Edgy V

With the Portable MiniPresso, You Can Enjoy Espresso Anywhere

The advice column has changed a lot since Ann Landers. It used to be advice handed down from a kind of wise aunt or uncle, but now it’s more like your cool big sister who happens to swear a lot. A wave of internet advice columns by women who weren’t afraid to empathize with readers, like Cheryl Strayed and Mallory Ortberg, have modernized the form.

One of those advice givers is Heather Havrilesky. Her column, “Ask Polly,” for New York Magazine’s The Cut is profane and profound and really connected with young women, in particular. Now she’s got a new book out called How To Be A Person In The World, and in it she gives a lot of advice about love. “It’s probably fair to say that I kind of have a soft spot for romantic travails as a subject,” she tells NPR’s Rachel Martin.