Love Letters

Today, we’re sharing a special episode from the Signal Award-winning podcast No Small Endeavor, a show that explores what it means to live a good life through insightful conversations with thought leaders across various disciplines. Hosted by Lee C. Camp, No Small Endeavor engages with some of the most compelling voices in philosophy, social justice, and the arts, like renowned happiness expert Gr...

Ever heard of perimenopause? Meredith has! So has Eileen, who tells a story about how aging changed the course of her relationships for the better. This is a story about how an evolving older body … isn’t so bad. Sometimes the best love stories come later. Join Meredith and Eileen for a story about marriage, divorce, droughts, long-distance dating, and happiness in unexpected places. Also: sign up...

Economist and Wharton professor Katy Milkman has spent a lot of time figuring out why people decide to change – and how they actually do it. Through a great conversation about everything from friendships to the power of “Twilight,” Milkman gives Meredith an honest take on what we can expect from ourselves, and how we can help others evolve ... when they want to. Meet Milkman, author of "How To Cha...

In Part 2 of a two-parter about video games and change, Meredith talks to Celeste Sangiorgio, a psychologist and researcher who thinks about video games a lot. Celeste happens to be co-creating a video game that’s meant to help us navigate relationships.  Join this conversation about “The Last of Us,” “Cupid Parasite,” and a bunch of games that focus on love. Meredith will also talk about hew new...

For Anthony Ureña, video games are more than simple entertainment or a way to pass the time. Games have actually changed him, he says. They’ve taught him who he is. They’ve shown him how to take the best next steps. Through a story about dating, loss, love, and resilience, Anthony explains how games have seen him through the most important relationship transitions in his life.  Let’s all Pokemon G...

Love can be addictive.  When Heather Mason leaves her relatively happy marriage to follow her heart, she has no idea that the mysterious South African photographer she’s following will teach her so much about herself. This is a story about a woman who learns she can’t change others, but can be happier and healthier on her own. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This season, we’ve been talking about how to change. We’ve wondered: can a big move really change you? Or are you the same inside, just with new, prettier scenery? Frances Mayes, author of “Under the Tuscan Sun,” has opinions about this. Decades ago, she moved to Italy and changed her life. After she wrote about her experience, other people followed her lead. Almost 30 years after "Under the Tusca...

Meredith sits down with Dr. Steven Hyman – a brain expert at The Broad Institute – for a talk about the meaning of change … and whether it’s actually possible. Are people capable of change – in life and relationships? If so, how? Dr. Hyman explains the plastic brain, how it works, how eating a great sandwich in Chicago can be the best thing ever, and why Meredith once thought she looked like Reese...

Can moving to a new place change you? Consider the story of Kelly, from Western Australia, who never quite fit in around her small hometown – before, during, or after her marriage. She says she was the victim of Tall Poppy Syndrome; as she strived to grow taller and more beautiful, everyone wanted to chop her down. What was the fix? Moving to one of the most beautiful places in the world (Italy)....

In her late 20s, Funmi Adejobi was stuck in fight-or-flight mode. She’d been caregiving for her mom after a medical emergency – and every phone call felt like it would bring bad news. Forget dating. Funmi could barely relax on her own. But then … she took a clown class, which reminded her how to PLAY. How to be silly and ridiculous. That's when everything changed. Hear Funmi’s story about how she...

In Season 10 of Love Letters, host and advice columnist Meredith Goldstein explores whether people can change... in life, love, and relationships. Can old dogs learn new tricks? Can a troubled relationship improve over time? Can we be better to each other - and ourselves? Season 10 launches January 14. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...

Last March, Somerville passed a first-of-its-kind ordinance protecting non-monogamous couples from discrimination. In a ‘Love Letters’ live podcast recording, host and columnist Meredith Goldstein interviews a few of the changemakers who made it happen about what this ordinance and other public policy changes might mean for the future of relationships in Massachusetts and beyond.  Learn more about...

