If you’re looking for something a bit more titillating than the usual fare (e.g. law, back problems, excessive sugar consumption) check out an article I wrote for this week’s Page Six magazine. It’s about New York women who practice polyamory (no, it’s not an exotic new kind of yoga). I doubt I’ll ever delve into […]

Thanks to all who have written in with various back diagnoses, advice, home remedies, and horror stories. Yes, I have managed to remove myself from the bathroom floor; yes, I do plan to try acupuncture; and no, I have never wrestled professionally or carried an armoire that I found on the street up four flights […]

I’m convinced that the universe has its own instincts — it senses when we’re approaching a collective overload on one notion or sentiment, and acts to push us the other way; on an individual level, it can keep you aligned with the nebulous greater balance, assuming you’re paying close enough attention. And then, every once […]

It’s always an amusing time, the week before my birthday. Every September the little voices start whispering that some special event is coming up, some excuse for self-indulgence is almost here, until finally the hedonistic floodgates open, letting fly the unique and unbridled narcissism that is somehow socially acceptable on the anniversary of our entrance […]

Apologies for the impromptu hiatus - I’ve been plugging away on the newest project, slogging through the primordial cyber-ooze of HTML and various web lexicon. As reported here and here and here, Freakonomics.com has been revamped, republished and incorporated into the New York Times web site, making us an official NYTimes.com blog (and me an […]

I eat like shit. I really do. Every day is yet another opportunity for carbs, sugars, fats and chemicals to throw garden parties in my system. Breakfast is coffee seeped in sugar and cream and a butter-soaked bread item; lunch is leftover pizza, coffee shop croissants or any number of chocolate baked goods; dinner an […]

“Codependent” is a funny word. We use it as an insult, tossing it out to mean neediness, instability, clingy desperation and other forms of “pathetic” behavior. “I had to dump her. She was driving me nuts — wanted to hang out all the time, see me every night, talk about everything in our lives — […]

It’s wrong to laugh at another person’s embarrassment. Logically, I know this. I can list all the reasons why: at some point, we all commit social gaffes, hatch churlish statements, succumb to random acts of public clumsiness (I of all people should know that), and otherwise ruffle the smooth veneer of social interaction. Not to […]

We all have a relationship with our inner dialogue. You know, the little voice in your head that babbles for hours without stopping, chattering away with its running commentary on everything you do and experience, sometimes silenced only by meditation, sleep, or tequila shots. (”What little voice?” your mind says as you read this. “I […]

I’m packed into the Friday night Metroliner, a travel artery for upwardly mobile professionals hitting weekend destinations along the Eastern Seaboard. A man claims the seat next to me, nodding a stiff greeting before retreating into his Blackberry. He’s in his forties, trim, with a full head of hair and a caramel tan. He wears […]