One of my core memories from elementary school was riding home on the bus, eagerly awaiting my turn to sit with Tiffany, our fifth-grade neighbor who was good with kids. Tiffany would pretend like she ...

I’m sitting on a futon in a stranger’s apartment with my friend Ashley. In front of us, Melinda Lauw—a slender, wide-eyed Singaporean woman—is crouched in a squat, holding a small flickering candle, ...