Love Letters

4.5 (1.3K)
Relationships
Updated Biweekly

Love stories. Dating stories. Relationship stories. Stories about romance, marriage, partnership, sex, loss, and the human heart. Served with a side of advice. Hosted by Boston Globe advice columnist Meredith Goldstein. Join our Friends With Benefits club for an ad-free experience, a monthly bonus episode, and more. For details, visit ⁠Globe.com/loveletters/friendswithbenefits⁠.

6d ago

Zachary Reese: Not sorry for the overshare

Zachary Reese is a social psychologist who studies close relationships. He also focuses on self-disclosure – meaning, what we share with others. Do you feel like you don’t know how to make friends at work? Do you wonder whether you should turn a professional experience into a more personal bond? Are you constantly wondering, “Did I say too much about myself?” and second-guessing what you tell people you just met? Listen as Meredith and Zachary talk about sharing … while sharing with each other. So meta. Remember, Love Letters has a Friends With Benefits Club with a free extra episodes, an ad-free experience, and swag. Sign up at Globe.com/loveletters/friendswithbenefits. We are grateful for all support. Also, please send a letter about what’s happening in your relationship life to our long-running advice column. You can submit anonymous questions through our anonymous form. When you ask a question, you help others feel less alone. Studies, books, and research Zachary and I mention in this episode: “Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves by Allison Wood Brooks. Nick Epley’s work on shallowness in conversation. Ethan Cross’s research on self-disclosure. Work about in-person vs. written communication in Nature Communications. Micaela Rodriguez’s work about how being single makes it possible to grow. Reporting by Jonathan Woodward at Religion News Service. Love Letters is a production of The Boston Globe. This short series about All Kinds of Love is brought to you in partnership with the Greater Good Science Center’s "Spreading Love Through the Media" initiative, funded by the John Templeton Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 6

Oh Caffrey, My Caffrey

In an exploration of all kinds of love, Meredith investigates love at work.She tries to figure out whether she loves her longtime coworker, Caffrey. Is Caffrey family? Is he simply a colleague? Does her relationship with Caffrey help her maintain strong connections in other parts of her life? Join this awkward discussion between two Globe employees who are not used to talking about their feelings for each other.We also hear a story from a Love Letters listener whose experience proves that love at work – among medical residents, specifically – isn’t like “Grey’s Anatomy” … but it is big and important.Remember, Love Letters has a Friends With Benefits Club with a free extra episodes, an ad-free experience, and swag. Sign up at Globe.com/loveletters/friendswithbenefits. We are grateful for all support.Also, please send a letter about what’s happening in your relationship life to our long-running advice column. You can submit anonymous questions to https://www.boston.com/question-for-meredith/. When you ask a question, you help others feel less alone.Love Letters is a production of The Boston Globe. This short series about All Kinds of Love is brought to you in partnership with the Greater Good Science Center’s "Spreading Love Through the Media" initiative, funded by the John Templeton Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 22 · Bonus

Melanie Maimon: We Belong Together (The Fall Out Boy Remix)

In our last episode, we learned how loving a boy band can help us love each other. We told the story of Theresa, a 50-something New Kids on the Block fan, who got a life-saving medical assist from Christina, another fan, who stepped up for a stranger simply because they both love NKOTB.In this follow-up episode, Bryant University assistant professor Melanie Maimon – who studies the psychology of belonging – explains how being part of a community of fans can help us develop relationships. If we love something (music, art, books, etc.) and are around likeminded others, we might be on our way to forming important platonic and romantic connections. Maimon herself is a Fall Out Boy fan. When she’s at a concert, she assumes the best of people around her – like she’s may have found her group As Fall Out Boy might put it, “I was just an only child of the universe … and then I found you.” (If you know that lyric, you're a real one.)Meredith and Maimon also get into how lonely it can feel when fans of the same artist don’t agree with each other about everything. (A timely conversation with news about Ed Sheeran, Macklemore, etc.)This episode is part of a special Love Letters series about all kinds of love. We wanted to tell these stories because without our platonic and community connections, romance is less healthy and fun. This “All Kinds of Love” series is supported by UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, as part of its "Spreading Love Through the Media" initiative, supported by the John Templeton Foundation. Remember, Love Letters is an advice column. You can send anonymous questions about friendship, dating, marriage, divorce, messy breakups, dating fatigue, situationships, etc. through our anonymous form.Also remember: we now have a Friends With Benefits program. You can get ad-free episodes, a bonus episode a month, extended cuts of episodes, and Love Letters swag by signing up at loveletters.supportingcast.fm. INCOGNI Deal: To get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan, go to incogni.com/LOVELETTERS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 15

