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Kaia Findlay

Lead Producer, "Embodied"

Kaia Findlay is the lead producer for Embodied, WUNC's radio show and podcast on sex, relationships and health.

Her first exploration of radio came in elementary school, when she usually fell asleep listening to recordings of 1950s radio comedy programs. After a semester of writing for her high school newspaper, she decided she hated journalism. While pursuing her bachelor’s in environmental studies at UNC-Chapel Hill, she got talked back into it. Kaia received a master’s degree from the UNC Hussman School of Journalism, where she focused on reporting and science communication. She has published stories with Our State Magazine, Indy Week, and HuffPost. She previously worked as the manager for a podcast on environmental sustainability and higher education.

When not working at WUNC, Kaia goes rock climbing, takes long bike rides, and reads lots of books.

 

  • An illustration featuring four people who are participating in the BDSM lifestyle. The person on the very left has light brown skin and a brown afro and is wearing a fishnet top with long sleeves over a purple tank top. They have leather straps around the upper half of their body and are wearing a leather cuff around their neck with a leash attached. Next to them is a person with darker brown skin with a larger black afro, wearing sunglasses and a fishnet tank top over a purple bra, with leather straps and chains on it. They're smiling and wearing a leather cuff necklace. On the right is a person wearing a leather mask that covers all of their face except for their eyes with pointy ears on top. They're wearing a black tank top and a leather collar around their neck with a leash attached. In the background is a masculine-presenting person wearing a black driving cap and sunglasses with some leather straps on the upper half of their body.
    What BDSM Can Teach Us About Community, Safety and Consent
    Kaia Findlay
    It’s time to put down “Fifty Shades of Grey” … and learn about BDSM that’s rooted in community, healing and self-exploration.
  • An illustration featuring four people who are participating in the BDSM lifestyle. The person on the very left has light brown skin and a brown afro and is wearing a fishnet top with long sleeves over a purple tank top. They have leather straps around the upper half of their body and are wearing a leather cuff around their neck with a leash attached. Next to them is a person with darker brown skin with a larger black afro, wearing sunglasses and a purple bra under a fishnet tank top with leather straps and chains on it. They're smiling and wearing a leather cuff necklace. On the right is a person wearing a leather mask that covers all of their face except for their eyes with pointy ears on top. They're wearing a black tank top and a leather collar around their neck with a leash attached. In the background is a masculine-presenting person wearing a black driving cap and sunglasses with some leather straps on the upper half of their body. There are palm trees in the background. The word “Dominated” is in the upper righthand corner.
    Dominated: Getting Kinky With BDSM
    Kaia Findlay
    Anita discovers just how wrong “Fifty Shades of Grey” was about BDSM. A dominatrix and community leader introduce her to kink spaces rooted in community and healing. Plus, a scholar talks about the long history behind our understanding of masochism.
  • An illustration of a cracked mirror. A different version of one person's face is in each section of the cracked mirror. The upper-left face has a beard and eyes with eyeliner on the top lid. The face to the right of that features a handlebar mustache with the ends curled up, a nose stud, multiple earrings and eyes donned with eyeshadow and a cat-eye in eye liner. The face on the righthand side of the mirror features a full beard and no makeup. Only the eyes of the face on the bottom of the mirror are visible, and they are lined with eyeliner and feature eyeshadow.
    Becoming A New Man: Redefining Masculinity
    Kaia Findlay
    Toxic masculinity has become a popular — and loaded — term in conversations about gender. Anita meets two people who are questioning the definition of manhood and inviting folks of all genders to explore what masculinity means.
  • An illustration of a family portrait of a mixed race family in the 90s — specifically Anita's family. There are three kids in the foreground - Anita's older sister on the left, her baby brother in her mother's arms in the middle, and Anita, wearing a shirt that matches her sister's, on the right. Anita and her sister are elementary school-aged, and her brother is about 1. Behind them are her parents: her father is Indian with a mustache and glasses, and her mother is white wearing a headband and a necklace. There are dashes around Anita on the right and the word "Anita" with an arrow pointing to her above her head.
    Growing Up Mixed Race: Biracial Child and Monoracial Parents Reflect
    Kaia Findlay
    In her college application essay, host Anita Rao described herself as a colorful parrot living in a cultural jungle — with her English and Indian sides occupying different realms. Now, she reflects on her biracial experience with her parents.
