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" 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.

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

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.

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.