Invisibilia

Zach Mack, a reporter for NPR's Embedded, shares a deeply personal journey as he navigates his father's obsession with conspiracy theories. Their contrasting beliefs have created a dramatic rift, leading them to challenge each other in a bid for understanding. The discussion unpacks the emotional stakes tied to family dynamics and misinformation. As Zach grapples with his father's radical views, themes of acceptance, belief, and the fragility of familial bonds emerge, painting a poignant picture of a family divided by alternate realities.

We go back almost 100 years, to the beginning of women's inclusion in elite sports. It turns out that men had an odd variety of concerns about women athletes. Some doubted these athletes were even women at all. And their skepticism resulted in the first policies requiring sex testing. Tested is a six-part series, you can binge all the episodes now in the Embedded podcast and the CBC feed.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The podcast dives into the ethical quagmire of gender testing in sports. It highlights the extraordinary journey of Christine Mboma, a Namibian sprinter, navigating the intense pressures of new regulations regarding testosterone levels. Listeners learn about her incredible achievements, including becoming the first Namibian woman to win an Olympic medal, and the emotional toll of her choices. The discussion sheds light on broader issues of inclusion and fairness in athletics, leaving us to ponder the complexities of gender identity and the sacrifices athletes face for competition.

In their final episode, Invisibilia searches for the right way to say goodbye.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Sometimes the holidays are filled with the people you love. Other times, they're marked by an absence. In this special holiday episode, new Code Switch co-host and former Invisibilia producer B.A. Parker tells a story about family, loss and preserving memories before it's too late. Then Parker joins Kia and Yowei to reflect on the making of this story, and what it means to her now.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Bad bosses. Obnoxious coworkers. Unfair compensation. There are so many reasons people feel disempowered in the workplace. But how can our feelings about power enable or disrupt the larger dynamics we hate at work? This week, Yowei Shaw seeks answers from a power researcher and a union organizer.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

After months of working from home and retreating from the world, Kia Miakka Natisse is stuck - in her house, and in her head. In an attempt to break out of the funk, she's searching for wisdom at the bottom of the ocean with South Africa's first Black freediving instructor, Zandile Ndhlovu.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In San Jose, California, a community clinic was stumped as to why their clients were seeing ghosts. This week, a story about grappling with ghosts of our past and one clinic's attempt to heal intergenerational trauma.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This week on Invisibilia, could the rebrand of a familiar pill open up a new way to control fertility in a post-Roe America?Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Alex is a comic who feels perfectly comfortable commanding a packed, rowdy audience, but consistently submits to what other people want in everyday life. This week, a look at how uncomfortable feelings about power can backfire on ourselves and the people we love. We get the help of a power expert - a dominatrix - to untangle Alex's power dynamics, and find out what it takes to treat a power allergy.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy