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An illustration of a woman standing on a yoga mat, balancing on one foot and waving her arms around as if she is off balance and about to fall. Around her are different wellness trends in boxes: a CBD drink with a thought cloud of a person mediating coming out of the can opening, several prescriptions and supplements, a symbol for a heart rate monitoring app, a mortar and pestle and fresh fruits and vegetables. The word "Commodified" is in the lower lefthand corner of the illustration.

Commodified: When 'Wellness' Makes Us Unwell (Revisited)

Anita has fallen down her fair share of wellness rabbit holes [including a certain alliterative family's beauty and shapewear brands...]. Wellness industry insider and journalist Rina Raphael shares how this $4 trillion industry misleads all of us, and 'Dope Black Social Worker' Kim Young gives us the wellness reframes we all need.

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

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.

Featuring: North Carolina pottery from clay to kiln

This Thanksgiving, we take a look at what's under your meal.

Popped: Adult Acne In The 'Perfect Skin' Era

Dealing with pimples and blackheads in middle school is practically a right of passage. But when acne is a defining feature of your adulthood... it’s a whole different experience. Anita meets two acne content creators and a photographer who talk about the emotional toll of severe acne, the myth of normal skin, and the responsibility of being today’s skincare influencers.

An illustration featuring two panels side-by-side. In the left panel is a little girl with brown curly hair lying on her stomach and writing on a piece of paper with a pencil. In the right panel is a man in a dark khaki uniform with a number on it and wearing a beanie. He is reading a piece of paper. The image is outlined in black, which also separates the two panels. The word "Separated" is in the lower right-hand corner.

Separated: Growing Up With An Incarcerated Father (Revisited)

Anita reconnects with the woman who changed her thinking on incarceration: her beloved college thesis adviser Ashley Lucas. Ashley reflects on her father's 20-year prison sentence and the untold stories of families navigating incarceration from the outside. Journalist Sylvia A. Harvey also shares how losing her mother to asthma and her father to a life sentence in prison before she was 6 years old led her to investigate the carceral system as a whole.

Road Trip! Featuring gas station food and van life

First, photographer Kate Medley shares stories from her book Thank You Please Come Again: How Gas Stations Feed & Fuel the American South. Medley is an independent photographer who works with The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR and WUNC, among others.Then, Erin McGregor shares stories from van life with her wife Caroline Whatley. The two work with brands through their media company Authentic Asheville. They also make lists of safe places to travel for other LGBTQ+ couples on the road for cities like Greenville, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia and St. Augustine, Florida.That’s all on this hour of Due South.

An illustration of a woman with long, brown hair, a white shirt, blue jean and white sneakers. She has a curious expression. She is walking up steps made out of various self-help books with titles that read: “ The Four Agreements,” “ “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck,” “YOU ARE A BADASS,” "Atomic Habits,” and “The Secret.” The background is a light green color with large white and yellow flowers. Across the top right are the blue words “(Self) Helped” on a yellow background.

(Self) Helped: Inside The Industry That Wants To Change Your Life

Anita is committed to self-improvement but skeptical of self-help. She brings her qualms and questions to the experts: Kristen Meinzer, a podcaster who has lived by the rules of more than 50 self-help books, and Beth Blum, a scholar who's traced the genre back to its roots. Plus Sondra Rose Marie, a former self-help fan, shares how the industry has failed her as a woman of color.

MLK 'Dream' Speech in NC; The New Brownies Book; Black-owned bookstores

An attendee recalls Martin Luther King Jr. practicing his 'I have a dream' speech in Rocky Mount. A review of "The New Brownies' Book." And a look at Black owned bookstores in NC.

Tech Policy Hour: From AI to privacy to child safety, the impact of technology policy is everywhere

The tiny details of tech policy play a huge role in our lives. Co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with a panel of experts about what might change in 2024 here in North Carolina and across the country.

An illustration of an over-the-shoulder view of a masculine person looking at their phone. We see their short dark brown hair, right ear, the right shoulder of their blue sweatshirt and the right leg of their black pants. On their phone we see a web page open to Reddit and the r/erectile dysfunction thread. On a bedside table next to them is a blue and white pill bottle with diamond-shaped blue pills scattered next to it. Black text against a yellow background reads “Normalized” across the top right.

Normalized: Speaking Up About Erectile Dysfunction

Erectile dysfunction affects as many as 30 million people in the U.S. — yet the fears of not being “normal” prevent folks from speaking up about it. Anita meets a man who was silent about his ED for 10 years before getting surgery and opening up to partners…and talks with a sex therapist who challenges the word “dysfunction.” Plus, a 72-year-old describes how he’s redefined intimacy in his 30 years of experiencing ED.

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