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

Alex Alexander
  • 4.9 (57)
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  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Tired of hearing “just put yourself out there” when it comes to friendship or community? Same. Friendship IRL is the podcast that skips the fluff and gets real about what it takes to build meaningful adult friendships and lasting support systems. Whether you're struggling to make new friends, maintain old ones, or just want people in your life who really show up, you're in the right place. Each week, host Alex Alexander brings you honest conversations and tangible strategies to help you connect—for real. You’ll hear stories from everyday people (plus the occasional expert), learn what’s working in modern friendships—and what definitely isn’t—and walk away with ideas, scripts, and action steps you can actually use. Think of it like a coffee date with your wisest, most encouraging friend—the one who tells the truth and hands you the playbook. 🎧 New episodes drop every Thursday. 💬 Want to share your friendship win or struggle? Leave Alex a voice message at AlexAlex.chat. Follow along on Instagram or TikTok @itsalexalexander and join the movement to rethink how we build connection, community, and friendships in real life.

  1. 3D AGO

    Friendship Stalls: How to Work Your Way From “Acquaintance” to “Friend”

    Have you ever tried to make a new friend and felt like you were stalling out between the “acquaintance” and “friend” stages?  Maybe this person was on the edge of your life for months, and yet, nothing ever changed: you saw each other in the same places, you kept having the same conversations. How do you get to that point where they feel like a friend? Some people assume if a friendship isn’t progressing, it’s not meant to be. But I’d argue part of the reason is there’s not enough nuance (or language!) for those in-between stages. We’re not taught what friendship actually requires to move forward.  Today’s episode is a roadmap for grown-ups to help work through the messy middle of making friends. I hope it helps you appreciate ALL the steps that draw us closer together. This episode is sponsored by Slowly, a digital pen pal app used by over 10 million people worldwide. If you’ve been looking for a low-pressure way to connect with someone completely outside your normal friendship circle, this is it. Exchange letters at your own pace, no small talk panic required. Download Slowly free and get 30% off Slowly Plus using my link: https://open.slowly.app/miXL/l8ei5iw6. In this episode you’ll hear about: The myriad of different kinds of friends in my Wheel of Connection, including familiar friends – people you see around haven’t forged close connections withDifferent ways to build roots, from inviting somebody to a new activity or remembering a small detail about themChallenges adults face in making new friends, including societal norms, competing responsibilities, and the tendency to put our best foot forward with new companyCommon obstacles to progressing friendships, including over-promising and skipping steps Resources & Links Listen to Episode 12 about my Roots framework and Episode 100 about the Wheel of Connection. And preorder my book! Are We Friends Yet? comes out June 16. The missing vocabulary for every relationship in your life and a real plan for what to do with it. When you sign up to order the book, you get immediate access to the Less Lonely Club Community and the 10-Day Connection Reset Private Podcast. Like what you hear? Visit my website, leave me a voicemail, and follow me o This episode is sponsored by Slowly, a digital pen pal app used by over 10 million people worldwide. If you’ve been looking for a low-pressure way to connect with someone completely outside your normal friendship circle, this is it. Exchange letters at your own pace, no small talk panic required. Download Slowly free and get 30% off Slowly Plus using my link: https://open.slowly.app/miXL/l8ei5iw6 WANT MORE? My book, Are We Friends Yet? hits shelves June 16. Get on the waitlist for pre-order bonuses + a first look. Dive into The Connection Reset. A 10-day private podcast to help you see the abundance of connection that already exists in your day-to-day (Yes. Really. I promise you have more than you realize). Start today.

