UCSB Arts & Lectures will present An Evening with Esther Perel: The Future of Relationships, Love & Desire, 7:30 pm. Tuesday, Jan.14 at The Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara.

Perel’s talk is designed to help audience members rethink how we connect, how we desire and even how we love.

With her signature wit and charm, Perel will interact with the audience to talk about desire, heartbreak, sex, and other topics we usually only discuss with the lights off.

A New York Times bestselling author, Perel has devoted her professional life to helping people build thriving relationships. She believes that the quality of relationships determines the quality of our lives.

Since arriving as a graduate student in the United States, Perel has examined this concept from myriad angles: the nature of cultural and religious identity, the negotiation between tradition and modernity, the ebb and flow between individualism and collectivism.

She observes interracial and inter-religious couples, the cultural forces that affect gender roles, practices of childrearing and ultimately, the tensions, obstacles and anxieties that arise when the quest for love and security conflicts with the pursuit of adventure and freedom.

Perel has helmed a therapy practice in New York City for more than 35 years. In parallel, she serves as an organizational consultant for Fortune 500 companies around the world.

She is an executive producer and host of the award-winning podcast “Where Should We Begin?” Her new podcast “How’s Work?” focuses on workplace dynamics.

Tickets are $47-$157; $24.50 for UCSB students with current student ID. For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures, 805-893-3535 or buy online at www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu; or The Arlington Theatre, 805-963-9580