Embodied

Puberty is a right of passage that most of us experience as teenagers. But for some trans folks, big hormonal changes happen again in adulthood. Anita meets three transmasculine people who started taking testosterone as adults...and experienced everything from emotional fluctuations and voice changes to acne and new body hair in a period of second puberty.

Meet the guests:

- Julian Socha, actor, shares his experience of second puberty after being on T for eight years and how the physical changes have influenced his acting and how he's read in social situations

- Gibby Armijo, a chef, has been on testosterone for just about three years and talks about his journey of taking the hormone more intermittently and how it's influenced his ideas about masculinity and adulthood

- Luckie Alexander Fuller, the founder and CEO of "Invisible Men," spells out how his medical transition at age 30 influenced his relationships with his kids and helped his outer appearance align with the way he sees himself

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Building intimate friendships can be difficult, especially for men and masculine-of-center people. And once you add up the challenges presented by patriarchy, racism and sexism, it’s even tougher for Black men. Guest host Omisade Burney-Scott talks to four Black men about masculinity, friendship and vulnerability.

Meet the guests:

- Derrick Beasley, artist and community organizer, links male friendships and climate change in his art and shares how he thinks about building friendships with other Black men

- Tiq Milan, a trans activist and thought leader, breaks down how he is queering masculinity and working to help others in his community cultivate their own ideas of masculinity

- Taj and Zach, best friends and cousins, talk about the ins and outs of their relationship and how they're thinking about building and maintaining friendships as they transition from high school into college

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When you’re living with a stigmatized mental illness like bipolar disorder, opening up to romantic partners can be tough, but Anita brings on two people who’ve found their own way through love and mental health. A writer-poet talks about navigating new romantic connections, and a married couple shares how they’ve built a strong foundation for weathering mental health ups and downs over 15 years together.

Meet the guests:

- Michelle Yang, a writer and advocate, shares her journey to a bipolar I disorder diagnosis, how she navigated disclosure of her diagnosis early on in her relationship with her husband and her work to separate trauma from culture

- Bob Zammit, Michelle's husband, gives his perspective on managing mental health in their family and how he and Michelle have thought about raising their 10-year-old son to be conscious of mental health

- Hannah Blum, author of “Oh Mind, Where Have You Gone Today?”, explains how she approaches disclosure of her bipolar II diagnosis in romantic connections and what kind of mental health support she appreciates from intimate partners

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Anita learned in the early days of this show that there's no such thing as "normal" sexual behavior. But what *is* worth considering: how your relationship with sex affects your life. She meets two women whose compulsive sexual behaviors led them to seek support, and a sex-positive psychologist shares how she helps folks with sex addiction in their recovery.

Meet the guests:

- Krista Nabar, the executive director and founder of the Carolina Sexual Wellness Center, explains her sex-positive approach to hypersexuality and treatment

- Erica Garza, author of “Getting Off: One Woman’s Journey Through Sex and Porn Addiction," shares her history with sex addiction and how she's recovering in a sex-positive way

- Mz. Cici, a content creator on Instagram and TikTok, talks about her efforts to bring more awareness to hypersexuality and her experiences with hypersexuality and bipolar disorder

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Since late 2020, Jordyn Hakes has been on a quest to bring more pleasure and playfulness into her own relationship and those of her many listeners. Anita talks to Jordyn about the upheaval in her life that set her on this path and her best tips for sustaining connection in long-term intimate relationships.

Meet the guest:

- Jordyn Hakes, host of "The Horny Housewife" podcast, shares tips to keep the connection alive in the wake of parenting, body changes and other changes that long-term relationships weather

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There's a growing number of women challenging the expectation that you need a partner to have a child. In honor of Mother's Day, Anita meets two single moms by choice. They talk about why they chose this parenting path and how they navigate everything from false assumptions to dating. Plus, one of their daughters – 10-year-old Estela – joins the conversation to share her take on growing up in a nontraditional family.

Meet the guests:

- Hera McLeod, mother and civil rights activist, walks us through her decision to become a single mother and how she's made some of the logistics work — like living in an intergenerational household with her parents

- Estela McLeod, Hera's oldest daughter and cohost of the "Seeking Different" podcast, shares what questions she gets from her peers and how she's thinking about the family she wants to build in the future

- C. Nicole Mason, president and CEO of Future Forward Women, talks about how she's balanced dating with being a single mom of choice and how she's reflecting on her parenting journey now that her twins are teenagers

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Something Special for you all: an episode from "Me and My Muslim Friends," featuring Sameera Qureshi. She is a therapist and founder of Sexual Health for Muslims. Her approach to sex education, therapy, and health is grounded in the Islamic framework and the Islamic understanding of the soul. 

Unfortunately, most Muslims don’t have access to a comprehensive sex education growing up. Host Yasmin Bendaas and Sameera dive into the consequences of that and talk about some of the most common issues Sameera hears in her counseling practice.

Religion and sexuality are often pitted against one another...so where does that leave folks who feel attuned to both? Anita interrogates that question alongside Lamya H., the author of "Hijab Butch Blues," a memoir they wrote to be "unapologetically queer and unapologetically Muslim."

Meet the guest:

- Lamya H., author and activist, explains how their identity as a Muslim and as a queer are intertwined and talks about the intersection of both

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People with disabilities are disproportionately affected by climate change yet often sidelined from policy conversations. Anita marks Earth Day by meeting three disability activists working to turn the tides. They share how their lives and bodies have been impacted by global warming — and how their wisdom could shift climate conversations.

Meet the guests:

- Daphne Frias, youth activist, shares how some policies aimed at addressing climate change disproportionately affect people with disabilities and about how her activism philosophy has been shaped by her cancer diagnosis

- Germán Parodi, Co-Executive Director of The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies, details his on-the-ground experience providing aid in the immediate aftermath of hurricanes and other climate crises

- Julia Watts Belser, director of Georgetown University’s Disability and Climate Change: Public Archive Project, takes Anita into the public archive and talks about how the policy conversations about climate change could benefit from the wisdom in the disability community 

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Sharing something special today, an episode of the Love Letters podcast. Love Letters tells stories about romance, marriage, partnership, sex, loss and the human heart, all served with a side of advice by Boston Globe columnist Meredith Goldstein. 

On this episode: When Nimish left Nepal for college in the United States, he expected some serious challenges, like adjusting to a new culture and studying in a new language. Finding love was not top-of-mind. But as he got older and started to date more, Nimish’s romantic life became his biggest source of anxiety. Because with each budding relationship came an all-consuming question: How do I explain this to my parents? 

You can listen to more Love Letters episodes here.

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