Rhaina Cohen
Rhaina Cohen is a producer and editor for Embedded, NPR's home for documentary storytelling. She's developed, produced, and edited acclaimed narrative podcast series on a wide range of issues, from abortion access to the aftermath of gun violence.
She was previously a producer and editor for the seasonal narrative shows Invisibilia, Rough Translation, and Louder Than A Riot. For years, she covered the social sciences as a producer for Hidden Brain. Cohen joined NPR as an intern for Planet Money.
She's also the author of the national bestseller, The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center. In 2024, Cohen gave a TED talk about the overlooked potential of friendship. She's written about the topic for The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and TIME.
Cohen's work has been honored by numerous awards, including a National Headliner Award and an Edward R. Murrow Award, and she's received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholars Program and The Greater Good Science Center. Cohen was a Marshall Scholar at the University of Oxford, where she earned a master's in comparative social policy. She holds a bachelor's degree in American Studies from Northwestern University.
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Buying a home is a conventional milestone for couples. But as home prices skyrocket, many Americans are buying homes with someone who isn't their romantic partner. -
Thousands of years ago, there was a ceremony to bind close friends together as sworn siblings. Could the practice be resurrected today to strengthen modern friendships? Two women did just that. -
In the latest story in the NPR's series The Science of Siblings, we hear about a practice that dates back to ancient times that allows people to turn a friend into a sibling.
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The demand for "proper" English can be used to shut people out of spaces and opportunities. The folks at NPR's "Rough Translation" podcast have a story to tell. -
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Some challenges feel insurmountable. But psychologist Emily Balcetis says the solutions are often right in front of our eyes. This week, as part of our annual series on personal growth and reinvention, Emily explains how we can harness our sight to affect our behavior. -
In recent months, many of us have become familiar with the sense of fear expressing itself in our bodies. We may feel restless or physically exhausted. At times, we may even have trouble catching our breath. The deep connection between mind and body that seems so salient now was also at the center of our episode about the placebo effect. This week, we return to this 2019 story that asks what placebos might teach us about the nature of healing. -
Confined to our homes, many of us are experiencing a newfound appreciation for our social relationships. What we may not realize — and what physicians and researchers have only recently started emphasizing — is the importance of these connections to our physical health. This week, we talk with former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy about why he considers loneliness a matter of public health, and how we can all deepen our social ties. -
We know that we live in an ever-changing world, but one thing we often overlook is demographic change. Whether the world's population is growing or shrinking can affect many aspects of our lives, from the number of kids we have to the likelihood that we'll live to old age. This week on Hidden Brain, we explore how our planet's population is changing, and what that means for us in the century to come. -
Many Americans feel an obligation to keep up with political news. But maybe we should be focusing our energies elsewhere. Political scientist Eitan Hersh says there's been a rise in "political hobbyism" in the United States. We treat politics like entertainment, following the latest updates like we follow our favorite sports teams. Instead, he says, we should think of politics as a way to acquire power and persuade our neighbors to back the issues we support.