A bonus episode from Boston Globe podcast Say More with Shirley Leung. Sex educator Emily Nagoski didn’t set out to be an expert on stress. But it turns out, stress is affecting peoples’ sex lives, big time. After helping her sister Amelia through two life-threatening burnout episodes, the two got together to write a book about the science of stress and how it leads to burnout. For them, the journ...

Love Letters is getting ready for next season  — and it’s going to be good! You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You might move to Italy. It’ll all be explained. In the meantime, can you help us better ourselves? Please take this survey. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LLetters I wrote most of it myself! We want to know how to better entertain, serve, and give you *great* stuff. It’ll be quick, I promise. Aga...

In this guest episode from the podcast “Last Day,” host Stephanie Wittels Wachs shares the story of Brooke, who had the best and worst days of her life within a couple months of each other. The whiplash from the bliss of her wedding day to the reality of mourning rocked Brooke to her core. She had to learn how to treasure the memories while sitting in the worst suffering she’d ever felt. Find more...

In the final episode of a season all about help, Meredith sits down with students from the writing and publishing organization 826 Boston, which just released a new book — called  “What if the World Needs You?”— that’s full of advice and life lessons for young people. Also, Meredith’s producers surprise her with a collection of stories from her friends and loved ones about times she has helped the...

As The Boston Globe’s travel writer, Chris Muther has gotten very good at navigating the planet alone. But he wasn’t always this way. It took years, through multiple relationships, for him to gain the independence necessary to thrive on his own — and be a better partner. How he got to this more confident place is a long, winding story that involves some of the most beautiful places in the world. E...

Can relationships survive a political divide? Meredith sits down with podcast hosts Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers of the grace-filled podcast "Pantsuit Politics" to discuss the growing gender divide and how (and if!) to handle differences in political views within the context of a romantic relationship. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredi...

One day in June of 2014, at the height of the Syrian civil war, Rami made a daring escape from an ISIS militia. But that meant he had to leave his home country, maybe forever. His journey from that moment — into Turkey, then to California, and then to Rhode Island — was something he never could have imagined. Neither was the love story that came out of it. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. You c...

On the next season of Love Letters, we’ll be featuring stories that are outside the box. Experiences and stories that fall outside the norm and broaden our understanding of love, gifting us in the most strange and unexpected ways - because love isn't just one thing. It's everything. If you have a story that you EXPERIENCED – or FELT – or are in the MIDDLE of – that was OUTSIDE THE BOX … and taught...

Krista Nabar got pretty good at talking about intimate, uncomfortable things. One, she was raised in a household where open dialogue was encouraged. Two, she became a sex therapist. But when it came to confronting things in her own life? Well, that was a different story. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by...

Meredith sits down with Laura Stassi, host of the podcast “Dating While Gray.” They talk about what Meredith learned from her parents’ divorce, how she found a partner during the pandemic, and growing wiser with age. Also, hear an excerpt of a “Dating While Gray” episode about a widower helping his daughter with dating. Find more episodes of “Dating While Gray” at datingwhilegray.com. Email us at...

Can a city be a wingperson? Seongnam City, a community of more than 900,000 people just southeast of Seoul, South Korea, is certainly trying. Spooked by historically low birth and marriage rates, Seongnam City officials have launched a publicly funded matchmaking program to help young people find each other. The goal? Happy couples who start making babies. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. You c...

Let’s be honest: There’s a lot of trashy reality television out there. Some shows seem actively manipulative. But Netflix’s "Love on the Spectrum," which follows the dating journeys of young people on the autism spectrum, feels different. Meredith sits down with one of the show’s stars, James B. Jones, to talk about what the show gets right, and how it feels to look for love in such a public way....

Join Meredith and fellow advice columnist Stacia Brown as they talk breakups with Anita Rao, host of the podcast “Embodied.” Stacia and Meredith give some guidance on how to break up “well” and discuss going no-contact, navigating social media, and finding the right breakup anthem for the moment. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up f...