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.

Nearly 1.3 million people are held inside state and federal prisons across the U.S. What happens to a person’s physical body inside that carceral system — and after they get out? Those were questions Emile Suotonye DeWeaver has found himself up against through his life. Suotonye was in and out of juvenile hall during his adolescence before spending just over two decades in prison in adulthood. The activist and writer tells guest host Carvell Wallace how his time in prison affected his relationship to everything from exercise and nutrition to physical touch and desire. And he describes what the healing process for his mind-body connection has been since his release in 2017. 
Meet the guest:
- Emile Suotonye DeWeaver is the author of "Ghost in the Criminal Justice Machine: Reform, White Supremacy, and an Abolitionist Future"
Read the transcript
Follow Embodied on Instagram 
Leave a message for Embodied

Priya Parker has spent decades thinking about what makes groups work. And she says keeping groups together requires skills most of us never learned. She tells Anita about her personal journey to unlearn the idea that “good people don’t fight” and why a group can be just as damaged by unhealthy peace as they can by unhealthy conflict. She offers guidance for figuring out whether a fight is worth having and then how to actually have it — whether it’s in your book club, work team or extended family. 
Meet the guest:
- Priya Parker is the author of “The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters” and “The Art of Fighting: The Transformative Power of Conflict” 
Read the transcript
Follow Embodied on Instagram 
Leave a message for Embodied

For many of us, a formal education about sexuality begins during puberty and only really gets going during adolescence. But in reality, exploration of our bodies and relationships can begin long before that — as early as our first years of life. So how can we set kids up to feel empowered, safe and free from shame when they are older? A sexuality educator shares advice for parents and caregivers on navigating some of the common challenges that come up as kids are learning about their bodies and relationships. Plus, a writer breaks down her childhood to determine where shame and desire became intertwined.
Meet the guests:
- Nadine Thornhill has a doctorate from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality and is one of the hosts of the web series “Every Body Curious”
- Tyler Wetherall is the author of "Amphibian"
Read the transcript
Follow Embodied on Instagram 
Leave a message for Embodied

When Jessica Slice was 28 years old, a bout of heat exhaustion triggered an underlying neurological disorder that led to permanent physical disabilities. In the 14 years since, Jessica met her now-husband David Yourdon and started a family. They talk to Anita about how their parenting experience has been one of adaptation and creativity — from learning how to separate their worth from external standards to accepting that all bodies have changing needs that require attention and care. They share the nitty gritty of their parenting life, with wisdom that’s relevant for all families.
Meet the guests:
- Jessica Slice, author of “Unfit Parent: A Disabled Mother Challenges an Inaccessible World"
-  David Yourdon, Jessica's husband 
Read the transcript | Review the podcast on your preferred platform
Follow Embodied on Instagram 
Leave a message for Embodied
Please note: This episode originally published July 10, 2025.