Embodied

American men are in a friendship recession. Compared to a few decades ago, five times as many men have no close friends. So what’s going on? Anita talks with Mark Pagán, creator and host of the podcast “Other Men Need Help,” about what makes close friendships among men so fraught — and what we can do about it. They talk about everything from why Mark loves secret handshakes to his ongoing journey of making himself say the hard stuff out loud.Meet the guest:- Mark Pagán is the creator and host of the podcast "Other Men Need Help" and writes the substack "Other Men"Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for EmbodiedPlease note: This episode originally published April 17, 2025.

Each week on How To!, award-winning journalist Mike Pesca tackles a listener’s question – on topics ranging from travel and finance to health and relationships – with help from world-class experts who actually know what they're talking about. Think of it as eavesdropping on someone else's therapy session, without the co-pay or awkward silence. And today, we’re sharing their recent episode on “How to Emigrate as a Throuple” featuring the legendary sex and relationship advice expert Dan Savage. As the U.S. political climate shifts, Dan’s yearning to relocate his polyamorous family to Europe. He knows how to navigate complex relationship dynamics, but the leap to untangling international immigration law feels intimidating and technically out of reach. And that’s where How To! steps in with the help of an expert immigration lawyer. At a time where relationships and politics are becoming even more intertwined, this is a must-listen conversation.And for more interviews like this, make sure to follow How To! on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And tell them we sent you.

When B. Chionne first heard about sugar dating in college, she was intrigued — what if in exchange for her time and attention she could earn enough money to pay her bills? She ended up dating sugar daddies on and off for about a decade. B. tells Anita about what the sugar dating life looks like and how years of exchanging companionship for financial support reshaped the way she thinks about money, power and intimacy. Plus, a researcher shares insights into the sugar daddy perspective and broader trends in sugar relationships.Meet the guests:- B. Chionne is a digital content creator and former sugar baby- Lauren Cormier is a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at the University of New Brunswick who studies human sexuality and relationshipsRead the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied

Rebecca Auman is a witch. That’s not an insult — it literally says “head witch” on her LinkedIn profile. Rebecca has been able to read people and pick up on energy and vibrations for as long as she can remember. But as the daughter of a Methodist minister growing up in the South, she was encouraged to turn away from that intuition for a long time. She tells Anita about the long and winding road to reclaim her magic and how she has turned her gift into a service for others.Meet the guest:- Rebecca Auman runs her own witchy business offering tarot readings and intuition training, and she hosts the podcast “Voices in the River”Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow 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 platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied

Nearly 40% of Americans say digestive troubles disrupt their daily lives. As the daughter of a gastroenterologist, that’s a statistic Anita can’t ignore. She joins forces with neurogastroenterologist Dr. Trisha Pasricha to bust poop myths, explain what's actually normal and explore the surprising science behind the gut-brain connection.Meet the guest:- Dr. Trisha Pasricha, physician, researcher, medical journalist and author of "You've Been Pooping All Wrong"Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied

Soph Myers-Kelley and his mom, René Myers, have always been close. As of five years ago, they also share a diagnosis: the connective tissue disorder Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Soph and René were diagnosed one year apart – Soph was 25; René was 60. EDS explained symptoms they’d both been experiencing for decades, including waking up with jaw or shoulder dislocations and having chronic pain.The two talk with Anita about how their diagnoses began a new chapter of their lives, including the decision to move in together last summer.Meet the guests:- Soph Myers-Kelley is a medical librarian at East Carolina University- René Myers is Soph's mom and a retired educatorRead the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for EmbodiedPlease note: This episode originally published February 20, 2025.

Food and sex have been deeply intertwined in our cultural imagination for millennia. Anita talks with a cultural historian who has combed through centuries of sex and food chronicles to understand what makes that connection so strong. Plus, Puerto Rican chef Manolo López shares a Valentine’s recipe and his favorite sexy food.Meet the guests:- Rachel Hope Cleves is a historian, a professor at the University of Victoria and the author of “Lustful Appetites: An Intimate History of Good Food and Wicked Sex"- Manolo López is a Puerto Rican chef and storytellerRead the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied

After more than a decade living in the U.S. without permanent legal status, Alix Dick calculated the cost of her survival: $1.9 million. That figure includes everything from wage theft and underpayment to complex PTSD and under-the-table medical visits. Alix talks about those things with Anita as she discusses her new book “The Cost of Being Undocumented,” co-written with Stanford University professor Antero Garcia. Alix traces her personal story from growing up in Sinaloa, Mexico to fleeing to the U.S. with her younger brother when she was 20. She and Antero discuss misconceptions about undocumented workers, describe the challenges of telling Alix’s story, and talk about the many costs that didn’t make the tally sheet — like lost dreams.Meet the guests:- Alix Dick, activist, writer, filmmaker and co-author of "The Cost of Being Undocumented"- Antero Garcia, associate professor in the Graduate School of Education at Stanford and co-author of "The Cost of Being Undocumented"Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied

J. Drew Lanham’s life has been defined by birds. He grew up in rural South Carolina learning mystical stories about birds from his grandmother, emulating bird calls and even trying to fly. This love sparked Drew’s academic and creative careers — in ornithology and writing —  that center nature and winged creatures. Anita talks to Drew about why he fell so deeply for birds and how he has sustained that love despite the challenges he's faced as a Black man and a conservationist.Meet the guest:- J. Drew Lanham is a poet, ornithologist and author of "The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature"Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for EmbodiedRegister for our five-year anniversary event

