGO

Desiring Disability in Fashion

Mainstream adaptive fashion lines are relatively new, but creating clothes to fit and flatter a range of bodies has long been part of disability culture. Anita meets three disabled fashionistas who design with disabled bodies as a starting point, not an afterthought. Meet the guests: - Dr. Ben Barry is the Dean of Fashion at Parsons School of Design who's pushing for further inclusion in fashion – particularly when it comes to the ways clothing is designed, marketed and modeled for folks with disabilities - Sky Cubacub is a Chicago-based fashion designer focused on making size-inclusive garments for queer and trans disabled folks through their company, Rebirth Garments - Samantha Jade Durán is a designer and influencer also known by the handle “A Disabled Icon" Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on TikTok and Instagram Leave a message for Embodied

49 min
31 OCT

What Kids' Books Teach Us About Our Bodies

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 TikTok and Instagram Leave a message for Embodied

50 min
24 OCT

Intersex Reframes On Sex & Gender

While early biology lessons often teach us about sex as a binary, our bodies tell a different story. An intersex physician tells Anita about the decades-long attempt to erase intersex folks from existence, and a parent and two young adults share their advice on how to best support adolescents who defy the sex and gender binary. Meet the guests: - Suegee Tamar-Mattis, a physican who is also an intersex person, describes the decades-long attempt to erase intersex folks from existence, what support is available for intersex youth in their adolescent years and the importance of intersex community - Eric Lohman, parent to a 12-year-old intersex kid, explains how he and his wife have helped his tween explore gender and make decisions about his own body as he’s gotten older. - Hillel and Sam, two young intersex adults, share their thoughts on what it means to be intersex, the experience of puberty and gender identity and their hopes for the future in terms of intersex awareness and advocacy Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on TikTok and Instagram Leave a message for Embodied

50 min
17 OCT

Masked: Coming Out As Autistic In Adulthood (Revisited)

Many autistic people assigned female at birth remain undiagnosed at 18, so what's it like to get an autism diagnosis in your adulthood? Anita meets two women whose paths to a diagnosis started on the internet. Plus a non-binary photographer shares how their late autism diagnosis has informed their marriage and sense of self. Meet the guests: - Irene Chon, neurodivergent creator and self-empowerment coach, talks about the challenge of getting assessed for autism as an adult and why working in customer service was kind of the perfect job for her as an autistic person - Kofi Robinson, a lawyer and TikTok creator, shares how her autistic traits coincide with the expectations for a good lawyer and how she makes solid friendships - Jenni Chapman, a queer and nonbinary photographer, draws parallels between coming out as queer and coming out as autistic, and how she's preparing to handle noise sensitivity as a parent Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on TikTok and Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Dig Deeper: A 2022 study on autism and people assigned female at birth The TikTok account that made Irene realize she was autistic Jenni's podcast, The Queer Soul Spotlight

34 min
10 OCT

Bisexuality Beyond The Binary

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 TikTok and Instagram Leave a message for Embodied

50 min
3 OCT

Popped: Adult Acne In The 'Perfect Skin' Era (Revisited)

Dealing with pimples and blackheads in middle school is practically a right of passage. But when acne is a defining feature of your adulthood... it’s a whole different experience. Anita meets two acne content creators and a photographer who talk about the emotional toll of severe acne, the myth of normal skin, and the responsibility of being today’s skincare influencers. Meet the Guests: - Patsy Chem, an acne-positive skinfluencer, shares the experience of getting severe acne in her 20s and how that shaped her social life - Peter DeVito, photographer behind the "Acne Normalization" project, talks about creating a safe space in portrait photography for models with acne and the ripple effect of those photos - Cassandra Bankson, a medical esthetician, model and skinfluencer, discusses how she handles the responsibility of challenging beauty standards while also reviewing skincare products and practices Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on TikTok and Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Dig Deeper: Cassandra's viral video and YouTube channel NYT on adult acne Jessica DeFino in Teen Vogue on the myth of "normal skin" and in Vanity Fair on dermatology’s biggest rule that was meant to be broken Patsy Chem on accepting her acne

33 min
26 SEPT

Reimagining The Wedding Ceremony

The marriage rate in this country has fallen nearly 60% in the last half century. So what’s motivating those of us still choosing to say I do? On her one-year wedding anniversary, Anita ponders this question with the Hindu officiant who helped her build a ceremony that bridged the gap between her values and her dad's traditional desires. Plus, a comedian and queer ex-nun explains how she takes people from the place of "marriage is a dumpster fire" to a ceremony they're excited about. Meet the guests: - Raja Gopal Bhattar is a consultant, author and officiant who Anita and her family worked with to design her wedding ceremony - Kelli Dunham, a comedian, nurse and queer ex-nun who officiates weddings and funerals — and refers to herself as "queer secular clergy" Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on TikTok and Instagram Leave a message for Embodied If you want to hear more of Satish Rao on Embodied: Mixed (Parent Edition), where Anita talks to her parents about growing up mixed race Pooped, where Satish gets to share his expertise as a gastroenterologist

50 min
23 SEPT

BONUS: Kennedy Ryan's Recipe For Romance

Kennedy Ryan has released 23 romance books in the past decade, and along the way she's developed a style and approach that speaks to hundreds of thousands of readers. Anita sits down with her at a special live event at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill to talk about how her own relationships inform her work, the art of writing unskippable sex scenes and what's next for her career as her Skyland series makes its way to TV. Meet the guest: - Kennedy Ryan is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author. Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on TikTok and Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Looking for more romance episodes? Try these: The Making of Great Erotica - Anita 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. Written: Disability Love Stories - Anita meets a novelist, essayist and activist who share their disability love stories and how writing has changed their relationships with others and themselves (including an interview with author Talia Hibbert!)

39 min

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Sex and relationships are intimate — and sometimes intimidating to talk about. In this weekly podcast from North Carolina Public Radio WUNC, host Anita Rao guides us on an exploration of our brains and our bodies that touches down in taboo territory. Follow the show on Instagram and Twitter @embodiedwunc. You can find Anita on Twitter @anisrao.