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The logo for Embodied, which features a person with brown skin wearing yellow pants, a white shirt and white glasses pulling back a starry curtain of the silhouette of a person that is roughly twice as large as the person in yellow pants. The word "Embodied" is at the top with the WUNC logo directly underneath it and the PRX logo in the bottom righthand corner of the illustration. All of the text is in white, and the background of the illustration is light blue.
Embodied

Why We Need To Talk About Sex In Nursing Homes

By Kaia Findlay,
Wilson Sayre
Published May 30, 2025 at 1:01 PM EDT
An illustration looking into a room from the perspective of the doorway. In the room, there’s an older interracial couple cuddling affectionately in bed, both smiling and content. The room is softly decorated with pastel tones and wall art. In the foreground, a “PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB” door hanger is prominently displayed on the door handle. The hanger includes the logo for “Golden Acres Assisted Living.” The word “Embodied” appears at the top.
Charnel Hunter

Research shows that older adults want and need sexual intimacy well into their later years. But when they move out of their homes and into long-term care communities, they have a lot less privacy and autonomy to seek it out. 

Sex has no age limit. But having a robust intimate life well beyond age 65 comes with distinct challenges, particularly when you no longer live in the privacy of your own home.

Host Anita Rao talks with two people dedicated to making good sex possible for older adults, whether they are navigating dementia and living in a nursing home or forging a new relationship with someone in their assisted living community.

Sexuality educator Jane Fleishman and research psychologist Maggie Syme discuss the policy landscape affecting older adults’ sexual wellness and share stories from their day-to-day work building an intimacy revolution in elder care.

Read the transcript

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Kaia Findlay
Kaia Findlay is the lead producer of Embodied, WUNC's weekly podcast and radio show about sex, relationships and health. Kaia first ed the WUNC team in 2020 as a producer for The State of Things.
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Anita Rao
Anita Rao is an award-winning journalist, host, creator, and executive editor of "Embodied," a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships & health.
See stories by Anita Rao
Amanda Magnus
Amanda Magnus is the executive producer of Embodied, a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships and health. She has also worked on other WUNC shows including Tested and CREEP.
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Wilson Sayre
Wilson Sayre is WUNC's Director of Digital Content leading our podcasting strategy and initiatives. She has worn many hats in the audio world as an editor, producer, consultant and team lead. Wilson was Managing Producer at Pushkin (previously Transmitter Media) where she helped launch shows like Am I Normal, the TED Interview and The Heist. Before that, she served as Executive Producer at Capitol Broadcasting Company and lead reporter for The City podcast from USA Today. Prior to that, she covered social safety net programs at WLRN, Miami's NPR member station. There, she founded the station's youth radio program. Wilson's work has been recognized by the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize and national Edward R. Murrow Awards. Wilson grew up in North Carolina and enjoys playing banjo and eating chocolate, usually not at the same time.
See stories by Wilson Sayre