Intimacy is what distinguishes those who are dear to us from those who are simply near. This issue of iKinfolk iexplores the balance between our contradictory cravings for both secure and stable relationships and the freedom to follow our hearts, our sexual desires, and our need to be whole without the help of another. We take psychotherapist Esther Perel as our lodestar. It's a role she's played for the clients at her New York practice and for millions of others through her books and the podcast iWhere Should We Begini, which offers the chance to listen in on anonymous couples during therapy sessions. Perel's approach has always been to challenge the fundamental contradictions in how we think about romantic intimacy Is it really feasible to expect one person to fulfill our every need--for the rest of our life p pIn Issue Thirty-Four, we experience the thrill of people and places spilling their secrets. Amaryllis Fox--an ex-CIA spy who spent her 20s negotiating in some of the world's m