    47 min

  2. MAY 7

    The Cost of Quiet: How to Stop Avoiding Conflict and Have Those Hard Conversations with Colette Jane Fehr

    Here you are, leaving that friendship hangout frustrated again.  You swear you’ll tackle the issue at the next meet-up, but then, time goes by. You’ve pushed the problem aside. Until it happens again. And again. Suddenly, this little issue has become a major one. Today’s guest is Colette Jane Fehr, a therapist, TEDX speaker, and author of the Amazon bestselling book, The Cost of Quiet. Her work is rooted in couples therapy, but don’t press pause! Every single skill she teaches transfers directly to friendships. If you have ever swallowed something hard and pushed it down because you didn’t know how to bring it up, this episode is for you.  In this episode you’ll hear about: Conflict avoidance: the tendency to not be too intense or demanding with friends – and consequently push issues under the rugWhat Colette calls the “victim volcano,” when untended issues stack up and eventually eruptColette’s and my own personal experiences navigating issues between friends that need to be addressedSelf-connected communication, which helps us prepare before sharing our grievances with friends, and “Good Girl-Itis” Resources & Links Listen to Episode 12 and learn about my theory about the Roots framework. Order Colette’s book, The Cost of Quiet: How to Have Hard Conversations That Create Secure, Lasting Love.  And preorder my book! Are We Friends Yet? comes out June 16. The missing vocabulary for every relationship in your life and a real plan for what to do with it. When you sign up to order the book, you get immediate access to the Less Lonely Club Community and the 10-Day Connection Reset Private Podcast. Like what you hear? Visit my website, leave me a voicemail, and follow me on Instagram and TikTok! Want to take this conversation a step further? Send this episode to a friend. Tell them you found it interesting and use what we just talked about as a conversation starter the next time you and your friend hang out! This episode is sponsored by Slowly, a digital pen pal app used by over 10 million people worldwide. If you’ve been looking for a low-pressure way to connect with someone completely outside your normal friendship circle, this is it. Exchange letters at your own pace, no small talk panic required. Download Slowly free and get 30% off Slowly Plus using my link: https://open.slowly.app/miXL/l8ei5iw6 WANT MORE? My book, Are We Friends Yet? hits shelves June 16. Get on the waitlist for pre-order bonuses + a first look. Dive into The Connection Reset. A 10-day private podcast to help you see the abundance of connection that already exists in your day-to-day (Yes. Really. I promise you have more than you realize). Start today.

    1h 3m

  3. APR 30

    Why We Need to Stop Using the Word “Toxic” in Regards to Friendship

    Bad vibes. Frenemy. Fake friend. Toxic friendship. We have an entire vocabulary for when friendships aren’t working, but I think certain words and phrases often oversimplify friendship issues – and ultimately end up costing us something very real. In this episode, I talk in particular about the word toxic: its history, how it’s morphed in modern friendship culture, and questions to ask yourself to identify issues in friendships instead of just labeling somebody toxic.  Let me be clear: this episode is not about tolerating bad behavior. This is about what happens when we reach for a label instead of doing the harder work of figuring out what the problem is and what we actually need. In this episode you’ll hear about: Why I think the word toxic has become overused and oversimplifies the complexities of issues between friendshipsLooking at some history to the word “toxic,” which has clinical origins but has been diluted via social mediaHow the word “toxic” seems to imply a person is incapable of change – plus, my own personal qualms with labels in generalThe value in focusing on behaviors instead of labeling people, and three questions I recommend asking before writing off “toxic” people Resources & Links Preorder my book! Are We Friends Yet? comes out June 16. Like what you hear? Visit my website, leave me a voicemail, and follow me on Instagram and TikTok! Want to take this conversation a step further? Send this episode to a friend. Tell them you found it interesting and use what we just talked about as a conversation starter the next time you and your friend hang out! This episode is sponsored by Slowly, a digital pen pal app used by over 10 million people worldwide. If you’ve been looking for a low-pressure way to connect with someone completely outside your normal friendship circle, this is it. Exchange letters at your own pace, no small talk panic required. Download Slowly free and get 30% off Slowly Plus using my link: https://open.slowly.app/miXL/l8ei5iw6 WANT MORE? My book, Are We Friends Yet? hits shelves June 16. Get on the waitlist for pre-order bonuses + a first look. Dive into The Connection Reset. A 10-day private podcast to help you see the abundance of connection that already exists in your day-to-day (Yes. Really. I promise you have more than you realize). Start today.

