Our guest this week is Andrew Leland. Andrew is currently writing a book about blindness for Penguin Press. He’s a contributing editor of the Believer magazine and hosts the Organist podcast. We talk to him about the experience of slowly going blind over his adulthood - ways in which there is loss, but also ways in which it's simply changed things. He also takes about the changes in how people engage with him as his blindness worsens. Later, he helps us with an advice question from a college student in a complicated friendship.

The Organist
Andrew's episode on 99 Percent Invisible
Andrew on Twitter
Andrew's Website


Hey man - I'm a 19 year old college student, and recently I've been really enjoying the relationship that I have with one of my female friends. We have been very mutually supporting of our respective dating lives recently, and supporting in other aspects of our lives as well. It feels like a very healthy dynamic that we have. However, I'm worried that she may have more than feelings of friendship for me at this point. She recently sent me a song which, in context, seemed like a confession. I'm really enjoying our friendship, and would very much prefer it to simply stay as such.

I have no idea how to deal with this situation! I can pretend I didn't listen to the song, and I could just play dumb and deflect, but neither of those seem like wise options. I also dont want to say something about her having feelings for me, and have that go south in the many ways it could.

Please help, I'm hopeless here!

Signed, 
Just Friends on Monteith Ave