Friendship IRL: Real Talk About Friendship, Community, and What It Actually Takes

Alex Alexander

Podcast

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Latest Episodes

The Urge to Tell Your Life Story on the First Friend Date (And What to Do Instead)

8/13/2026 • 27 min

Have you ever come home from hanging out with a new friend and you spiral, wondering if you shared too much or scared them off? I call this a new friend hangover. And in today’s episode, I want to talk about what happens when we rush into new friendships, especially when we are really, really hungry for connection. So much of adult friendship advice tells us to… Play episode

What to Say When Someone You Love Is Grieving with Shelby Forsythia
Are Birthdays Doing Too Much Work In Our Friendships?
Loneliness, Vitality, and the Six Domains of Health with Dr. Alan Rozanski
When Your Friend Starts Feeling Like a Different Person
What Actually Happens When You Move Next Door to Your Best Friends? with T…
Why You Feel Lonely Even Though You Have Close Friends
Raised by Community: The Small Moments That Actually Save Kids (and Adults)
THE BOOK IS HERE! Behind the Scenes of “Are We Friends Yet?”
The Secrets We Keep (For Our Friends)
How One Bumble BFF Match Turned Into a Best Friendship with Hayleigh Hayhu…
What Is Friendship Culture? (And How to Shift It Without Blowing Everythin…
How to Show Up for a Friend Going Through a Divorce with Oona Metz
Friendship Stalls: How to Work Your Way From “Acquaintance” to “Friend”
The Cost of Quiet: How to Stop Avoiding Conflict and Have Those Hard Conve…
Why We Need to Stop Using the Word “Toxic” in Regards to Friendship
Neurodivergent Friendships: Self-Advocating, Masking, and Reframing Friend…
Gossip in Friendship: Is It Really as Bad as Everyone Says It Is?
Unmuted Rooms and Judgement-Free Listening with Erin Snow
Why (and How) You Should Start Initiating Recurring Social Gatherings
I Don’t Have Any Friends! (Help!)
Using AI to Navigate and Improve Friendships with Connor Joyce
Jealous of a Friend? Here's What That Feeling Is Actually Telling You
How to Ask Someone to Hang Out (Without Making It Weird)
The 10 Coffee Date Experiment That Changed Her Friendships with Alison Kin…
Group Chat Anxiety (Part 2): What To Actually Do About It
Group Chat Anxiety (Part 1): Why Your Notifications Feel Like Emotional Ho…
Grief and Friendship: Showing Up After Infant Loss with Michelle Valiukenas
An Act of Resistance: Why Getting to Know Your Neighbors Matters Right Now
Too Many Friends? How to Stop Burning Out in Your Relationships
Should the Goal of Your Friendship be to “Never Rock the Boat?”
It’s OK to Get Help With Making Friends (Especially After College!)
[REPLAY] How to Talk to Friends About Celebrating Holidays Together
[REPLAY] How to Stop Dreading Parties and Take Charge of Your Guest Experi…
Narrowing the Liking Gap and Feeling More Confident in Your Interactions
How to Host on Any Budget (and Not Fall Into the Martha Stewart Trap)
The Benefits of Normalizing Not Drinking at Friend Gatherings
Almost Everyone Has Experienced Friendship Break-Up (Twice!) with Meenadchi
It’s Never Too Late to Make Friends
The Dynamics of Couple Friendships
Re-Thinking Conventional Friendship Wisdom with Jacob Marquez
Why We Should All Want Our Friends to Have Robust Social Lives (Even If It…
The Extraordinary Ripple Effects of Small Moments of Connection with Amy S…
There’s a Spectrum to “Belonging” to a Group … and That’s OK!
Moving Past Inconvenience and Leaning into the JOY of Helping Our Friends
Reframing Rejection with Tanesha Moody
Write Your Own Friendship Manual: Building Authentic Relationships While N…
How to Not Feel Neglected in Conversations with Friends (and Why Sometime…
[REPLAY] The Enormous Impact of Small Intimacies
[REPLAY] You Say You Want a Village … But Do You?

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