    26 min

  4. APR 23

    Neurodivergent Friendships: Self-Advocating, Masking, and Reframing Friendship as a Skill with Caroline Maguire

    To me, writing a friendship manual for neurodivergent people seems kind of mind-bending. How do you encapsulate the beauty and diversity of ALL our brains in one book?  And yet, today’s guest, Caroline Maguire, has done just that. Caroline is an expert in social-emotional learning and ADHD coaching, the author of Friendship Skills for Neurodivergent Adults (which I HIGHLY recommend!); and host of the ADHD Social Playbook Podcast. For my neurodivergent listeners: I hope this episode reframes how you approach friendships. And for my neurotypical friends: it never hurts to understand what your friends might be experiencing. In this episode you’ll hear about: Caroline’s childhood experiences of being bullied and left out and how this impacted her perspective on friendship as a kidThe life-changing impact of learning to see friendship as a skill that can be developed at any age via self-awareness and practiceSelf-advocacy and asking for what you need in friendships (and how friends can adapt to neurodivergent communication styles and sensory needs)Masking – suppressing or camouflaging neurodivergent traits to fit in – and the importance of not losing your own authenticity among friends Resources & Links Check out Caroline’s books, Why Will No One Play With Me? and  This episode is sponsored by Slowly, a digital pen pal app used by over 10 million people worldwide. If you’ve been looking for a low-pressure way to connect with someone completely outside your normal friendship circle, this is it. Exchange letters at your own pace, no small talk panic required. Download Slowly free and get 30% off Slowly Plus using my link: https://open.slowly.app/miXL/l8ei5iw6 WANT MORE? My book, Are We Friends Yet? hits shelves June 16. Get on the waitlist for pre-order bonuses + a first look. Dive into The Connection Reset. A 10-day private podcast to help you see the abundance of connection that already exists in your day-to-day (Yes. Really. I promise you have more than you realize). Start today.

    1h 15m

  5. APR 16

    Gossip in Friendship: Is It Really as Bad as Everyone Says It Is?

    Does talking about one person to another make you a bad friend? For quite some time, I’ve been considering the role of gossip in friendship. I’ve reflected on my own patterns and beliefs, and I’ve thought hard about where I’ve pushed the boundaries.  My goal in this episode is to get to the root of gossip and the role it plays in relationships. I dive into some research about the history of gossip and include some guidelines I use in my personal life. I don't think you need to feel guilty every time you talk about someone; guilt just makes us second-guess very normal, necessary human conversations. But I do think we can get a little more intentional about how we use gossip so that it serves rather than harms our connections. In this episode you’ll hear about: The history of the word “gossip” – what it used to mean, who it referred to, and when it became associated with women’s social circlesThe rebranding of gossip as derogatory, and modern social scientists’ more neutral definition of gossipDifferent ways gossip can be useful, including processing confusing or painful situations and reality checkingMy own personal questions and guidelines for deciding whether it’s OK to talk about a friend to another friend, including the outcome test and the audience test Resources & Links Listen to Episode 99 about individualism in friendship with James Richardson. Robin Dunbar’s social grooming research can be found in his book Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language You can find more about Norm talk in this article from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Norm talk and human cooperation: Can we talk ourselves into cooperation?  Like what you hear? Visit my website, leave me a voicemail, and follow me on Instagram and TikTok! Want to take this conversation a step further? Send this episode to a friend. Tell them you found it interesting and use what we just talked about as a conversation starter the next time you and your friend hang out! This episode is sponsored by Slowly, a digital pen pal app used by over 10 million people worldwide. If you’ve been looking for a low-pressure way to connect with someone completely outside your normal friendship circle, this is it. Exchange letters at your own pace, no small talk panic required. Download Slowly free and get 30% off Slowly Plus using my link: https://open.slowly.app/miXL/l8ei5iw6 WANT MORE? My book, Are We Friends Yet? hits shelves June 16. Get on the waitlist for pre-order bonuses + a first look. Dive into The Connection Reset. A 10-day private podcast to help you see the abundance of connection that already exists in your day-to-day (Yes. Really. I promise you have more than you realize). Start today.

