
Send us Fan Mail Episode 40 Journalist Lisa A. Phillips discusses her new book First Love, exploring the emotional landscape of adolescent relationships, the significance of first loves, and how early experiences shape future romantic patterns. She shares insights on the importance of conversations around love and boundaries for teens. Journalist Lisa Phillips is the author of the book, First Love: Guiding Teens through Relationships and Heartbreak. Lisa has written about relationships, menta...
May 1
51 min

Send us Fan Mail Episode 39 Bobby Stuckey, James Beard award-winning restaurateur and master sommelier, discusses how he finds joy in the mundane, the essential skill of listening in hospitality to understand what customers are longing for, and how endurance running has contributed to his longevity in the profession. Bobby Stuckey, founder of the James Beard Foundation award-winning and Michelin-starred Frasca Hospitality Group, is a renowned Master Sommelier, restaurateur, winemaker, and coo...
Mar 1
38 min

Send us Fan Mail Episode 38: Flirt coach Benjamin Camras reveals what he's learned about longing, belonging, connection, and self-love, both through his personal dating experience and as a dating coach. He shares ways he helps others navigate the complexities of dating and relationships. Benjamin Camras is a flirt and dating coach sharing his love of flirting and BFE - big flirt energy - with the world! A lifelong introvert and socially anxious member of society, Benjamin now help...
Feb 1
56 min

Send us Fan Mail Episode 37: Lana Manikowski (a certified life coach, infertility advocate, and the author of So Now What?) shares her personal journey navigating infertility, how it shaped her life, and practical strategies for reconnecting with one's body and finding purpose beyond motherhood. She highlights the importance of creating a new narrative regardless of societal expectations. Lana Manikowski is a certified life coach, author, and infertility advocate who helps women thrive after ...
Dec 1, 2025
56 min

Send us Fan Mail Episode 36 Columbia University Professor of Music Walter Frisch explores how longing is expressed in 19th and 20th-century music, particularly in the works of composers like Schumann, Wagner, and Arlen. Frisch also shares the lesser-known historic details on the development of the iconic song of longing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Walter Frisch is the H. Harold Gumm/Harry and Albert von Tilzer Professor of Music at Columbia University, where he has taught since 1982. He has...
Sep 29, 2025
1 hr 7 min

Send us Fan Mail Episode 35 Feminist journalist and author of The Sex Myth, Rachel Hills discusses what she’s learned about sex as a source of power, the sex myths many of us believe, and how the sexual revolution didn’t really liberate us. Hills also highlights the social pressures she personally felt not having sex until her mid-20s. Rachel Hills is a feminist journalist and non-fiction writer based in Brooklyn, New York. She began her career contributing features and opinion pieces t...
Aug 8, 2025
41 min

Send us Fan Mail Episode 34 Dylan Thomas Doyle (PhD) discusses the use of AI in creating "griefbots," which simulate deceased loved ones. Doyle-Burke emphasizes the ethical considerations, potential harms, and psychological impacts of grief-related technology. He highlights the need for careful design and regulation. Doyle-Burke also mentions ongoing research and the cultural nuances of grief across different societies. Dr. Dylan Thomas Doyle is a researcher at the University of Colorado Boul...
Jun 30, 2025
47 min

Send us Fan Mail Episode 33 Dr. Ravin Alaei explores the relationship between music lyrics and attachment styles. In a study of 500 participants, lyrics of ~4,700 songs were analyzed to quantify avoidance, security, and anxiety. Results showed that people with avoidant attachment styles preferred songs with more avoidant lyrics, while those with secure attachment styles preferred more secure lyrics. Another study analyzed Billboard charts from 1949 to 2015, finding modern songs are more avoid...
Jun 1, 2025
44 min

Send us Fan Mail Episode 32 Psychologist Nirit Soffer-Dudek explains maladaptive daydreaming, a clinical phenomenon where fantasy becomes a highly disabling and distressing addiction. She discusses fuels, triggers, treatments and why/how it’s often misdiagnosed. Nirit Soffer-Dudek, PhD is an associate professor at the Department of Psychology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and a licensed clinical psychologist. Her research focuses on the clinical and personality correlates of consciou...
Apr 1, 2025
49 min

Send us Fan Mail Episode 31 Journalist Anna Goldfarb discusses the complexities of modern friendships, emphasizing the impact of social media on longing and the grief in losing friends who played specific roles in our lives. During a time when it appears we have hundreds of connections, she encourages readers/listeners to become wholehearted friends with fewer. Journalist Anna Goldfarb is known as “the New York Times’ friendship correspondent." Anna’s reporting on friendships has appeared in ...
Jan 31, 2025
49 min
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