Anita Rao

5 days ago | wunc.org | Kaia Findlay |Anita Rao |Amanda Magnus

When the #MeToo movement exploded in 2017, writer Ruth Whippman — who was nearly nine months pregnant with her third son — experienced a profound conflict. As a feminist, she celebrated the movement; as a mother, she worried: How am I gonna raise these boys to be good if it seems like male misconduct and bad behavior is the norm? This tension launched Ruth on a quest to understand modern American boyhood and what's not working.

1 week ago | wunc.org | Kaia Findlay |Anita Rao

A mental health diagnosis can affect many aspects of romance, intimacy and partnership. For those living with bipolar disorder, a mental health disorder characterized by extreme mood shifts between emotional highs and lows, navigating mental health and romance involves communication, care and breaking down stigma — both internal and external.

3 weeks ago | wunc.org | Audrey Smith |Anita Rao |Amanda Magnus

American men are in a friendship recession. Compared to a few decades ago, five times as many men have no close friends. So what’s going on? Anita talks with Mark Pagán, creator and host of the podcast Other Men Need Help, about what makes close friendships among men so fraught — and what we can do about it. They talk about everything from why Mark loves secret handshakes to his ongoing journey of making himself say the hard stuff out loud.

1 month ago | wunc.org | Kaia Findlay |Anita Rao |Amanda Magnus

Ever since Kate Downey got her first extremely painful period at age 14, every month feels like playing Russian roulette with her uterus. Will she get “normal” abdominal discomfort — or excruciating, life-disrupting “death cramps”? “ You don't know if you're gonna spend six hours in the bathroom throwing up every ten minutes and passing out, or if you're gonna be able to go about your normal life,” Kate said.

Jan 21, 2025 | wunc.org | Anita Rao

At 37 years old, North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall is the youngest person to hold that position in 200 years, writes Jim Morrill in a recent article for The Assembly. WUNC's Anita Rao talks with Morrill, a former political reporter for The Charlotte Observer, about Rep. Hall's early years in Caldwell County and his legislative priorities for the current session.