Embodied

For most of the first few decades of his life, Indigenous writer and filmmaker Julian Brave NoiseCat didn’t see much of his father, who left the family when Julian was 6. In the handful of times they did see each other over the years, that history of abandonment made it hard to connect. But when Julian was 28, he moved across the country and moved in with his dad to make a documentary and write a book about their family’s history. Julian talks to Anita about how the decision to dig into his family’s past and Indigenous history broke open his relationship with his dad and led to healing. He also shares how his questions about Native fatherhood have become more urgent now that he has his own son.
Meet the guest:
- Julian Brave NoiseCat is the co-director of the Oscar-nominated documentary Sugarcane and the author of "We Survived the Night" 
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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"
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Please note: This episode originally published June 12, 2025.

Sadie Dingfelder spent decades not recognizing people who knew her and not knowing why. At 39, she found an explanation: she is faceblind. She talks with Anita about how that discovery sent her down a journalistic rabbit hole that led her to rewrite a lot of her past and come to a fundamentally new understanding of her brain. Plus, her husband Steve joins the conversation to talk about how Sadie’s new diagnoses — including having a severely deficient autobiographical memory — shape their life together.
Meet the guests:
- Sadie Dingfelder, science journalist and author of "Do I Know You? A Faceblind Reporter’s Journey into the Science of Sight, Memory and Imagination"
- Steven Hay, engineer and Sadie's husband
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For years, audio creator Helena de Groot felt almost certain that she did not want kids. Then, she got unexpectedly pregnant. That pregnancy was the first in a series of curveballs that set her on a path of questioning everything she thought she knew — not just about whether or not to have children, but about how to live with the doubt and uncertainty that comes with any big adult decision. Helena talks to Anita about this journey, captured in her new memoir podcast “Creation Myth.” Plus, Anita hears from a psychotherapist who has devoted her career to helping people find clarity in the choice about whether to become parents. 
Meet the guest:
- Helena de Groot, creator of the audio memoir “Creation Myth”
- Merle Bombardieri, parenting decision coach, psychotherapist and author of “The Baby Decision: How to Make the Most Important Choice of Your Life” 
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You can learn more about coaching opportunities with Merle Bombardieri here and also sign up for her newsletter here.

When Mary Cain stepped onto the track as a high schooler, it was clear that she was a once-in-a-generation kind of talent. Her rise was quick and spectacular, which made it all the more stunning that just a few years after going pro with Nike, she stepped back from competitive running. She joins Anita to talk about the physical and emotional abuse she says she experienced behind the scenes and the systemic change she is calling for in sports culture. 
Meet the guest:
- Mary Cain, author of “This is Not About Running: A Memoir” and the founder of the nonprofit Atalanta NYC
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NOTE: We reached out to Nike, Alberto Salazar and Darren Treasure for comment. You can find statements from Nike and Salazar here. We did not hear back from Darren Treasure.