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Anita Rao

Host, "Embodied" / Managing Editor, On-Demand Content
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Anita Rao is an award-winning journalist and the host and creator of "Embodied," a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships & health. She's also the managing editor of WUNC's on-demand content.

She has traveled the country recording interviews for the Peabody Award-winning StoryCorps production department, founded and launched a podcast about millennial feminism in the South, and served as the managing editor and regular host of "The State of Things," North Carolina Public Radio's flagship daily, live talk show. Anita was born in a small coal-mining town in Northeast England but spent most of her life growing up in Iowa and has a fond affection for the Midwest.

You can send Anita an e-mail at arao@wunc.org.

  • An illustration of a femme-presenting person sitting with her chin resting in her hands. She is wearing blue-rimmed glasses and has brown hair in a bun on top of her head. There are three white clouds surrounding her, and she's leaning on a dark blue surface with a pink background.
    Attention Deficits are Not Just for Kids: Experiencing ADHD as an Adult
    Kaia Findlay
    ADHD is a common mental disorder among children and adolescents. But often symptoms continue into adulthood, where it is underdiagnosed and undertreated. A late-stage diagnosis can be life-changing.
  • An illustration of a femme-presenting person sitting with her chin resting in her hands. She is wearing blue-rimmed glasses and has brown hair in a bun on top of her head. There are three white clouds surrounding her, and she's leaning on a dark blue surface with a pink background.
    Distracted: Adulting With ADHD
    Kaia Findlay
    Anita passes the mic to our friends at the feminist documentary podcast "Bodies" for an exploration of ADHD and identity. Producer Hannah Harris Green talks about how getting an ADHD diagnosis helped her release the shame she'd been carrying since childhood.
  • An illustration split into four separate illustrations. In the top-left corner is a woman sitting alone on a park bench, reading serenely. She has long red hair and her legs and feet are resting on the park bench. On the top right is a co-ed group of folks with their arms around one another facing three crosses. The red-haired woman is among them, and we can only see their backs. In the lower left-hand corner is three people playing mini-golf, with the red-haired woman in the middle. In the lower righthand corner, a group of people featuring the red-haired woman are eating at a restaurant.
    Unpartnered By Design: Reframing How We Think About Singleness
    Paige Perez
    Nearly 40% of U.S. adults are single, and some choose not to look for a relationship or date. If singleness is common, why are single people treated unfairly?
  • An illustration split into four separate illustrations. In the top-left corner is a woman sitting alone on a park bench, reading serenely. She has long red hair and her legs and feet are resting on the park bench. On the top right is a co-ed group of folks with their arms around one another facing three crosses. The red-haired woman is among them, and we can only see their backs. In the lower left-hand corner is three people playing mini-golf, with the red-haired woman in the middle. In the lower righthand corner, a group of people featuring the red-haired woman are eating at a restaurant. The word "Unpartnered" is in the upper righthand corner.
    Unpartnered: Building A Full, Single Life
    Paige Perez
    A growing number of American adults have the same feeling about romantic partnerships: They don’t want one. Anita meets three people who have chosen singlehood: a scholar who examines the double standard of relationship status, a single mother of two by choice and a man shedding toxic masculinity to build a deliberately single life.
  • An illustration of two people with brown skin kissing. One person is sitting on a pink and green moped, with pink-framed glasses, a blue shirt and yellow shorts. They're holding on the handlebars of the moped with the second person in their lap facing them, wearing a yellow jumpsuit and white-framed glasses. The background of the illustration is purple.
    Our Lips are Unsealed: Exploring the Science & Culture of Kissing
    Kaia Findlay
    Kissing-like behaviors exist across the animal kingdom. But why? A scientist explains why humans are so drawn to each other's lips, and a photographer documents the power of a kiss.
  • An illustration of two people with brown skin kissing with a heart above their heads. One person is sitting on a pink and green moped, with pink-framed glasses, a blue shirt and yellow shorts. They're holding on the handlebars of the moped with the second person in their lap facing them, wearing a yellow jumpsuit and white-framed glasses. The background of the illustration is purple. The word “Smooched” is in the upper righthand corner.
    Smooched: Why You'll Never Forget Your First Kiss
    Kaia Findlay
    Anita's highly-anticipated (and highly-awkward) first kiss was in eighth grade … but she remembers it like it was yesterday! A scientist tells her why our brains respond so strongly to kissing and how our kissing customs have changed over time. She also unpacks the power of a kiss with a photographer who documents queer Black love in public and three Gen-Zers school her on contemporary kissing culture.
  • An illustration of a Black man sitting on an airplane from the seat in front of him. He is looking out the window with a tear running down his face. He is wearing a red shirt, has a beard and is wearing an earring in the ear that is visible in the illustration.
    Letting the Tears Flow
    Kaia Findlay
    Humans are the only animal to produce emotional tears. Asking questions about this behavior can help us better understand how we live our lives.
  • An illustration of a Black man sitting on an airplane from the seat in front of him. He is looking out the window with a tear running down his face. He is wearing a red shirt, has a beard and is wearing an earring in the ear that is visible in the illustration. The word “Sobbed” is in the lower right hand corner.
    Sobbed: Why We Cry
    Kaia Findlay
    Anita usually feels better after a good, long cry. But why is that? She explores that question with a poet who spent years diving deeply into the science and culture of crying. And a forerunner of the "crying selfie" trend shares how he pushes back on toxic masculinity by embracing tears.
  • A black and white photo of a person sitting on a textile background pulling their knees up to their chest. You can only see the person's body from the neck down.
    Delivered: No More Postpartum Silence
    Audrey Smith
    When it comes to addressing the mental health concerns of new parents, the most common response is silence.
  • An illustration showing a new parent with long hair clipped back holding a baby in a doctor's office. The person is looking down and to the side. On the wall is a poster saying "postpartum depression" showing a woman with her head in her hands leaning over a crib where a baby is sleeping. "Delivered Part Two" is written in the upper-right corner of the image.
    Delivered (Part Two): No More Postpartum Silence (Revisited)
    Audrey Smith
    Anita treasures sleep and moments of silence. So when she hears typical narratives of early parenthood that include unending cries and restless nights, she has concerns for the mental toll on new parents. But culturally there is a lot of silence around how challenging it can be and recognizing deteriorating mental health while caring for another person can be isolating. In part two of the postpartum series "Delivered," she meets a prolific artist whose experience with postpartum depression catalyzed a mental health journey and a diagnosis of Bipolar II Disorder. She also talks to a couple about what folks should know about sex and relationships postpartum and why the mental health of non-birthing partners should be part of the postpartum conversation.
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