When you board a plane, flight attendants greet you with practiced smiles and seamless service. But there’s a lot of mental and emotional labor that passengers don’t see. Missy, a Hawaii-based flight attendant, takes Anita inside her world and shares stories from her close to five years on the job — from managing unruly passengers to dealing with medical emergencies. Travel journalist Natalie Compton also shares her reporting on the financial precarity some flight attendants face and how understanding more about their reality has changed the way she approaches air travel.

Meet the guests:

- Missy is a Hawaii-based flight attendant who is using only her first name since she's not authorized to speak on behalf of her airline

- Natalie Compton is a travel reporter for The Washington Post

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Dig deeper:

Natalie's reporting on the financial precarity of early-career flight attendants

Natalie's reporting on flight attendant training

Please note: This episode originally published on June 19, 2025.

When Chris Mosier became the first openly trans athlete to qualify for Team USA in 2015, he catalyzed policy change for trans people in sports. Now, more than a decade later, his legacy is beginning to unravel. Chris talks to Anita about how sports have affirmed him as a trans person and why they’ve become a battleground for trans rights. They also discuss the assumptions that underpin many of the bans on trans athletes in the U.S. and solutions that Chris says could make sports better for all athletes.

Meet the guest:

- Chris Mosier is an eight-time Team USA athlete who wrote the forward to and conducted interviews for the recent book “Fair Game: Trans Athletes and the Future of Sports”

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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.

Meet the guest:

- Mark Pagán is the creator and host of the podcast "Other Men Need Help" and writes the substack "Other Men"

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Please note: This episode originally published April 17, 2025.