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Embodied

Embodied

By: WUNC
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Summary

Sex and relationships are intimate — and sometimes intimidating to talk about. In WUNC’s award-winning podcast, host Anita Rao guides us on an exploration of our brains and bodies that touches down in taboo territory.

Follow the show on Instagram at @embodiedwunc and on Bluesky at embodiedwunc.bsky.social. You can find Anita on Bluesky at asrao.bsky.social.

2022 WUNC Podcasts
Hygiene & Healthy Living
Episodes
  • Stuttered: Diversifying The Way We Speak
    May 14 2026

    Stuttering occurs in every culture with a spoken language. So why do many communities treat it as a source of shame? Two speech-language pathologists and a comedian help Anita question cultural assumptions about stuttering and explore the growing movement to embrace speech diversity.

    Meet the guests:

    - Dr. Derek Daniels, licensed and certified speech-language pathologist and associate professor in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Wayne State University, shares his own experience of stuttering and what we know about what causes stuttering

    - Jia Bin, doctoral student at Michigan State University, talks about growing up in rural China with a stutter and what she's hoping to bring back to the stuttering community there

    - Nina G, comedian and author of "Stutterer, Interrupted: The Comedian Who Almost Didn’t Happen," explains why she decided to embrace her dream of doing stand-up and shares how her stuttering has impacted romantic and platonic relationships

    Dig Deeper:

    Follow Nina G's comedy on Instagram

    Jia on stuttering as a superpower

    Stuttering content on YouTube by Courtland Crain and Matice Ahnjamine

    National Stuttering Association website

    Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform

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    Please note: This episode originally published March 31, 2023.

    Updates: You can learn more about Jia’s work at the Spartan Stuttering Lab here. You can learn more about National Stuttering Awareness Week here. Nina G is in the midst of the making the comedy docu-special: Comedians with Disabilities Act: Going Beyond The Punchlines.

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    50 mins
  • How A Mother Learned To Connect Without Language
    May 7 2026

    How do you care for someone you struggle to communicate with ... and can never fully understand? That's the question anthropologist Danilyn Rutherford has been wrestling with for decades — ever since it became clear that her daughter Millie would never speak, sign or use symbols to express herself. Danilyn talks with Anita about how mothering a multiply-disabled child challenged her beliefs about the importance of language for human connection.

    Meet the guest:

    - Danilyn Rutherford is the author of “Beautiful Mystery: Living in a Wordless World

    Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform

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    50 mins
  • The Case For Taking Humor Seriously
    Apr 30 2026

    Comedian Chris Duffy believes everyone has a sense of humor. And if you think you don’t? That’s just years of adult socialization talking! He shares his roadmap for building a more humor-filled life, from learning to be present and notice the absurdities of the world to taking social risks. Plus, he and Anita workshop some comedy exercises that will not just get you laughing more — but also help you kickstart your creative juices and feel more connected to those around you.

    Meet the guest:

    - Chris Duffy is the host of the TED podcast “How To Be a Better Human” and the author of “Humor Me: How Laughing More Can Make You Present, Creative, Connected, and Happy

    Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform

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    50 mins
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