Stay ConnectedDig into the underdiscussed corners of the human experience. Each week, host Anita Rao leads intimate conversations with people unafraid to question what we think we know about identity, relationships and health.
Follow the show on Instagram at @embodiedwunc and on Bluesky at embodiedwunc.bsky.social. You can find Anita on Bluesky at asrao.bsky.social.
Copyright: © 2022 WUNC Podcasts
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
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
More Americans are living into their 90s and 100s than ever before, and it blows Anita's mind that so few people are talking about it! She meets a 94-year-old man who opens up about the changes in his romantic, platonic, and familial relationships, and his two kids join to share their perspectives. Plus, a woman in her 70s introduces Anita to an innovative model for combating social isolation in your senior years.
Meet the Guests:
- Charles Owens, a 94-year-old man living in North Carolina, talks about friendships, love, assisted living and saying goodbye to your waffle iron in old age
- Eddie Owens and Rosa Rouse, Charles' adult children, talk about how their relationship with their father has shifted in the later decades of his life and how they supported him through the changes
- Madeline Franklin, executive director of STL Village in St. Louis, talks about the "village" model that helps adults age in place
Dig Deeper:
Learn more about the broader Village Movement HERE
Anita walked away from her first pole dancing class slightly bruised … but very intrigued. She talks with a veteran stripper about the history and politics of modern pole dancing and meets a pole sport athlete and studio owner who is trying to build an inclusive space for pole practitioners. Plus, a nonbinary pole dancer shares how their relationship with the pole has evolved alongside their gender identity.
Meet the Guests:
Dig Deeper:
Paige Gabert’s studio,Midwest Movement Collective
Advocacy organizationStrippers United, where Nats is on the leadership board
Anita’s pole lesson studio, Aradia Fitness Triangle
Anita has fallen down her fair share of wellness rabbit holes [including a certain alliterative family's beauty and shapewear brands...]. Wellness industry insider and journalist Rina Raphael shares how this $4 trillion industry misleads all of us, and 'Dope Black Social Worker' Kim Young gives us the wellness reframes we all need.
Meet the guests:
- Rina Raphael, author of "The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop and the False Promise of Self-Care,” shares how insidious wellness industry marketing can be
- Kim Young, licensed clinical social worker known as the Dope Black Social Worker, explains how we can take charge of our own wellness ... without buying anything
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What happens when trauma occurs not as a single isolated event, but millions of smaller, ongoing incidents? Guest host Anisa Khalifa talks with an artist, psychotherapist and racial trauma expert about understanding complex post-traumatic stress disorder and the path to healing.
Meet the Guests:
- Fariha Róisín, a multidisciplinary artist and writer, talks about her journey to healing from complex trauma and why her newest book is titled "Survival Takes a Wild Imagination"
- Dr. Karen Winkler, a nurse-psychotherapist with a doctorate in clinical psychology and long-time advocate for people living with chronic illness, discusses the link between complex PTSD and chronic illness and the need for trauma-informed medical care. Dr. Winkler is also a public health advocate in New York City
- Dr. Monnica Williams, professor of psychology at the University of Ottawa and the Canada Research Chair in mental health disparities shares how racism can lead to complex trauma, and her strategies for treating racial trauma
Dig Deeper:
Fariha’s recent book of poetry
Out of the Storm forum and website for discussions and support on having C-PTSD
Racial Trauma & PTSD resources
As a child of two immigrants, Anita has a tumultuous relationship with the question: "Where are you from?" So, too, do many third culture kids — people who spend a significant number of their developmental years living in places that are not their parents' homelands. She talks with two third culture kids — one 35 and one 12 — and their moms about growing up between cultures and how they’ve built identity and relationships along the way.
Meet the Guests:
- Rayla Heide, a senior narrative designer at Blizzard Entertainment, talks about establishing cultural identity as a third culture kid and the grief and joy involved in moving around in childhood
- Madeleine Maceda Heide, an international school leader and modern elder as well as Rayla's mother, shares the advantages of being a third culture kid and the ways she helped their family feel at home wherever they lived
- Phuong Tran, and international journalist and communications consultant for overseas non-profit organizations, talks about her and her son's recent move from Thailand to North Carolina, and what they gained and lost in making that transition
- Kaden Tran, a middle school student, talks about why moving to the US didn't meet up with his expectations and how its impacted his friendships
Guest host Anisa Khalifa first became a fan in high school. She gets an explanation from a psychologist about how being in fandoms benefits mental health, and a journalist describes what role the internet has played in shaping fan culture. Plus, Anisa invites the co-hosts of her K-drama podcast to reflect on how fandom brought them together — and what it means to be a fan.
Meet the guests:
- Lynn Zubernis, a psychologist and professor at West Chester University, talks about what poises some people to become superfans more than others, and how being in a fandom can be mentally beneficial
- Candice Lim, co-host of ICYMI, Slate's podcast about internet culture, talks about how different internet platforms shape fan communities, and the increasing ways that fandom and regular life are overlapping
- Paroma Chakravarty and Saya, Anisa's co-hosts on the podcast Dramas over Flowers, share how the K-drama fandom bonded them together, and what responsibilities fans hold in their communities
Dig Deeper:
Lynn's research and writing on fan psychology
The ICYMI episode on this summer's hacking of AO3
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
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
Anita hasn't always loved getting her photo taken, but seeing herself through the artistic eye of a close friend and photographer has changed her perspective. She meets two intimate photographers who take her behind the scenes of their shoots and share their philosophies on capturing the erotic in an image. Plus, she talks with a model about her intimate work that explores disability and sexuality.
Meet the guests:
- LaQuann Dawson, an artist and community organizer, shares his passion for documenting the Black, queer community through intimate photography and what it's been like to turn the lens on himself
- Shoog McDaniel, a queer, fat photographer and artist, describes the process of guiding others through intimate, mostly-nude shoots in nature and what it's like to witness them discover new ways of being in their bodies
- Trista Marie McGovern, a writer, photographer, speaker and model, talks about using intimate photography as a tool to explore the intersections of disability and sexuality
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Dive deeper:
Meet the guests:
- Esmé Weijun Wang, a writer, speaker and the author of "The Collected Schizophrenias," talks about navigating medical stigma and the ways that writing and performance have contributed to her understanding of schizophrenia
- Christopher Grant, an artist and animator based in Canada, talks about how he uses drawing to process his moments of psychosis and what it's been like to share his story on TikTok and Instagram
- Ashley Smith, an author and writer who runs the blog "Overcoming Schizophrenia," talks about being a parent with schizophrenia, and what conversations about mental health look like with her 11-year-old son
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Show Extras:
A sampling of Esmé's essays:
- “Perdition Days” - https://the-toast.net/2014/06/25/perdition-days-experiencing-psychosis/
- “On the Ward” - https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/esmewwang/psychiatric-hospital-inpatient-collected-schizophrenias
Ashley’s books:
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