  • An illustration of a cracked mirror. A different version of one person's face is in each section of the cracked mirror. The upper-left face has a beard and eyes with eyeliner on the top lid. The face to the right of that features a handlebar mustache with the ends curled up, a nose stud, multiple earrings and eyes donned with eyeshadow and a cat-eye in eye liner. The face on the righthand side of the mirror features a full beard and no makeup. Only the eyes of the face on the bottom of the mirror are visible, and they are lined with eyeliner and feature eyeshadow. The word "Reconstructed" appears along one of the mirror cracks.
    Reconstructed: Building New Definitions Of Masculinity
    Kaia Findlay
    Fifteen years ago Anita took Women's Studies 101 on a whim … and to this day, she still doesn't have an answer to the question: what is masculinity? In further pursuit of some clarity, she talks with a trans man and a non-binary person about what's possible when we take a more gender-fluid approach to manhood. The two share where their own beliefs about gender come from and how they're building a more expansive definition of masculinity in their own lives.
  • Three people sitting at a table looking at one person's phone. The person on the left has long dark hair up in a bun and light skin. The person in the middle has brown skin, very short hair and is sitting in front of a small cup of coffee. The person on the right has short black hair that is dyed blond with the roots showing and is showing everyone their phone.
    Navigating the Shifting Landscape of Work Friendships
    Kaia Findlay
    The people you work with can drastically shape the experience of a job. And while the pandemic and hybrid work systems have changed how we interact with our colleagues, there are still common themes and conflicts experienced in employee relationships.
  • An illustration of an office. There's a man wearing a mask sitting at a computer behind a cubicle wall looking up to a man standing with his arms on the cubicle wall. The man who is standing is smiling and talking to the man behind the desk, who also appears to be smiling under his mask. The word "Co-Worked" is in the upper-left corner.
    Co-Worked: The Good, Bad & Ambivalent of the Office Bestie (Revisited)
    Kaia Findlay
    Anita wouldn't have made it through her 20s without her work friends. But now that she's a manager and working in a hybrid office, she's noticed that work friendships don't come as easily as they used to. A psychologist answers her burning workplace relationship questions and dives into the surprising amount of data about work besties. Plus, a Gen Z writer urges her to re-think the importance of work as a primary social hub.
  • Image of a person lying on a bed in a bedroom hugging a pillow with an image of a broken heart next to them. On the floor you see a box that says "Jesse" and some items strewn about including photographs.
    Uncoupled: Thank U, Next (Revisited)
    Anita Rao
    Anita has no qualms about being an armchair therapist for friends going through a breakup. But sometimes she wonders how her advice aligns with what relationship experts say. Advice columnists Meredith Goldstein and Stacia Brown give guidance on breaking up "well," going no-contact, navigating social media and finding the right breakup anthem for the moment.
  • An illustration of host Anita Rao's family from a time when Anita was 6. From left to right, her older sister Priyanka in a blue shirt with matching headband; her dad Satish, an Indian man with a mustache, aviator-style glasses, a button-down and tie; her mother Sheila, a white woman with chin-length brown hair held back with a headband, wearing a dark blue blouse and necklace; her younger brother, Nikilesh, is a baby with short brown hair in her mother's lap; and Anita, in a blue shirt and headband that matches Priyanka's and shoulder-length brown hair. Text that says "Anita" point to her on the far right. The text "Mixed (Parent Edition)" sits over the portrait against a purple border.
    Mixed (Parent Edition): The Rao Family Talks Racial Identity
    Kaia Findlay
    Anita invites her parents back to Embodied for a special bonus episode. She hears their take on our recent episode "Mixed," about growing up biracial. Then she turns the tables and puts herself in the guest seat as her parents ask her a few questions.
  • An illustration of a family portrait. One parent, on the left, is white and masculine-presenting with short, brown hair. The other parent, on the right, is Black and more femme-presenting with natural hair gathered in a ponytail. The white parent is holding and looking down at a young girl who presents as Black with kinky-looking hair in a bun on top of her head. She is looking at the camera and smiling. The Black parent is holding a little boy who has lighter brown skin and hair that looks wavier. Both parent and child are looking at the camera.
    Growing Up Mixed: Identity, Race and Early Adulthood
    Kaia Findlay
    The number of people in the U.S. who identify as two or more races is on the rise. So what can help diminish the sense of unbelonging that is common for mixed folks?
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