New Kids on the Block saved my life

Can boy bands fans save the world? Maybe. They can certainly save each other. In this episode, we meet Theresa Crockett, of California, who needed a kidney and found hope – and a lifeline – through her love of New Kids on the Block. This is a feel-good story about love between strangers (both of whom are “Blockheads”). It’s also about supportive spouses, family members, and a guy named Donnie Wahlberg. Read more about their story here: ⁠https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/09/15/magazine/new-kids-nkotb-fans-kidney-transplant/ ⁠ This “All Kinds of Love” series is supported by UC Berkeley's ⁠Greater Good Science Center⁠, as part of its "Spreading Love Through the Media" initiative, supported by the ⁠John Templeton Foundation⁠. And learn more about kidney donation here: ⁠⁠https://www.uclahealth.org/programs/core-kidney⁠⁠ Our “Friends with Benefits” members get an extended cut of this episode – and one extra episode a month! And no ads! Join the group here. We appreciate your support. Also, Love Letters is an advice column; send your anonymous questions about relationships to loveletters@boston.com or through this anonymous form. When you ask a question, you help others feel less alone. 🌎 Get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code LOVELETTERS at checkout. Download Saily app or go to to https://saily.com/LOVELETTERS ⛵ Exclusive Coveron discount: : https://coveron.com/LOVELETTERS or use the code LOVELETTERS at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 1

The Mother-In-Law Episode

Meredith has wondered: why do so many people despise their in-laws? Specifically … their mother-in-laws?To explore the topic, Meredith welcomes Janice Page, who tells a story about her mother-in-law, Yu Ying.Janice explains how she and her mother-in-law became close, despite not speaking the same language, and how they stayed connected over decades. Meredith and Janice discuss how to see extended family, and what relatives of partners can teach us about ourselves. Want extra new episodes? Join our Friends With Benefits club by visiting ⁠globe.com/loveletters/friendswithbenefits⁠. You’ll get an ad-free experience, an extra episode a month, and a Love Letters journal (if you join for a year). And you'll even be able to hear an extended cut of this episode. Thank you for supporting our show. We want to support you right back. Remember, Love Letters is also an advice column. Ask Meredith a question about your relationship life by emailing ⁠loveletters@boston.com⁠. Exclusive Coveron discount: : https://coveron.com/LOVELETTERS or use the code LOVELETTERS at checkout. 🌎 Get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code LOVELETTERS at checkout. Download Saily app or go to to https://saily.com/LOVELETTERS ⛵ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 18

Be sad about loss, but not all the time

Margo Howard, daughter of advice columnist Ann Landers and noted advice columnist in her own right, died recently at the age of 86.Meredith had the pleasure of knowing Margo for years in Boston. Occasionally they lunched at fancy restaurants and talked about the advice column business.Sometimes they gossiped.Sometimes Margo gave Meredith advice about her love life.Today we're sharing an episode from Season 1 that features Margo – with some new thoughts from Meredith about what she learned from Margo about moving on.Remember, Love Letters is an advice column. Send your questions about all kinds of relationships to loveletters@globe.com or visiting our anonymous submission page.You can join our special Friends With Benefits club – for extra episodes, an ad-free experience, and bonus content – by clicking here. 🌎 Get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code LOVELETTERS at checkout. Download Saily app or go to to https://saily.com/LOVELETTERS ⛵ Exclusive Coveron discount: : https://coveron.com/LOVELETTERS or use the code LOVELETTERS at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 4

