Since late 2020, Jordyn Hakes has been on a quest to bring more pleasure and playfulness into her own relationship and those of her many listeners. Anita talks to Jordyn about the upheaval in her life that set her on this path and her best tips for sustaining connection in long-term intimate relationships.

Meet the guest:

- Jordyn Hakes, host of "The Horny Housewife" podcast, shares tips to keep the connection alive in the wake of parenting, body changes and other changes that long-term relationships weather

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There's a growing number of women challenging the expectation that you need a partner to have a child. In honor of Mother's Day, Anita meets two single moms by choice. They talk about why they chose this parenting path and how they navigate everything from false assumptions to dating. Plus, one of their daughters – 10-year-old Estela – joins the conversation to share her take on growing up in a nontraditional family.

Meet the guests:

- Hera McLeod, mother and civil rights activist, walks us through her decision to become a single mother and how she's made some of the logistics work — like living in an intergenerational household with her parents

- Estela McLeod, Hera's oldest daughter and cohost of the "Seeking Different" podcast, shares what questions she gets from her peers and how she's thinking about the family she wants to build in the future

- C. Nicole Mason, president and CEO of Future Forward Women, talks about how she's balanced dating with being a single mom of choice and how she's reflecting on her parenting journey now that her twins are teenagers

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Something Special for you all: an episode from "Me and My Muslim Friends," featuring Sameera Qureshi. She is a therapist and founder of Sexual Health for Muslims. Her approach to sex education, therapy, and health is grounded in the Islamic framework and the Islamic understanding of the soul. 

Unfortunately, most Muslims don’t have access to a comprehensive sex education growing up. Host Yasmin Bendaas and Sameera dive into the consequences of that and talk about some of the most common issues Sameera hears in her counseling practice.

Religion and sexuality are often pitted against one another...so where does that leave folks who feel attuned to both? Anita interrogates that question alongside Lamya H., the author of "Hijab Butch Blues," a memoir they wrote to be "unapologetically queer and unapologetically Muslim."

Meet the guest:

- Lamya H., author and activist, explains how their identity as a Muslim and as a queer are intertwined and talks about the intersection of both

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People with disabilities are disproportionately affected by climate change yet often sidelined from policy conversations. Anita marks Earth Day by meeting three disability activists working to turn the tides. They share how their lives and bodies have been impacted by global warming — and how their wisdom could shift climate conversations.

Meet the guests:

- Daphne Frias, youth activist, shares how some policies aimed at addressing climate change disproportionately affect people with disabilities and about how her activism philosophy has been shaped by her cancer diagnosis

- Germán Parodi, Co-Executive Director of The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies, details his on-the-ground experience providing aid in the immediate aftermath of hurricanes and other climate crises

- Julia Watts Belser, director of Georgetown University’s Disability and Climate Change: Public Archive Project, takes Anita into the public archive and talks about how the policy conversations about climate change could benefit from the wisdom in the disability community 

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Sharing something special today, an episode of the Love Letters podcast. Love Letters tells stories about romance, marriage, partnership, sex, loss and the human heart, all served with a side of advice by Boston Globe columnist Meredith Goldstein. 

On this episode: When Nimish left Nepal for college in the United States, he expected some serious challenges, like adjusting to a new culture and studying in a new language. Finding love was not top-of-mind. But as he got older and started to date more, Nimish’s romantic life became his biggest source of anxiety. Because with each budding relationship came an all-consuming question: How do I explain this to my parents? 

You can listen to more Love Letters episodes here.

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A significant portion of the funeral home workforce is entering retirement...but there's a crop of young people who are ready to take the helm. Anita meets two young funeral directors who felt called to this work at a young age. They take her inside their world -- from organizing end of life ceremonies to learning how to embalm for the first time. Plus, they share their hopes for a more death-positive future.

Meet the guests:

- Jasmine Berrios, licensed funeral director and embalmer, shares how she got into the industry, how being a funeral director impacts her dating life and how she tries to create boundaries around her work [@jasminethemortician]

- Joél Simone Maldonado, grief care professional and educator known as The Grave Woman, talks about how her family influenced her career choice, how she educates her peers around culturally competent care and the importance of open conversations around death [@thegravewoman]

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Anita has many close friends who defy all stereotypes about only children. But when it comes to thinking about having her own kids, she still can't shake some of those ingrained ideas. She hears three perspectives on single-kid families (including that of former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins) and learns why the debunked mythology around only children still lingers today.

Meet the guests:

- Lauren Sandler, journalist and author of "One and Only: The Freedom of Having an Only Child, and the Joy of Being One,” shares her personal experience and ways to reframe the negative stereotypes about being and having only children

- Corinne Lyons, a middle school teacher in Detroit, talks about how her childhood being the only child of only children has shaped how she thinks about family

- Billy Collins, former U.S. poet laureate, reads his poem "Only Child" and shares the joy of being an only child

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True or false? Victorian doctors invented the vibrator to cure women's "hysteria" by bringing them to sexual climax. The answer may surprise you...as it did Anita! She gets the truth about vibrator history from journalist Hallie Lieberman and meets Anna Lee, the engineer behind the first-ever “smart” vibrator that can help you better understand your arousal patterns.

Meet the guests:

- Hallie Lieberman, author of "Buzz: The Stimulating History of the Sex Toy," shares the history of the vibrator and debunks myths and misconceptions around how this sex toy evolved

- Anna Lee, co-founder and head of engineering at Lioness, talks about how her company designed their smart vibrator, how they collect data and what they've learned from their users so far

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Dive deeper:

Read more about Von’s music

See some vibrator ads throughout history

Hallie debunking the vibrator myth

A gender transition is a moment of personal flux that can also have a big impact on a romantic relationship. Anita meets two couples who continued to choose each other after one partner came out as trans: a South African couple in their 20s and an American couple who went through a transition after 22 years of marriage.

Meet the guests:

- Summer Tao and Lucy Aalto, partners and freelance writers in South Africa, describe the unexpected ways in which Summer’s transition brought them closer together and share advice to couples who may be at the beginning of their own queer journeys 

- Kate and Patty Redman, wife and wife in Missouri, reflect on changes to their sex life, social circles and religious ties when Kate came out as trans after two decades of marriage

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No matter how much you love your partner, your relationship will never be totally free from disagreement. And nor should it be, say researchers Dr John Gottman and Dr Julie Schwartz Gottman. We actually just need to learn to argue better. Enjoy this episode from our friends at The Happiness Lab.

The Gottmans join Dr Laurie Santos to talk us through how to raise complaints with our partners and how to react when they complain about us. 

Further reading: Fight Right: How Successful Couples Turn Conflict into Connection by Dr John Gottman and Dr Julie Schwartz Gottman.