Our guest this week is writer and entrepreneur Chloé Valdery. Chloe has written for outlets like the New York Times, USA Today, and Psychology Today. Although those are labels that describe what she does and has achieved, Chloe is the type of guest who doesn’t easily fit in to boxes or categories. In fact, one of her creative strengths is to grapple with the paradox and cognitive dissonance that is such an integral part of modern life. Her Social Emotional Program and start up venture, The Theory of Enchantment, is an incredible mashup of pop-culture, psychology, and philosophy that treats the complexities of the human condition with the nuance it deserves. I haven’t seen many programs that balance accessibility, entertainment, and a deeply moving message as well as hers does. In this episode, we’ll discuss the relationship between self-knowledge, criticism, and love. Though each one of these is a vital part of Chloe’s Theory of enchantment, we spend a lot of time discussing the concept of love. Chloe specifically taps in to the legacies of Martin Luther King, Maya Angelou, and James Baldwin to challenge and complicate our understanding of a powerful idea that is too often dismissed as trite or cliché. As you can likely already tell, this is going to be a powerful episode. Chloe is wise beyond her years and Julie and I are still talking about the perspective and insight she provided in this conversation. We hope you enjoy as much as we did!