
She was a partner in Wild, her twin sister Miki’s gluten-free-restaurant chain that became the Central Perk of their wideranging friend group. A few years later, a late-night conversation with a friend about their shared wish for a sober dance floor inspired her to start Daybreaker, a substance-free, early-morning danceparty pop-up that’s now in its 11th year. She traveled the world, meeting with Indigenous communities in places like the Amazon and the Serengeti, studying how to live communally, researching the dangers of loneliness and the benefits of togetherness, and putting those findings in a book called Belong: Find Your People, Create Community & Live a More Connected Life. While Thinx, the period-panty company she co-founded, wasn’t the direct result of her need to belong, she started the business with her sister, who served as CEO, and their best friend, Antonia Saint Dunbar, using early Kickstarter donations from the network of like-minded optimists she had carefully nurtured. Belonging, she says, is her raison d’être. “I actually really believe that we could live in harmony, as a species, very quickly if every single one of us focused on belonging,” she tells me. This past fall, Agrawal launched the purest distillation of her mission: an anti-loneliness nonprofit, Belong Center, that will “end loneliness and empower belonging for all.”
This story is from the January 13-26, 2025 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 13-26, 2025 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In

Confessions of a K-рор Star
For ROSÉ, writing her debut solo album was a form of therapy.

"I Wish More Designers Had That - a Real and Specific Sense of How They Want a Woman to Dress in 2025"
TEN YEARS OF FASHION: A Conversation Between CATHY HORYN and LINDSAY PEOPLES

BIENVENIDO A BAD, BUNNY'S PUERTO RICO
BENITO ANTONIO MARTINEZ OCASIO's new album is a history lesson and a homecoming.

THE JESSICA & ASHLEE SHOW
One Simpson followed the rules, the OTHER BROKE THEM. Now, for the first entry in the Cut's \"Family Album\" series, JESSICA SIMPSON tells ASHLEE SIMPSON ROSS she's TAKING NOTES from her younger sister and refusing to let \"MEN IN SUITS\" boss her around.

GONE OFF THE GRID
In December, a fervent nationwide search for Hannah Kobayashi ended a 30-year-old named declared that she wasn't abruptly after police a missing person at all. The internet sleuths weren't satisfied.

BOW DOWN TO DOECHII
Fresh off her Grammy win, the unapologetic Florida rapper is just getting started.

This Is Getting Interesting
The accessories are especially covetable this spring: futuristic sunglasses from Prada, lively little bags from Louis Vuitton, embellished socks from Fendi, and bejeweled headpieces from Valentino. Street-style darling Chloe King shared her tips for piling them on without going overboard.

Sisterhood, Interrupted
Online, going \"no contact\" is often seen as liberating, empowering. If only I felt that way.

Do These Dupes Make Me Look Rich? AT QUINCE, THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS “YES."
How a one-stop shop for everything from cashmere sweaters to caviar seduced a generation of jaded shoppers.

Don't Try This at Home
Comedians Kate Berlant and Jacqueline Novak are searching for their health holy grails-while trying not to fall for the bogus MAHA stuff.