We Are Spiraling

15 Episodes
Subscribe

By: Priya Anand

We talk about curly hair to learn more about our culture — from how we perceive ourselves to how the world sees us. Priya Anand, an award-winning journalist whose work has been featured in Bloomberg, Businessweek, the Wall Street Journal, Buzzfeed and Politico, turns her investigative eye to her lifelong obsession: curly hair. You might think: curly hair, how much is there to say? A whole podcast dedicated to this? I don’t want to hear someone ramble about all their hair lotions and potions! But there is so much to unravel about why so many people hide their ringlets as secret c...

✂️ Clip this podcast
Why Are Some Animals Curly?
#13
Today at 6:00 PM

Why do some animals -- poodles, alpacas etc -- have curly hair and others don’t? We investigate how hair types help animals do their jobs, from swimming to mating and keeping warm in harsh winters. This episode features poodles, alpacas, lions, bison and pigs.

Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes stories: WeAreSpiraling.com

Follow Priya on Instagram and TikTok

MAYURA waitlist and Instagram

This show is also on Instagram and TikTok.


How To Make A Product
#12
06/25/2026

I spent months investigating how to make haircare products I'd actually want to use. Here's what I learned.


Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes stories: WeAreSpiraling.com

Follow Priya on Instagram and TikTok

MAYURA waitlist and Instagram

This show is also on Instagram and TikTok.


I'll Never Forgive The Princess Diaries: Minisode
05/29/2026

With rumors of a third Princess Diaries, we unpack why the original was so damaging for women, and why Anne Hathaway's recent explanation falls flat. This is our first minisode: a shorter, more frequent format we're introducing alongside our full episodes. 

Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes stories: WeAreSpiraling.com

Follow Priya on Instagram and TikTok

MAYURA waitlist and Instagram

This show is also on Instagram and TikTok.


For Black Women, Hair Has Always Been the Story
#11
05/01/2026

Two listeners of this show share how their hair has been a key part of their stories as Black women. We also discuss why Coco Gauff’s hair became something she had to defend, and what happens when media tries to erase Black hair. 


Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes stories: WeAreSpiraling.com

Follow Priya on Instagram and TikTok

MAYURA waitlist and Instagram

This show is also on Instagram and TikTok.


Why Most Stylists Never Learned to Cut Curly Hair
#10
04/10/2026

New York state law now requires cosmetology schools to teach students how to work with curly hair. 

We trace the history of haircutting and ask why it took so long for curly hair to be acknowledged. And we talk to Roxy Reaves, founder of Oakland, California-based Coastal Curl, who pushed Aveda to change how it trains stylists.

Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes stories: WeAreSpiraling.com

Follow Priya on Instagram and TikTok

MAYURA waitlist and Instagram

This show is also on Instagram and T...


Hair Is An Extension Of Your Spirit: Native American Wisdom
#9
03/19/2026

We speak with two Native American hair artists about the indigenous philosophy that hair is an extension of your spirit and energy. John Parker works on Hollywood films and television shows, and brought that ethos into hair design for Killers Of The Flower Moon – a story he is personally connected to. Selina McManus educates on “decolonizing” hair at her Oakland salon. 


Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes stories: WeAreSpiraling.com

Follow Priya on Instagram and TikTok

MAYURA waitlist and Instagram

This sh...


Are Curly People Funnier? We Ask Comedians Noah Grossman, Nemma Adeni & Molly Brenner
#8
03/05/2026

We interview three comedians, Noah Grossman, Nemma Adeni and Molly Brenner, to find out if our hot take holds water and dig into how they think about their appearances while playing themselves.


Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes stories: WeAreSpiraling.com

Follow Priya on Instagram and TikTok

MAYURA waitlist and Instagram

This show is also on Instagram and TikTok.


All The Boys Are Getting Perms
#7
02/11/2026

When did men of all ages get a broccoli cut? And how do they feel about themselves when they get a makeover deep into adulthood? We investigate this shift, from K-Pop to TikTok and the fact that these days more people are swiping right on curly guys.


Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes stories: WeAreSpiraling.com

Follow Priya on Instagram and TikTok

MAYURA waitlist and Instagram

This show is also on Instagram and TikTok.


Carla Lalli On Hair, Skin And Life In Hot Kitchens
#6
01/22/2026

Carla Lalli on what happens to your body in a professional kitchen, waking up at 13 and suddenly seeing curly hair in the mirror, and a preview of her upcoming cookbook.

Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes stories: WeAreSpiraling.com

Follow Priya on Instagram and TikTok

MAYURA waitlist and Instagram

This show is also on Instagram and TikTok.


How To Look Like A Greek God
#5
01/08/2026

Aphrodite: curly hair. Zeus: curly hair. The statue of David: curly hair. Ancient Greeks and Romans knew what we know on this show: curly hair is worth obsessing over. We talk to Janet Stephens, the world’s foremost expert on ancient Greek and Roman hairstyles and why curly hair was prized. Subscribe to our Substack for photos of these styles and how to recreate them.

Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes stories: WeAreSpiraling.com

Follow Priya on Instagram and TikTok

MAYURA waitlist and Instagram

This sh...


Hollywood Hates Curls. Here’s How That Affects All Of Us.
#4
12/09/2025

In movies, the only people with curly hair are often weirdos or witches. Seinfeld icon and 87-year-old TikTok sensation Annie Korzen unpacks how biases affected her career and continue to influence culture.


Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes stories: WeAreSpiraling.com

Follow Priya on Instagram and TikTok

MAYURA waitlist and Instagram

This show is also on Instagram and TikTok.


The Politics Of Curly Hair
#3
11/24/2025

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former chair of the Democratic National Committee, explains the role her curly hair has played in her life and political career – from the pressure to change it to how opponents have used it as a hook for vicious insults.


Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes stories: WeAreSpiraling.com

Follow Priya on Instagram and TikTok

MAYURA waitlist and Instagram

This show is also on Instagram and TikTok.


Why Are So Many People Secretly Curly?
#2
11/13/2025

People go to great lengths to hide their curls, either through straightening or buzz cuts. We investigate why.



Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes stories: WeAreSpiraling.com

Follow Priya on Instagram and TikTok

MAYURA waitlist and Instagram

This show is also on Instagram and TikTok.


A Curly Reporter Starts A New Investigation
#1
11/13/2025

A reporter who covered startups for a decade starts her own: the curly hair care product line she’s always wanted. This show investigates curly hair in our culture.



Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes stories: WeAreSpiraling.com

Follow Priya on Instagram and TikTok

MAYURA waitlist and Instagram

This show is also on Instagram and TikTok.


Trailer: We Are Spiraling with Priya Anand
10/29/2025

We talk about curly hair to learn more about our culture — from how we perceive ourselves to how the world sees us.

Subscribe to our Substack for behind-the-scenes stories: WeAreSpiraling.com

Follow Priya on Instagram and TikTok

MAYURA waitlist and Instagram

This show is also on Instagram and TikTok.