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The logo for Embodied, which features a person with brown skin wearing yellow pants, a white shirt and white glasses pulling back a starry curtain of the silhouette of a person that is roughly twice as large as the person in yellow pants. The word "Embodied" is at the top with the WUNC logo directly underneath it and the PRX logo in the bottom righthand corner of the illustration. All of the text is in white, and the background of the illustration is light blue.
Embodied

Sex And Intimacy After Sexual Assault

By Kaia Findlay,
Anita Rao, Amanda Magnus, Wilson Sayre
Published December 12, 2025 at 1:01 PM EST
The Embodied logo, which features the silhouette of a person that is dark blue with small white dots all over it, like stars. There is a cartoon person standing in front of the silhouette with brown skin, brown hair and glasses wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, yellow pants and white shoes. She is pulling back the dark blue fabric to reveal a yellow-orange interior to the silhouette. The background of the logo is light blue and has the word "Embodied" at the top, with the NPR Network logo underneath it on the left-hand side and WUNC underneath it on the right-hand side.

For many sexual assault survivors, getting back into dating and sexual relationships is a part of healing. The question is: how?

After being raped at 18, journalist Katie Simon had a burning question: How do you navigate sex and intimacy after sexual assault? Katie tells host Anita Rao about their journey of trial and error with sex and how connecting with dozens of other survivors helped them write the guidebook they wish they’d had years ago. They explore everything from disclosure and triggers to kink and healing — both for survivors and their partners.

Katie Simon is the author of “Tell Me What You Like: An Honest Discussion of Sex and Intimacy After Sexual Assault.”

Read the transcript

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Embodied Embodied Radio ShowSexual Assault
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Kaia Findlay
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.
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Anita Rao
Anita Rao is an award-winning journalist, host, creator, and executive editor of "Embodied," a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships & health.
See stories by Anita Rao
Amanda Magnus
Amanda Magnus is the executive producer of Embodied, a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships and health. She has also worked on other WUNC shows including Tested and CREEP.
See stories by Amanda Magnus
Wilson Sayre
Wilson Sayre is WUNC's Director of Digital Content leading our podcasting strategy and initiatives. She has worn many hats in the audio world as an editor, producer, consultant and team lead. Wilson was Managing Producer at Pushkin (previously Transmitter Media) where she helped launch shows like Am I Normal, the TED Interview and The Heist. Before that, she served as Executive Producer at Capitol Broadcasting Company and lead reporter for The City podcast from USA Today. Prior to that, she covered social safety net programs at WLRN, Miami's NPR member station. There, she founded the station's youth radio program. Wilson's work has been recognized by the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize and national Edward R. Murrow Awards. Wilson grew up in North Carolina and enjoys playing banjo and eating chocolate, usually not at the same time.
See stories by Wilson Sayre