Turning 80, getting a divorce

Want extra new episodes? Join our Friends With Benefits club by visiting globe.com/loveletters/friendswithbenefits. You’ll get an ad-free experience, an extra episode a month, and a Love Letters journal (if you join for a year). And you'll even be able to hear an extended cut of this episode. Thank you for supporting our show. We want to support you right back. In today’s episode we learn it’s never too late to grow, make change, and get single to live your best life. Meet Chrissy, who is 79 and getting a divorce. She explains why this is happening after decades of marriage, and why this new path is essential now. Chrissy also shows us her blooming garden, which is a lovely metaphor for what’s to come. Click here to read the transcript. Remember, Love Letters is also an advice column. Ask Meredith a question about your relationship life by emailing loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 21

My high school boyfriend is better than yours

First: please join our Love Letters “Friends With Benefits” group. You’ll get extra episodes, swag, and an ad-free experience. For more info, visit globe.com/loveletters/friendswithbenefits. Today Meredith revisits an episode from the vault that features her high school boyfriend. She offers some new perspective – and fun updates. Meredith wanted to take a closer look at this story because of 18-year-old Lyla, our most recent guest, who explained her own high school breakup. In this one, there are lessons, laughs … and some new perspective. Enjoy revisiting former loves, and remember, Love Letters is also an advice column. Send your questions about relationships to loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See All (206)

Meredith Goldstein

Host
Theresa Crockett

Guest
Janice Page

Guest
Chrissy

Guest
Bailey Watroba

Guest
Todd Kashdan

Guest
Margaret H. Willison

Guest
Yowei Shaw

Guest
Chanté Joseph

Guest

4.5

out of 5

1,315 Ratings

I usually feel included as a single person...

Apr 30

Raqswell

I generally like the show but wanted to respond to "I'm sorry I hid you" featuring Yowei Shaw. This is really more about her show Proxy than it is about Love Letters. I now have insight into why she is always bringing up her husband on Proxy. But I think she's overcompensating. And I find it cloying. Maybe she feels she's being transparent by acknowledging her music producer husband's free help on her indie podcast. But I think I'd listen to more episodes of Prox y if she didn't bring up Kyle so much. Am I a hetero single female independent creative feeling jealous of Yowei? 100%! I I'm turned off by hearing a hetero couple on a podcast. I tune into "Couples Therapy," hosted by a hetero couple very frequently. But that podcast is about relationships. But with Proxy I feel like Yowei is just popping in from time to time to remind us that she has an amazing husband who is helping her fulfil her creative dreams out of love. Something I only dream about.
Questions

12/22/2025

MagLoLex

These are things you didn’t report on about Nixon: is he getting any government handouts? Snap? Medical care? Did he vote in our elections? He jumped in front of the immigration line.
Wow - it’s not even true crime - but still SO GOOD.

09/19/2025

June._.Alice

I love everything about this show.
What happened?

07/24/2025

Elle Kris

I use to absolutely love this pod. Never missed an episode. But they’ve completely lost their way. The pod is far less captivating than it use to be, the stories featured are redundant, lack relatability, or are just simply not what originally drew me to this pod. As of late, I’ve completely stopped listening. I’ve tried tuning in and end up turning it off. The last two seasons were truly disappointing.

Love stories. Dating stories. Relationship stories. Stories about romance, marriage, partnership, sex, loss, and the human heart. Served with a side of advice. Hosted by Boston Globe advice columnist Meredith Goldstein. Join our Friends With Benefits club for an ad-free experience, a monthly bonus episode, and more. For details, visit ⁠Globe.com/loveletters/friendswithbenefits⁠.