Grammy Award-winning violinist and acclaimed author Ling Ling Huang joins host Laura Federico to explore the tangled relationship between envy, desire, and creative life. From unwanted projections as a child prodigy to discovering her bisexuality later in life, Ling Ling discusses how she moved from being passively desired to actively desiring—and why that shift changed everything.

They dive into the intersection of envy and love in female friendships, betrayal as a creative catalyst, the torture and liberation of jealousy, and what happens when you finally achieve the thing you've been choking on bitterness to reach. Plus: AI as confessional, pregnancy mysteries, Luddite parenting, why friction makes music (and relationships) worth experiencing, and how showing up—even when it hurts—might be the most radical act of all.

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Laura Federico

The Cycle Book

Ling Ling Huang

Natural Beauty

Immaculate Conception

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04:13 — Welcome to Ling Ling Huang

04:45 — The central question: Is it better to desire or to be desired?

06:12 — Traveling alone as a young violinist and inappropriate adult attention

07:17 — The active versus passive nature of desire

08:10 — The torture of envy as a human experience

09:14 — Competitive music conservatory culture and coded critique

10:24 — When her best friend cheated with her boyfriend

11:45 — The continuation of love after betrayal and stepping back as an observer

13:01 — Showing up even when it's painful

15:25 — Writing as a "baby writer" and wanting everyone to talk about envy

16:44 — "Choking on the bitterness"

19:05 — Debut anxiety, goalposts, and comparing yourself to other authors

21:00 — The mystery of our bodies, especially in pregnancy

27:23 — Using ChatGPT as a confessional space

29:12 — What happens when human relationships have more friction?

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Our music, Hit Her Up, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.