Yowei Shaw

And Brian, it turned out, had been struggling with a very specific problem.

What some people might refer to as a niche emotional conundrum.

Can we start there?

What do you need help with, Brian?

When you say you need help figuring out how to be, how are you being with her right now?

What's an example of this?

As Brian told me this, I realized, oh, wait, I know that tone of voice, this side of Brian.

Like, even in this interview, right after we said hello, the first thing he did was fact check me.

When's the last time we were on the mic together?

Brian says, yeah, you know what?

Maybe it is a product of the work I'm doing as a journalist.

I say this with respect, but it sounds kind of like you're being an asshole.

Yeah, which I don't.

To help me understand, Brian told me what just making dinner looks like on a typical evening.

Brian gets home from work, starts cooking.

His daughter, who's four, is buzzing around, taking dishes out, putting them on the floor, begging him for candy.

And then his mother-in-law greets him in the kitchen, asks when his wife Solange, her daughter, is coming home.

To which Brian says, 6.30.

His mother-in-law goes back to the living room.

Then a minute later, when's Solange coming home?