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Infected: Putting Misinformation About Herpes To Bed

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Charnel Hunter

Anita, like many of us, was essentially taught that a herpes diagnosis means the end of a good sex life. Now it's time for a real education about the sexually transmitted infection, which is extremely common and far less terrifying once you open the door to conversation about it. | Support this show with a donation to wunc.org/give.

Meet the guests:

  • Ella Dawson, a sex and culture critic, talks about her experience navigating a herpes diagnosis and how opening up about it publicly has shaped her life and relationships.
  • Dr. Peter Leone, an infectious disease expert, shares the science of herpes and clears up common misconceptions about the virus.
  • Anita's good friend shares the range of responses she's gotten while disclosing her diagnosis and how she hopes the conversation around herpes will evolve.

Read the transcript | Review the podcast

Anita Rao is an award-winning journalist, host, creator, and executive editor of "Embodied," a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships & health.
Kaia Findlay is the lead producer of Embodied, WUNC's weekly podcast and radio show about sex, relationships and health. Kaia first joined the WUNC team in 2020 as a producer for The State of Things.
Charlie Shelton-Ormond is a podcast producer for WUNC.