How to make – and keep – friends episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 19, 2026 · 25 MIN

How to make – and keep – friends

from Post Reports · host The Washington Post

Friendship is vital for our health and happiness, but we don’t always prioritize it. The Optimist’s Maggie Penman goes on a journey to make new friends and learn why so many of us are craving connection.Today’s show was produced by Maggie Penman, with help from Ted Muldoon, who also mixed the show. It was edited by Allison Klein. For more stories from The Optimist, subscribe to our newsletter. If you want to hear more stories like this on “Post Reports,” send Maggie an email at [email protected]. If you want to check out Billy Baker's book, it's called “We Need to Hang Out: A Memoir of Making Friends.”Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jan 19, 2026

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Friendship is vital for our health and happiness, but we don’t always prioritize it. Today, we revisit advice from The Optimist’s Maggie Penman on how to find connection.

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How to make – and keep – friends

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