Ryan Kramer was born through an anonymous sperm donor in 1990. By the time he was 2 years old, he already had some big questions about his identity — and the desire to find answers. Ryan’s search led him to become the first donor-conceived person to find his parent through DNA testing. He also co-founded the Donor Sibling Registry, an organization that’s helped connect tens of thousands of donor-conceived people with biological family. He tells Anita about meeting many of his own genetic relatives and what this journey has taught him about the meaning of those relationships.

Meet the guest:

- Ryan Kramer, co-founder of the Donor Sibling Registry and the first donor-conceived person to find his parent through DNA testing

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A significant portion of the funeral home workforce is entering retirement...but there's a crop of young people who are ready to take the helm. Anita meets two young funeral directors who felt called to this work at a young age. They take her inside their world -- from organizing end of life ceremonies to learning how to embalm for the first time. Plus, they share their hopes for a more death-positive future.

Meet the guests:

- Jasmine Berrios, licensed funeral director and embalmer, shares how she got into the industry, how being a funeral director impacts her dating life and how she tries to create boundaries around her work [@jasminethemortician]

- Joél Simone Maldonado, grief care professional and educator known as The Grave Woman, talks about how her family influenced her career choice, how she educates her peers around culturally competent care and the importance of open conversations around death [@thegravewoman]

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Please note: This episode originally aired April 19, 2024.

Update: Jasmine Berrios is now the secretary of the California Funeral Directors Association — the youngest officer in the organization’s 120-year history.

When Philip Hoover and his wife Lauren Hill-Hoover tested positive for COVID-19 three years ago, they thought they knew what to expect. But then Philip’s symptoms persisted, morphed and intensified. They talk to Anita about how an illness that’s affected tens of millions of Americans upended their life and forced them to confront big, existential questions, like: What does caring for each other in sickness and in health *really* mean?

Meet the guests:

- Philip Hoover is a writer who has long COVID

- Lauren Hill-Hoover is Philip's wife

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Dig deeper:

Philip's Modern Love essay

When Yowei Shaw got laid off two years ago, there was no amount of bad TV, fried food or even therapy that could get her out of a deep emotional rut. So, she turned to the one thing that had worked in the past: reporting on her feelings. That journey led her to starting a new podcast called Proxy and inventing a new journalism beat: emotional investigative journalism. Anita talks to Yowei about why and how she reports on emotions (both hers and other people’s) and the surprising discoveries she’s made along the way.

Meet the guest:

- Yowei Shaw is the host and creator of Proxy

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Abraham Verghese has two acclaimed careers. He’s an infectious disease specialist known for his focus on the human side of medicine and a bestselling author of books like “My Own Country” and “The Covenant of Water.” In a recorded live event in Pittsboro, North Carolina, Anita talks to him about the shared philosophy he brings to both professions and probes him about how his own experiences inform how he writes about bodies and relationships. 

Meet the guest:

- Dr. Abraham Verghese, acclaimed physican and author

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Special thanks to McIntyre’s Books in Fearrington Village for hosting this event.

Our understanding of the term bisexuality has been in a state of constant evolution. In a moment when bisexual adults make up the largest share of the LGBTQ+ population, how is bisexuality being re-imagined, reclaimed — and sometimes relinquished? Anita meets two people who have grappled with the term’s history, meaning and power for building community.

Meet the guests:

- J.R. Yussuf is the author of “Dear Bi Men: A Black Man's Perspective on Power, Consent, Breaking Down Binaries, and Combating Erasure”

- Jazmín Aguilar is a host and senior audio producer at the Boston Globe

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Please note: This episode originally aired October 10, 2024.

Update: J.R. Yussuf’s book, “Dear Bi Men,” was a finalist for the Foreword INDIES award. 

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 

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Dig deeper:

Jessica's newsletter, Whatever What Is

It took Anita 12 years and five therapists to find someone who could help her tackle questions of racial and cultural identity. She meets two therapists of color working to make that kind of support more accessible. Sahaj Kaur Kohli, founder of Brown Girl Therapy, talks about approaching wellness from a more collectivist lens, and Jor-El Caraballo shares how he helps clients build tools for resilience in the face of systemic oppression.

Meet the guests:

-  Sahaj Kaur Kohli is a psychotherapist, the founder of Brown Girl Therapy and the author of “But What Will People Say?”

- Jor-El Caraballo is a therapist, the co-founder of Viva Mental Health and Wellness and the author of “Self-Care for Black Men”

Special thanks to Lisa R. Savage, Erinn Scott, Melody Li and Susan Chung for contributing to this week's episode.

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Please note: This episode originally published July 25, 2024.

Anita hands over the mic to Embodied’s intern, Nina Scott. After listening to our recent episode about country queers living in rural America, Nina became interested in exploring the Black queer South. Drawing from her own personal experience as a Black lesbian born and raised in the South, Nina speaks to an artist and an academic who are dedicated to contextualizing the experience of Black Southern lesbians.

Meet the guests:

- Shirlette Ammons is a musician, poet and producer

- Dr. Nikki Lane is an anthropologist, writer and assistant professor at Duke University

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Here are the academics Dr. Nikki Lane mentioned who are exploring the experiences of Black lesbians:

- E. Patrick Johnson

- Kemi Adeyemi

- Mignon Moore

Anita's been deep in romantasy land this year reading Fourth Wing & ACOTAR. And it's gotten her thinking about the skill required to make steamy sex scenes come alive on the page and out loud. She goes behind the scenes with two prolific erotica author-editors and a former producer for the audio erotica app Dipsea to figure out how the sausage — and the butt slaps — get made.

Meet the guests:

- Rachel Kramer Bussel has been published in more than 100 erotica anthologies, edited at least 70 others and is the author of “How To Write Erotica”

- Cecilia Tan has written science fiction and fantasy erotica for 30 years and is the founder of the publishing company Circlet Press 

- Selene Ross is a former audio producer for the popular audio erotica app Dipsea and an artist and musician with an MFA in fiction from Oregon State University, where she teaches podcast storytelling and writing

Special thanks to Megan Hart and Lee Suksi for contributing to this episode!

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Please note: This episode originally aired August 8, 2024.

Update: Some of Cecilia Tan’s stories are now free to read on a brand new erotica and romance reading site called Theo.