Friend Forward

You noticed she didn't share your last post. She liked her post but not yours. She hasn't watched your stories in weeks, but she's clearly online. And now you're spiraling, trying to figure out what that says about your friendship. Sound familiar? In this episode, Danielle sits down with licensed mental health counselor JoJo Venant to unpack the very real strain social media puts on women's friend...

There's a psychological concept known as "the fresh start effect", and it can be helpful as you set your friendship goals for the summer. You've been wanting better friendships for a while now, but you're not quite sure where to start. We'll walk you through an exercise that includes more than 8 examples of connection goals you can set this season. 🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE. This week's Office Hou...

As much as we'd like to think our romantic relationships exist apart from our friendships, the research says otherwise. Your friends' opinions can determine whether a couple stays together, influence the values they hold in the relationship, and even shape the kinds of arguments they have. And that influence starts long before a woman is partnered; it starts while she's still dating. In this episo...

How to navigate friendship at work without losing the relationship, with Brooke Taylor She's your lunch buddy, your Slack confidante, your person at work. But what happens when boundaries get blurry, or you start sensing competition where there used to be camaraderie? Workplace friendships between women are some of the most meaningful connections we form as adults, and some of the most complicated...

You've seen the articles. You've heard the discourse. People are pulling away from the digital sphere and opting for in-person connection instead: ditching dating apps, skipping the DMs, going analog. Google searches for "matchmaker near me" and "dating coach" are higher right now than they've been in the past ten years. But here's the part that isn't getting enough attention: how people are makin...

Everyone's talking about the male loneliness epidemic. But after six years of hosting this show and seven years of coaching women through their friendship issues, Danielle has noticed something that doesn't get nearly enough attention: men's friendship struggles don't stay contained. They spill over: into your energy, your guilt, your decisions about who you spend time with, and how much of yourse...

She's the same person you've loved for years… until suddenly she isn't. Maybe it was a comment that stopped you cold, or the slow realization that the worldview you thought you shared has been cracking underneath you for a while. How do you stay connected when you can no longer relate? Danielle sits down with therapist and author Gina Moffa to talk about what happens when a friendship splits over...

You've probably had at least one friendship belief you were sure about… until life proved you wrong. Maybe it was the idea that your two best friends are all you need, or that men just "do friendship better," or that conflict is the beginning of the end. These beliefs feel true until they don't. In this solo episode, Danielle gets personal about the friendship beliefs she once held that have compl...

You finally meet someone you click with. You've got things in common, the conversation flows, and suddenly you're ready to tell her everything. But that hunger for closeness in a new friendship can actually push people away before the relationship has a chance to build. In this episode, Danielle sits down with therapist and author Minaa B. to explore why so many women rush platonic intimacy, what...

You know those women who seem to make friends everywhere they go? Have you ever wondered how they draw people to them so easily? When Danielle asked her audience about their "social secrets" , more than 500 women responded-- and the patterns were hard to ignore. In this solo episode, Danielle breaks down six themes that came up over and over again from women who have built large, joyful friendship...

Venting used to just be what friends did. Now it feels like a social minefield; and we can't seem to agree on whether it's a sign of closeness or a boundary violation. You've probably caught yourself mid-vent wondering, am I being too much right now? Or maybe you're on the other side, nodding along while silently drowning in your friend's update about her boss for the fourth time this month. Danie...

You're driven, you're accomplished, and you've got no shortage of people in your life. So why do your closest friendships still feel like something's missing? In this episode, Danielle sits down with executive coach Monique R. Shields to unpack the ways ambition can quietly erode the depth and quality of women's friendships, even when your social calendar is full. Together, they explore three area...

Why does friend-making feel especially challenging in our 30s? In this episode, host and friendship expert Danielle Bayard Jackson explores the unique challenges women face when making new friends in their 30s, offering practical strategies tailored to busy, depleted women. Drawing on recent research and personal insights, she shares: 4 unique challenges of this particular decade friend-making str...

You want to host more often, but you're anxious about having people over. Why? (And how do you fix it?) In this interview with Ashlee Gadd , founder of Coffee and Crumbs and co-author of You're In Good Company: The Gift of Friendship, Motherhood, and Showing Up, you'll learn: 3 common fears about hosting in your home (and how to get over them) 2 ideas for lowkey gatherings how to bridge the gap be...

Research finds that shared humor is a predictor of women becoming best friends... but it's not a predictor for men. Why is that? In this week's episode of the Friend Forward podcast, friendship expert and relational health educator Danielle Bayard Jackson interviews Nadia Casey . Nadia is a comedy coach and comedy writer who teaches people how to be funny for a living, and in this episode, she sha...

Is "commitment" a concept that only applies to romantic relationships? What role does it play in friendships when these are completely elective relationships unbound with contract and formal obligations? In this episode of the Friend Forward podcast, host and women's friendship expert Danielle Bayard Jackson explores what it looks like to "promise before the preview." Want more? Members of "Office...

In this conversation, host and friendship expert Danielle Bayard Jackson explores the impact of close friendships on body image. She speaks with Chrissy King, author of The Body Liberation Project. Danielle also invites researcher and assistant professor Dr. Erin Nolen about the way women's feminist ideals positively impact their friends' regard for their bodies. You'll also hear from real women w...

This conversation explores the complex relationship between surveillance and friendships in the digital age. This includes the habit of sharing locations with friends, monitoring social media activity and turning on features like "read receipts"-- all things that allow us to monitor each other's activity. Host and friendship expert Danielle Bayard Jackson interviews Tatum Hunter -- a technology an...

Whether your friend is newly divorce or considering divorce, she'll likely expect you to provide emotional support throughout her journey. But the hard truth is that many women are falling short in the ways that they show up. In this conversation with Oona Metz, author of "Unhitched: The Essential Divorce Guide for Women" a therapist who's been facilitating divorce groups for women for over 30 yea...

Okay, well maybe you DO need new friends, but for many of us, that's not the primary reason we're feeling disconnected. There are four other components-- some quantifiable, others that are more subjective-- and simply knowing about each component can help you to position yourself to get more of the social and relational satisfaction that you're looking for. ----------------------------------------...

In this episode of the Friend Forward podcast, we discuss the concept of friendship audits, emphasizing the importance of evaluating not just who to cut off from your life, but also the overall dynamics, practices, and satisfaction within friendships. In this episode, we outline eight signs that indicate it's time for a formal and intentional friendship audit and encourage listeners to take a comp...

Why does it feel like everyone's marketing their products and services as the solution for loneliness? The Loneliness Epidemic became a mainstream conversation in 2023 after then-Surgeon General Vivek Murthy made loneliness his top public health priority. And while that led to many helpful changes, it was also a moment that products, services, and tech companies began to exploit. In this episode,...

Whether you're having a baby, adopting a new worldview, or navigating a divorce, you'll find your friendships shifting by extension. Despite the history and affection we have for our friends, changing life circumstances can threaten to pull us away from one another. While some friendships may need to end, others just need a little creativity. In this episode, host Danielle Bayard Jackson shares th...

In this episode of the Friend Forward Podcast, host Danielle Bayard Jackson unpacks a recent Google search that is taking over: social clubs. She discusses the differences between social clubs, which focus on socialization, and private members clubs, which often offer exclusive experiences. Danielle also provides insights into how to find the right social club for your individual needs and shares...

Host and friendship expert Danielle Bayard Jackson speaks with with Cassie Little, advisory board member at the Women's Relational Health Institute as well as the founder of Her Sorority Journey. While Cassie's specialty is sororities, we are seeing trends between her observations in these spaces and what I'm seeing in other women-dominated spaces. In this conversation, we talk about three things...