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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 control Read the transcript  Follow Embodied on Instagram  Leave a message for Embodied

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 platform Follow Embodied on Instagram  Leave a message for Embodied Please note: This episode originally published February 26, 2026. Update: Tananarive Due's latest novel, "Mazywood," is available now.

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

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 City Read the transcript  Follow Embodied on Instagram  Leave a message for Embodied Please 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)."

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 transcript Follow Embodied on Instagram  Leave a message for Embodied Please note: This episode originally published September 11, 2025. Update: "Art Above Everything" is now available in paperback!

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 author Read the transcript 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 Read "The Vanishing Family" from the New York Times here Follow Embodied on Instagram  Leave a message for Embodied Please 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.

Nearly 1.3 million people are held inside state and federal prisons across the U.S. What happens to a person’s physical body inside that carceral system — and after they get out? Those were questions Emile Suotonye DeWeaver has found himself up against through his life. Suotonye was in and out of juvenile hall during his adolescence before spending just over two decades in prison in adulthood. The activist and writer tells guest host Carvell Wallace how his time in prison affected his relationship to everything from exercise and nutrition to physical touch and desire. And he describes what the healing process for his mind-body connection has been since his release in 2017.  Meet the guest: - Emile Suotonye DeWeaver is the author of "Ghost in the Criminal Justice Machine: Reform, White Supremacy, and an Abolitionist Future" Read the transcript Follow Embodied on Instagram  Leave a message for Embodied

Priya Parker has spent decades thinking about what makes groups work. And she says keeping groups together requires skills most of us never learned. She tells Anita about her personal journey to unlearn the idea that “good people don’t fight” and why a group can be just as damaged by unhealthy peace as they can by unhealthy conflict. She offers guidance for figuring out whether a fight is worth having and then how to actually have it — whether it’s in your book club, work team or extended family.  Meet the guest: - Priya Parker is the author of “The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters” and “The Art of Fighting: The Transformative Power of Conflict”  Read the transcript Follow Embodied on Instagram  Leave a message for Embodied

For many of us, a formal education about sexuality begins during puberty and only really gets going during adolescence. But in reality, exploration of our bodies and relationships can begin long before that — as early as our first years of life. So how can we set kids up to feel empowered, safe and free from shame when they are older? A sexuality educator shares advice for parents and caregivers on navigating some of the common challenges that come up as kids are learning about their bodies and relationships. Plus, a writer breaks down her childhood to determine where shame and desire became intertwined. Meet the guests: - Nadine Thornhill has a doctorate from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality and is one of the hosts of the web series “Every Body Curious” - Tyler Wetherall is the author of "Amphibian" Read the transcript Follow Embodied on Instagram  Leave a message for Embodied

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 Please note: This episode originally published July 10, 2025.

Anita is heading out on parental leave, but the show isn't going anywhere! This fall you'll still get an episode of Embodied in your feeds every week, including some conversations hosted by writer and podcaster Carvell Wallace! Before he takes the mic, Anita sits down with him to talk about identity, love, and what he is excited to bring to the show this fall.   Meet the guest: - Carvell Wallace is a New York Times bestselling author, memoirist and podcaster who hosted the 10-part series "Finding Fred" and the co-host of Slate's "How To" podcast Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram  Leave a message for Embodied

More than half of American men between the ages of 18 and 49 have an active online sports betting account, and for the past year Atlantic staff writer McKay Coppins was one of them. But what started as a reporting assignment quickly spiraled into something else. Anita talks to him about how sports betting pulls you in, even when you think you’re immune. Plus, how the rise of sports betting culture is fundamentally changing sports and fandom.  Meet the guest: - McKay Coppins is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of “Sucker: My Year as a Degenerate Gambler.” Special thanks to Rob Minnick for his contributions to this episode! Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram  Leave a message for Embodied

This summer’s heat waves have been brutal. But there’s one thing helping all of us make it through the soaring temperatures: sweat. Our bodies need to sweat to survive – and yet we spend billions of dollars trying to combat it. Science journalist Sarah Everts explains why sweat is a biological superpower, and she and Anita dig into how it became so stigmatized. Then, Caryn Toriaga shares what it's like to live with hyperhidrosis, an excessive sweating condition that can take her hands and feet and from dry to dripping in 60 seconds. Meet the guests: - Sarah Everts is a science journalist and the author of “The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration” - Caryn Toriaga lives with hyperhidrosis and has blogged about her experience Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform Follow Embodied on Instagram  Leave a message for Embodied

Despite a decade of restrictive behavior and a career path in mental health counseling, Alishia McCullough had never associated herself with the phrase eating disorder. She’s not alone – while eating disorders affect all races and ethnicities at similar rates, people of color are less than half as likely to receive a diagnosis than their white counterparts. She talks to Anita about how an aha moment in grad school led her to better understand how to treat eating disorders in Black women’s bodies — starting with her own. Meet the guest: - Alishia McCullough is the author of "Reclaiming the Black Body: Nourishing the Home Within" and a licensed mental health therapist 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 March 20, 2025. Updates: Alishia is creating a workshop around leaving the U.S., launching a weekly BIPOC postpartum moms support group and working on a clinical reflection card deck. You can keep track of all of these offerings on her Instagram page.