The Healing Power Of Horror

Jillian Celentano felt that something was different about her gender identity when she was five years old. But this was in the 1960s. “Transgender” wasn’t a part of popular vocabulary, and trans folks who were in the public eye were often ridiculed…even arrested. So Jillian kept her identity hidden…until she was 55 years old. Jillian talks with guest host Carvell Wallace about why she finally transitioned in adulthood, and the joys and challenges of embracing a new identity. She also talks about the lessons she passes on as a trans elder to younger trans people. Meet the guest: - Jillian Celentano is a social worker, psychotherapist and the author of "Transitioning in Later Life: A Personal Guide" Read the transcript Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied

For almost 29 years, journalist Jennifer Senior was a self-described “brilliant sleeper.” Then, one night, something changed…and Jennifer has struggled with chronic insomnia ever since. She talks to Anita about insights on insomnia from both her reporting and personal life. Then, we meet a couple who share suggestions for navigating insomnia in a romantic partnership. Meet the guests: - Jennifer Senior is a staff writer for The Atlantic and the author of "Why Can't Americans Sleep?" - Gabrielle Moss and Jesse Rifkin are writers living in New York City Read the transcript Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Please note: This episode originally published October 9, 2025. Update: Gabrielle Moss has a new book, "The Midlife Plot Twist: How to Reboot Your Life Without Burning It Down (Even If You Really, Really Want To)."

Building a life as an artist is an uphill climb. After decades of hustling to make it work, writer Stephanie Elizondo Griest had one big question: How do you determine if art is worth all the sacrifice it requires? Stephanie tells Anita about traveling the world for answers and what she learned about what it takes to build a life as a female artist. Meet the guest: - Stephanie Elizondo Griest is a professor of creative nonfiction at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the author of “Art Above Everything: One Woman’s Global Exploration of the Joys and Torments of a Creative Life” Read the transcript Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Please note: This episode originally published September 11, 2025. Update: "Art Above Everything" is now available in paperback!

How do you keep doing something that you love after your body changes ... and you can’t do it the way you used to? Yewande Komolafe was a cook for two decades before a medical crisis and multiple amputations forced her to change the way that she worked in the kitchen. She tells guest host (and Embodied producer) Kaia Findlay about her process of coming back to cooking and reconnecting to her identity as a chef. Plus, Christine Ha, “the Blind Cook,” talks about how gradual vision loss affected her abilities in the kitchen and how relearning everything from boiling water to knife skills helped her establish new methods for navigating the future. Meet the guests: - Yewande Komolafe is a recipe developer and cooking columnist at the New York Times - Christine Ha is a MasterChef winner, the owner of two restaurants and an author Read the transcript Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied

What would you do if you knew your brain would stop functioning normally in just a decade? For brothers Ansel Dow (31) and Cosmo Hinsman (26), this isn't hypothetical. They carry a rare genetic mutation that makes frontotemporal dementia almost inevitable by their mid-40s. It’s the same condition that has altered the lives and personalities of their mother and five of her siblings. In conversation with Anita, the brothers reveal how this genetic legacy influences their most personal choices about love, friendship and building a meaningful life against a countdown. Meet the guests: - Ansel Dow is a community organizer and an advocate for more research into FTD - Cosmo Hinsman holds a MFA in fiction writing Read the transcript Read "The Vanishing Family" from the New York Times here Follow Embodied on Instagram Leave a message for Embodied Please note: This episode originally published June 5, 2025. Updates: Ansel and Cosmo's Aunt Christy, the first in her generation to develop FTD, passed away last November at age 72. Journalist Robert Kolker wrote "The Vanishing Family" about Ansel and Cosmo's family, which is set for release on September 29th.