Sex and relationships are intimate — and sometimes intimidating to talk about. In this weekly podcast from North Carolina Public Radio WUNC, host Anita Rao guid...
Decades Of ‘Death Cramps’ Later, A Search For Answers To Period Pain
Ever since Kate Downey got her first extremely painful period at age 14, every month feels like playing Russian roulette with her uterus. Will she get “normal” abdominal discomfort — or excruciating, life-disrupting “death cramps”? After decades of not knowing the cause of her pain, Kate set out to find an answer to her very own medical mystery…and she shares with Anita how what she uncovered has implications for many other menstruating people.Meet the guest:- Kate Downey is the creator and host of CRAMPED, a podcast investigating period painRead the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied
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50:21
Why We Need Trans Tech In 2025
When technology creators see problems … they fix them. No less is true for trans designers, who for decades have responded to emergent needs in their community with technological innovation. Trans scholar Oliver Haimson tells Anita why it's vital to understand the role of trans technology in this particular political moment. He shares stories from the hundreds of technologies he’s explored — everything from bathroom-finding apps to augmented reality — that both support trans folks’ tangible needs and help reimagine new worlds.Meet the guest:- Oliver Haimson is the author of "Trans Technologies" and an assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of InformationRead the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for EmbodiedSpecial thanks to Hibby Thach for her contributions to this episode!
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50:20
Why Black Women’s Disordered Eating Is Overlooked
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 therapistRead the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied
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50:05
Mixed: Owning Your Multiracial Story
When Anita moved away to college, she experienced a big shift in her biracial identity. Turns out that the questions that emerged for her are ones that many mixed young adults still ponder today ...15 years later. She meets two college seniors and they talk through navigating everything from "Where do I belong?" to "How do I date?" Plus she hears wisdom from a life coach who helps mixed adults tell new stories about identity.Meet the guests:- Adiah Siler, a senior at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, explains how moving out of her small town to go to college allowed her opportunities to explore her Blackness and has influenced her journey as a mixed race person- Claire Gallagher, a senior at the University of Michigan, shares her own experiences growing up as a mixed race person and brings up some of the anxieties she's had about her identity, especially since attending a predominantly white college- Sarah Lotus Garrett, a certified life and goal fulfillment coach, emphasizes the confidence and healing that being a part of a mixed race community can bringRead the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for EmbodiedPlease note: This episode originally aired July 14, 2023.Updates: Adiah Siler is currently working on her MFA at the University of Iowa in the Writers’ Workshop.Dig deeper:Sarah’s program for mixed adultsClaire’s piece on the fetishization of mixed race identitiesAdiah’s piece on being a mixed teen
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Forgive, But Don’t Forget: Sexuality & Healing From Religious Trauma
When Celeste Gracia was 17, her religiously conservative parents sent her to conversion therapy. This was the same summer that the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, giving queer people across the country cause for celebration. It would take years before Celeste felt that same joy and freedom, and today, the 27-year-old environment reporter at WUNC talks with Anita about how recent political events are prompting her to reflect on her decade-long path to healing. Anita also talks to therapist Jonathan Bell about how Celeste’s story fits into a broader context and why religious trauma is so challenging to heal.Meet the guests:- Celeste Gracia is an environment reporter at WUNC who has spent a decade untangling her religious trauma- Jonathan Bell is a a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in helping queer clients with religious traumaRead the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied
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.
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