We respond to listener comments/questions, Part 1. (We only got to two of the seven I printed out.) What does a new relationship feel like for people who aren’t “falling in love?” Can we find intimacy if we’re coming from a scarcity mindset, or does it require some sense of not-needing-it?

How can I summarize this guy? Dr. David Levitt is a cognitive and computer scientist, experimental and theoretical physicist, software engineer, virtual and augmented reality innovator, entrepreneur, musician and writer. He went to Yale at 16, and MIT at 20, where he earned a PhD in AI by teaching a machine to compose jazz.

I got an email yesterday telling me that one of my favorite people, Dr. Steve Herman, had died in Mexico. Steve (a psychologist) worked with legal professionals to help them think more clearly about an issue that all too often blinds even the most level-headed among us with blind rage: allegations of sexual abuse of children. Precisely because these crimes are so offensive to people in our society, we tend to jump to conclusions, often hurting many innocent people in the process — including children. This isn't an easy thing to talk about, but Steve did it with intelligence, balance, and a deep sense of humanity. He will be missed. (Originally recorded 1/2/2015.)