    30 min

  6. APR 9

    Unmuted Rooms and Judgement-Free Listening With Erin Snow

    For years, Erin Snow was a trauma-informed legal advocate for domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking survivors, so she understands well the cost of having nowhere safe to say what’s true.  When she got divorced, she felt isolated and without a support system, even among people she thought were friends. She’d been so busy being everyone else’s “person” that she never let anyone be hers.  So, she created the kind of space she was seeking. She founded the Unmuted Room, a judgement-free confidential listening space built on the premise that being heard is not a luxury but a necessity. In our conversation, Erin describes the slow, quiet realization that the friendships she’d been showing up for weren’t actually showing up for her – which I think is a common experience that’s going to make so many listeners feel seen.  In this episode you’ll hear about: The challenge of feeling like you don’t fit in a friend group and the pressure to conform to their value and interests Erin’s slow realization that her role as the listener among friends was being unreciprocated in the midst of a divorce, eventually leading her to feel ostracizedThe importance in finding new supportive relationships and the role of networking groups that helped Erin rebuildThe Unmuted Room and the types of people who seek Erin’s services, including people who are in life transitions, caring for aging parents, experiencing fertility issues, etc.  Resources & Links Listen to Episode 12 and learn about my theory about the Roots framework; Episode 85 about shifting people-pleasing friendship patterns; Episode 86 about embodying main character energy in your friendships; and Episode 90, aimed at helping men strengthen their social circles. Check out the Unmuted Room and try out a free 10-minute consultation with Erin. Like what you hear? Visit my website, leave me a voicemail, and follow me on Instagram and TikTok! Want to take this conversation a step further? Send this episode to a friend. Tell them you found it interesting and use what we just talked about as a conversatio This episode is sponsored by Slowly, a digital pen pal app used by over 10 million people worldwide. If you’ve been looking for a low-pressure way to connect with someone completely outside your normal friendship circle, this is it. Exchange letters at your own pace, no small talk panic required. Download Slowly free and get 30% off Slowly Plus using my link: https://open.slowly.app/miXL/l8ei5iw6 WANT MORE? My book, Are We Friends Yet? hits shelves June 16. Get on the waitlist for pre-order bonuses + a first look. Dive into The Connection Reset. A 10-day private podcast to help you see the abundance of connection that already exists in your day-to-day (Yes. Really. I promise you have more than you realize). Start today.

    58 min

  7. APR 2

    Why (and How) You Should Start Initiating Recurring Social Gatherings

    Fitting social gatherings into busy lives often isn’t easy, but let me remind you of their value: One of the longest studies on human connection found that adults who went to social gatherings regularly reported reduced levels of depression and better life satisfaction. The good news? You don’t have to wait for life to ease up or to get invited to see your people; you can start creating recurring friend gatherings right now, which is what I’m talking about in today’s episode. Not only will these gatherings help you keep up with friends – whether they be in your inner circle or neighbors you want to know better – they might even become your secret weapon for meeting new people in a low pressure way. In this episode you’ll hear about: My counterpoints to common fears about hosting (What if nobody shows up? What if my home’s not nice enough?)The value in starting small (just one or two people!) and simple, remembering that most people don’t remember the details of a gathering, only the emotional impactTactics for setting up recurring gatherings, such as locking in regular times or activities – plus, how my husband organizes regular movie nightsMaking gatherings easier for people to attend and enjoy (familiarity and comfort are key!) and host (popsicles, anyone?) Resources & Links Listen to Episode 6 about the six roles of hosting; Episode 91 about taking charge of your guest experience; Episode 111 about hosting perfectly imperfect (and consequently more frequent) gatherings; and Episode 155 about hosting on any budget. Like what you hear? Visit my website, leave me a voicemail, and follow me on Instagram and TikTok! Want to take this conversation a step further? Send this episode to a friend. Tell them you found it interesting and use what we just talked about as a conversation starter the next time you and your friend hang out! This episode is sponsored by Slowly, a digital pen pal app used by over 10 million people worldwide. If you’ve been looking for a low-pressure way to connect with someone completely outside your normal friendship circle, this is it. Exchange letters at your own pace, no small talk panic required. Download Slowly free and get 30% off Slowly Plus using my link: https://open.slowly.app/miXL/l8ei5iw6 WANT MORE? My book, Are We Friends Yet? hits shelves June 16. Get on the waitlist for pre-order bonuses + a first look. Dive into The Connection Reset. A 10-day private podcast to help you see the abundance of connection that already exists in your day-to-day (Yes. Really. I promise you have more than you realize). Start today.