Like the majority of American men over 35, Anita's partner is balding...and they're both a little distressed about it. But why? She brings her questions to two men who've interrogated baldness from all angles: race, sexuality, science, media, culture and lived experience. They'll explore where this fear comes from and how many other men feel this way.Meet the guests:- E. Patrick Johnson is dean of the School of Communication and Annenberg University Professor at Northwestern University and the author of “Scatter the Pigeons,” an essay on baldness, masculinity and Blackness- Glen Jankowski is an assistant professor in the School of Psychology at University College Dublin whose research includes the medicalization of baldness and the history of marketing anti-baldness productsRead the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for EmbodiedRegister for our five-year anniversary eventPlease note: This episode originally published December 12, 2024.

Pair figure skating is a sport of coordination, musicality and high-risk maneuvers. Being successful requires a lot of trust and teamwork. So what is it like when your partner is your sibling? Brother and sister Brad and Jocelyn Cox tell Anita about their 11 years of competing together and how their partnership continued into adulthood when they became coaches — and then caregivers.Meet the guests:- Jocelyn Cox, author of “Motion Dazzle: A Memoir of Motherhood, Loss, and Skating on Thin Ice”  - Brad Cox, figure skating coachRead the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for EmbodiedRegister for our five-year anniversary event

There are few things that are certain about 2026, but one of them is that at some point, you’ll be called upon for advice. Anita talks to Meghan Keane, the founder of NPR's Life Kit and author of “Party of One,” about how to give good advice. Meghan shares her personal journey to striking the balance between overthinking, venting and actually getting to the root of a problem. Plus, she sits in the hot seat to answer some big questions from our listeners.Meet the guest:- Meghan Keane is the author of "Party of One: Be Your Own Best Life Partner" and the founder and managing editor of NPR's Life KitRead the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for EmbodiedPlease note: This episode originally aired January 2, 2025.

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? 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 platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for EmbodiedIf you want to hear more of Satish Rao on Embodied:Mixed (Parent Edition), where Anita talks to her parents about growing up mixed racePooped, where Satish gets to share his expertise as a gastroenterologistPlease note: This episode originally aired September 26, 2024.Update: Raja Gopal Bhattar released an interactive memoir, “Queering Constellations: Mapping This Journey Called Life.” 

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 transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied

After being raped at 18, journalist Katie Simon had a burning question: How do you navigate sex and intimacy after sexual assault? Katie tells Anita about their journey of trial and error with sex and how connecting with other survivors helped them write the guidebook they wish they’d had years ago. They explore everything from disclosure and triggers to kink and healing — both for survivors and their partners.Meet the guest- Katie Simon is the author of “Tell Me What You Like: An Honest Discussion of Sex and Intimacy After Sexual Assault"Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied

How does living with a condition that is so deeply stigmatized affect who and how we love? Anita meets a mixed-HIV status couple who shares how they've approached sex and intimacy in their 11+ year relationship. Plus, a woman who was born HIV positive talks about dating, disclosure and overcoming the fear of rejection.Meet the guests:- Rainer Oktovianus is a photographer and user experience designer living with HIV- Eka Nasution is a project management professional and Rainer's husband- Diana Koss is a content creator and host of the "Born Positive" YouTube channelRead the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for EmbodiedPlease note: This episode originally aired September 5, 2024.

Anita's been reckoning with what it means to stay connected to cultural identity as a mixed-race adult. And in pursuit of what things to prioritize, she's turning her focus to food. She talks to mixed-race foodie and writer Raj Tawney, whose hours in the kitchen with his mom and grandma have grounded his search for belonging. Then, she picks up the phone and calls the primary chef in the Rao family: her mom, Sheila.Meet the guests:- Raj Tawney is a writer, foodie and the author of “Colorful Palate: A Flavorful Journey Through a Mixed American Experience”- Sheila Rao is Anita's mom Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for EmbodiedPlease note: This episode originally aired December 5, 2024.

The consequences of fast fashion are well known: worker exploitation, environmental damage and poor quality items. And yet many of us keep buying it — either unknowingly, in willful ignorance or because it feels like there is no other option. Fashion industry insider and “Clotheshorse” podcast host Amanda Lee McCarty joins Anita to interrogate why fast fashion has such a particular hold on us and what we can do about it.Meet the guest:- Amanda Lee McCarty is the host of the “Clotheshorse” podcast and a self-employed fashion consultantRead the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for EmbodiedYou can find Amanda Lee McCarty on Substack and Instagram!

Dina Gilio-Whitaker knows that it’s complicated to talk about Native American identity. She occupies a gray zone herself: she’s a legal descendant of the Colville Confederated Tribes but not an enrolled member. As she worked to make sense of her own liminal identity, she also started witnessing a troubling phenomenon: people coming forward with fraudulent claims to Nativeness. Dina — now an academic — tells Anita about the personal experiences that led her to research this phenomenon, the harms this “pretendianism” perpetuates and the conversations she’s starting about possible solutions.Meet the guest:- Dina Gilio-Whitaker is a lecturer at California State University San Marcos and the author of “Who Gets to Be Indian? Ethnic Fraud, Disenrollment, and Other Difficult Conversations About Native American Identity” Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platformFollow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied