Friendship: January 2021 podcast playlist

Research shows that maintaining friendships is a key to happiness. People who are more connected report greater levels of life satisfaction. However, it seems that we prioritize romantic relationships while relegating platonic ones to the backseat. We’ve heard over and over again that loneliness is an epidemic, but making new friends as an adult can be challenging. This playlist explores the importance of friendships with a focus on practical tips and stories about specific types of friendships.

Podcast Listening List on FRIENDSHIP

Get the full listening list on your podcast player of choice using these platforms:

Podcast: Life Kit
Episode: “Make New Friends (And Keep Them)” (August 2019, 23 min)
Making new friends can be awkward. Embrace it and dive in. This episode offers some practical tips for navigating the tricky terrain of making new friends (and keeping them).

Podcast: Therapy for Black Girls
Episode: “Session 118: Making Friends As An Adult” (August 2019, 48 min)
Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, host and licensed psychologist, discussed the challenges and rewards of making friends as an adult with her guest, Dr. Marisa Franco. 

Podcast: Death, Sex & Money
Episode: “Between Friends: Your Stories About Race and Friendship” (January 2020, 48 min)
Listener stories about how race, identity, and racism have impacted friendships.

Podcast: Other Men Need Help
Episode: “I Miss You. Period.” (August 2020, 31 min)
Why is it so hard for men to be vulnerable in their platonic relationships? This episode digs into that question by exploring one specific friendship between Darnell and Dimetrius.

Podcast: The Next Big Idea
Episode: “FRIENDSHIP: The Science and Power of Life’s Deepest Bond” (June 2020, 48 min)
Journalist Lydia Denworth wrote “Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond,” which explored the science of friendship. She is the guest on this episode where she digs into the research that is the underpinning of her book.

Bonus podcast episodes:

• Call Your Girlfriend: “The Science of Friendship” (February 2020, 32 min)
• Code Switch: “Ask Code Switch: What About Your Friends?” (January 2020, 50 min)
• Modern Love: “When Your Greatest Romance Is A Friendship | Encore” (March 2020, 18 min)
• Dope Labs: “Lab 026: What About Your Friends?” (July 2020, 37 min)
• Life Kit: “How Men Can Have Better Friendships” (August 2019, 22 min)
• Therapy for Black Girls: “Session 156: Managing Loneliness” (May 2020, 37 min)
• Death, Sex & Money: “Books We Love: A Big Conversation About ‘Big Friendship’“ (July 2020, 1 hr 8 min)
• Life Kit: “How Race And Racism Affect Our Friendships” (February 2020, 50 min)
• Death, Sex & Money: “Damon Young & Kiese Laymon: The ‘Good Dude’ Closet” (April 2019, 30 min)
• Don’t @ Me with Justin Simien: “The Gospel of Karamo Brown” (November 2020, 1 hr 9 min)

Recommended Books & Other Tools:

We’ve started compiling recommended books from the podcast playlists and from our chapter meetings on our Amazon Idea List.

• Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond” by Lydia Denworth (mentioned in The Next Big Idea episode)
• “Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close” by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman (book from the hosts of Call Your Girlfriend)
• “The Art of Showing Up: How to Be There for Yourself and Your People” by Rachel Wilkerson Miller (book mentioned in Life Kit episode)
• “A More Or Less Definitive Guide To Showing Up For Friends” by Rachel Wilkerson Miller (article by guest on Life Kit episode)
• “All About Love: New Visions” by Bell Hooks (book recommended by guest on Therapy for Black Girls episode)
• “Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find – and Keep – Love” by Amir Levine (book recommended by guest on Therapy for Black Girls episode)
• “We Should Get Together: The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships” by Kat Vellos (book recommended by PBC member)
• “Frientimacy: How to Deepen Friendships for Lifelong Health and Happiness” by Shasta Nelson (book recommended by PBC member)
• “The 3 Requirement of All Healthy Friendships” (article recommended by PBC member)
• Resources for talking to strangers (from the guest on the Life Kit episode)
• Connection Club (weekly club to nurture friendships recommended by PBC member)

Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something PBC may get a little something in return.

Conversation Starter Questions

1. How have you made new friends as an adult?
2. How did you meet some of your best friends?
3. Do you think men have a more difficult time making friends? Explain.
4. Do you have true friendships with people of a different race? If so, did you relate to any of the stories in the Death, Sex & Money episode?
5. Do you prioritize your friendships?
6. Why do you think it is so much easier to make friends as a child than as an adult?
7. Did you find the tips in the Life Kit episode helpful?