    27 min

  8. MAR 26

    I Don’t Have Any Friends! (Help!)

    Have you ever felt like you have nobody to call, and wondered: how did I get here? Where are my people? Maybe you’d been focusing on your career and lost touch with your friends. Maybe a big life transition has made you feel the friendships you used to have were tied to a version of you that no longer exists. I’ve been there. I feel your pain, and I wish I could give you a big hug. But as somebody who’s been in this situation before, I can also tell you this: you might have more people in your circle than you think. In this episode, I want to unpack this feeling and recommend a variety of episodes that might help you find the inspiration to go out and change your social landscape. (Be sure to check out the links below!) In this episode you’ll hear about: The common misconception that there is something inherently wrong with individuals who struggle to make and maintain friendsThe shame spiral and negative self-talk of feeling like you have no friends and the importance of understanding how you arrived at this pointVarious circumstances and life changes that may of occurred that have made maintaining or making connections difficultThe Wheel of Connection, which is a conclusive look at the different people you have in your life Resources & Links Listen to Episode 27 about loneliness; Episode 69 about learned loneliness; Episode 132 about navigating great friendship shifts; Episodes 25 and Episode 153 about friendship break-ups; Episode 101 about chronic illness; Episode 18 and Episode 35 about grief; Episode 19 about starting from scratch; This episode is sponsored by Slowly, a digital pen pal app used by over 10 million people worldwide. If you’ve been looking for a low-pressure way to connect with someone completely outside your normal friendship circle, this is it. Exchange letters at your own pace, no small talk panic required. Download Slowly free and get 30% off Slowly Plus using my link: https://open.slowly.app/miXL/l8ei5iw6 WANT MORE? My book, Are We Friends Yet? hits shelves June 16. Get on the waitlist for pre-order bonuses + a first look. Dive into The Connection Reset. A 10-day private podcast to help you see the abundance of connection that already exists in your day-to-day (Yes. Really. I promise you have more than you realize). Start today.

    27 min
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About

Tired of hearing “just put yourself out there” when it comes to friendship or community? Same. Friendship IRL is the podcast that skips the fluff and gets real about what it takes to build meaningful adult friendships and lasting support systems. Whether you're struggling to make new friends, maintain old ones, or just want people in your life who really show up, you're in the right place. Each week, host Alex Alexander brings you honest conversations and tangible strategies to help you connect—for real. You’ll hear stories from everyday people (plus the occasional expert), learn what’s working in modern friendships—and what definitely isn’t—and walk away with ideas, scripts, and action steps you can actually use. Think of it like a coffee date with your wisest, most encouraging friend—the one who tells the truth and hands you the playbook. 🎧 New episodes drop every Thursday. 💬 Want to share your friendship win or struggle? Leave Alex a voice message at AlexAlex.chat. Follow along on Instagram or TikTok @itsalexalexander and join the movement to rethink how we build connection, community, and friendships in real life.

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