The China I Knew: Mourning a Vanishing Vitality
Psychoanalytically, we mourn not just people or places—but the conditions that once made mutual recognition possible. The China I knew pulsed with possibility, curiosity, and warmth. People often ask me, “Do you miss it?” My answer: “I miss the China I knew.” It was a place of growth—personal, relational, and fueled by ambition. I spent […]
What Does Trump Have to Do with Managing a Team?
If you lead people, Trump is your business. Not because you have to share your politics at work, but because the people you manage live in a civic environment that shapes their moods, agency, fear, and fatigue. If you want to motivate or simply understand them, attunement to forces beyond office walls counts. I say […]
Paranoid-Schizoid Nation: A Nation Divided Can’t Compete
I spent 22 years in China. For most of that time, I was a skeptic of Chinese innovation. From cars to coffee, the products were shoddy, copycat, and lacked brand equity. I believed fervently that America’s faith in bottom-up innovation, powered by individuals and decentralized markets, was our greatest and most unquantifiable strength. I no […]
What AI Therapists and AI Coaches Can’t Do
This New York Times article tells the story of a woman with epilepsy who formed a bond with an AI chatbot trained in therapy. She described feeling less alone, emotionally recognized, and gained the confidence to reach out to others. When our internal experience is reflected with emotional precision, it can reduce shame and foster […]
Is There a Link Between Therapy Culture and Childlessness?
As a therapist, I want to gently complicate one of the Michal Leibowitz piece, “There’s a Link Between Therapy Culture and Childlessness.” She suggests that therapy often flattens the narrative of our childhoods into one of blame. Yes, she offers a compelling and vulnerable reflection on how generational ideas about harm, trauma, and parenting may […]
