Friend Forward

In this episode, we're kicking off our 4-week series on gathering , as we enter the holiday season. This week, host and friendship expert Danielle Bayard Jackson interviews Amber Mayfield Hewitt about the art of hosting, emphasizing authenticity, intentionality, and community building. They explore practical tips for creating meaningful gatherings that foster connection and joy. Key topics address...

We're kicking off our gathering series with a gathering of our own... One November 7, we're hosting the first of our multi-city "Good Chemistry" Tour in Tampa, Florida at Gemma Floral Wine at 5pm. Attendees can expect speed-friending, mini connection masterclass, food + drinks, and a personal assessments to learn about (and leverage) your personal connection style. GRAB YOUR TICKET NOW and you'll...

In this episode, host Danielle Bayard Jackson steps into the role of your personal "friendship PR person," guiding you through some of the trickiest situations women encounter in their friendships. Drawing from her background in public relations and research on women's connection, Danielle Bayard Jackson shares practical scripts, formulas, and growth-oriented responses to help you respond to testi...

You'd call yourself confident. You have high self-esteem. You show up for your people. So a book about worth? That's for someone else… right? That's exactly what Danielle thought before she cracked open Dr. Marisa G. Franco's new book and realized, ten pages in, that she had no idea how much of her own self-worth work she'd been skipping. In this episode, Danielle sits down with psychologist and N...

You know that you need to spend more time with your friends, but as a busy woman over 30, how exactly are you supposed to do that? In this episode, I'm sharing shocking data from the latest American Time Use Survey for 2025 to see where our time is actually going. Then I'm sharing a solution for how we can reclaim our time. Note: Access the extended episode as a member of Office Hours. 📚 JOIN THE...

Social capital helps the quality of your friendships, and your friendships impact the quality of your social capital. Social capital is all about the value you get (and give) in your social network. And regardless of how introverted or extroverted you are, it's something we all need. TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode of the Friend Forward podcast, we'll look at: the three components of socia...

Platonic wingwomen are the backbone of society. Some people are reluctant to introduce their friends to one another, but society thrives on it. While it can be nerve-wracking to mix friend groups (we've covered this in a previous episode-- see below), it's a skill we should all have. In this episode, Danielle shares 4 steps to becoming a charismatic and effective wingwoman for your friends. 🎧 BUT...

How motherhood changes your closest friendships, with Dr. Anne Welsh You're crushing it at work, you're showing up for your kids, and you're trying… really trying… to also be a good friend. But the pursuit of excelling in all three keeps leaving you depleted and falling short across the board. And that picture of the village you keep seeing everywhere? The tight-knit crew of women who are all magi...

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...