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Kaia Findlay

Lead Producer, "Embodied"

Kaia Findlay is the lead producer for Embodied, WUNC's radio show and podcast on sex, relationships and health.

Her first exploration of radio came in elementary school, when she usually fell asleep listening to recordings of 1950s radio comedy programs. After a semester of writing for her high school newspaper, she decided she hated journalism. While pursuing her bachelor’s in environmental studies at UNC-Chapel Hill, she got talked back into it. Kaia received a master’s degree from the UNC Hussman School of Journalism, where she focused on reporting and science communication. She has published stories with Our State Magazine, Indy Week, and HuffPost. She previously worked as the manager for a podcast on environmental sustainability and higher education.

When not working at WUNC, Kaia goes rock climbing, takes long bike rides, and reads lots of books.

 

  • An illustration of two Black parents of either side if a young kid with cornrows. The father is on the left and the mother is on the right, and both parents are holding one hand of the child and swinging them. The child has their feet off the ground and their knees bent. The three of them are standing on a grassy field and are all wearing coats.
    Being and having an only child: separating truth from stereotype
    Kaia Findlay
    Assumptions about narcissism, loneliness and selfishness in only children are largely that: assumptions. But there are experiences unique to being an only child — and parenting one.
  • An illustration of two Black parents of either side if a young kid with cornrows. The father is on the left and the mother is on the right, and both parents are holding one hand of the child and swinging them. The child has their feet off the ground and their knees bent. The three of them are standing on a grassy field and are all wearing coats. The word "Singled" is on the left side of the illustration.
    Singled: Inside The Only-Child Family (Revisited)
    Kaia Findlay
    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.
  • An antique illustration of three men with facial hair out of the 1800s. The man on the left is sitting in a chair, holding a box in his lap and turning a crank on the box's side. On the righthand side of the illustration, one man is sitting in a fabric chair, leaning back with his eyes closed and his feet resting on a table in front of him with his knees bent at a 90 degree angle. The third man is holding a metal tube on the seated man's abdomen. The metal tube is connected by a wire to the box that the man on the left is cranking.
    Unpacking the past and discovering the future of vibrators
    Kaia Findlay
    Vibrators have been around since the 19th century. Before they were marketed primarily as sex toys, they were sold as general health devices … and now they’ve become a tool for sexual health research.
  • An illustration featuring the word "Stimulated" in the center surrounded by different kinds and colors of vibrators. There is an orange dot pattern around the edges of the illustration.
    Stimulated: How Vibrators Became America's Favorite Sex Toy (Revisited)
    Kaia Findlay
    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.
  • An illustration of a Black person’s hand holding up a diva cup that is a third full with dark red liquid. We see the hand from the wrist up. The background is filled with blobby shapes that range from brown-red to dark red to light pink in color. Some of the blobs have white outlines. The word “Menstruated” is written in red text across the top left corner.
    Menstruated: What Our Period Blood Tells Us
    Paige Miranda
    In the 34 years that guest host Omisade Burney-Scott was a menstruating person, she always felt that blood held more significance than just the biological. She meets an OB/GYN who shares little-known facts about period blood, and talks with two menstrual health advocates about how art and community have connected them to their cycles. Plus, an attorney discusses what she's paying attention to this year in terms of period policy.
  • An illustration featuring a masculine-appearing person with their head in their hands. They're wearing a gray hoodie and have red squiggly lines branching out and up from their upper body. To the left is a thought bubble with a heart with a question mark in it. To the right is a thought bubble with two praying hands in it. In the bottom righthand corner of the illustration is a thought bubble with a bottle of poison tipped over, a match and a house on fire.
    Breaking the cycle of obsessive-compulsive disorder
    Kaia Findlay
    OCD often goes misdiagnosed and misunderstood … and if left untreated, can impact platonic, intimate and familial relationships in challenging ways.
  • An illustration featuring a masculine-appearing person with their head in their hands. They're wearing a gray hoodie and have red squiggly lines branching out and up from their upper body. To the left is a thought bubble with a heart with a question mark in it. To the right is a thought bubble with two praying hands in it. In the bottom righthand corner of the illustration is a thought bubble with a bottle of poison tipped over, a match and a house on fire. In the bottom lefthand corner of the illustration is the word "Obsessed."
    Obsessed: Breaking The OCD Cycle (Revisited)
    Kaia Findlay
    Anita is no stranger to anxiety, but her spirals are mostly short lived. In this episode she meets folks who often get caught in loops of extreme worry and compulsions with little relief. A married couple shares how OCD put them in survival mode and a woman whose OCD symptoms began in kindergarten talks about learning how to open up about her experience in friendships and dating.
  • An illustration of a Black man sitting on an airplane from the seat in front of him. He is looking out the window with a tear running down his face. He is wearing a red shirt, has a beard and is wearing an earring in the ear that is visible in the illustration.
    Letting the tears flow: the science and culture of crying
    Kaia Findlay
    Humans are the only animal to produce emotional tears. Asking questions about this behavior can help us better understand how we live our lives.
  • An illustration of a Black man sitting on an airplane from the seat in front of him. He is looking out the window with a tear running down his face. He is wearing a red shirt, has a beard and is wearing an earring in the ear that is visible in the illustration. The word “Sobbed” is in the lower right hand corner.
    Sobbed: Why We Cry (Revisited)
    Kaia Findlay
    Anita usually feels better after a good, long cry. But why is that? She explores that question with a poet who spent years diving deeply into the science and culture of crying. And a forerunner of the "crying selfie" trend shares how he pushes back on toxic masculinity by embracing tears.
  • An illustration of a woman with long, brown hair, a white shirt, blue jean and white sneakers. She has a curious expression. She is walking up steps made out of various self-help books with titles that read: “ The Four Agreements,” “ “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck,” “YOU ARE A BADASS,” "Atomic Habits,” and “The Secret.” The background is a light green color with large white and yellow flowers. Across the top right are the blue words “(Self) Helped” on a yellow background.
    (Self) Helped: Inside The Industry That Wants To Change Your Life
    Paige Miranda
    Anita is committed to self-improvement but skeptical of self-help. She brings her qualms and questions to the experts: Kristen Meinzer, a podcaster who has lived by the rules of more than 50 self-help books, and Beth Blum, a scholar who's traced the genre back to its roots. Plus Sondra Rose Marie, a former self-help fan, shares how the industry has failed her as a woman of color.
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