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Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst 

Danielle Bayard Jackson | Female Friendship Expert & Relational Health Educator

Friend Forward

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 "SIX WITH FRIENDS" CHALLENGE WAIT LIST

To be one of the first to join the "Six with Friends" Challenge and enjoy a discount and bonus, add your name to the wait list here.

📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:

 • 2025 American Time Use Survey: 
https://www.bls.gov/tus/

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST

Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.

WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → 
https://www.betterfemalefriendships.com/officehours • Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist • Check out more connection resources → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources • Become a certified relational health coach → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/relational-health-institute

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book • Follow on Instagram → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram • Follow on TikTok → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok • Learn more about Danielle → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK

Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.

Where Women Spend Their Time & Why Friendship Pays the Price

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 social capital (relationship, cognitive, and structural)
 • the benefits of growing your social capital
 • why talking about social capital feels transactional

Members of our Office Hours Community: You can expect bonus content sharing tangible tactics to improve all three components of your social capital by this weekend!

🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.

Members of Office Hours get supplementary material with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime at: https://www.betterfemalefriendships.com/

---------------------------------------------

NYC FRIENDS: UPCOMING EVENT

Danielle Bayard Jackson will be in conversation with Dr. Anne Welsh about the intersection of ambition, motherhood, and friendship at the Veronica Beard shop on Madison Avenue on Thursday, August 27 at 5pm. Email MadisonRSVP@veronicabeard.com to RSVP.

📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:

 • Breakdown of "social capital" from Dr. Rick Mask:https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/career/what-is-social-capital
 • Interested in the science of social networks? We love Marissa King's book, Social Chemistry
 • "I Need You to Survive": The song lyrics Danielle speaks at the end of the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdlrRjzDemg&list=RDWdlrRjzDemg&start_radio=1

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST

Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.

WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → https://www.betterfemalefriendships.com/officehours
 • Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist • Check out more connection resources → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Get the book "
Fighting for our Friendships • " → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book • Follow on Instagram → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram • Follow on TikTok → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok • Learn more about Danielle → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK

Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.

The 3 Pillars of Social Capital (And Why It's Not the Same as Friendship)

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 WAIT… THERE'S MORE.

Members of Office Hours get supplementary material with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime (and get your first two weeks free) at: https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours.

TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:

 • The difference between healthy and unhealthy striving, and which one your ambition is actually fueling
 • Why thinking of ambition as a ladder is keeping you stuck
 • The ambition paradox that leaves working mothers depleted no matter how hard they try
 • What most women get wrong about the village (and the connections they're discounting)
 • Why your friendships outside of motherhood might matter more than the ones inside it
 • How to bridge the gap with child-free friends when everyone feels underwater

NYC EVENT 8/27: Danielle Bayard Jackson and Dr. Anne Welsh with be talking about Ambitious Motherhood (and friendship!) at 5pm at the Veronica Beard on Madison Avenue. Want to attend? Email hello@betterfemalefriendships.com to RSVP.

---------------------------------------------

📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:

 • Is "friendship poaching" a real thing? Check out one of our previous episodes on this topic: https://www.betterfemalefriendships.com/friend-forward-feature
 • Interested in the science of social networks? We love Marissa King's book, 
Social Chemistry

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST

Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.

WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → 
https://www.betterfemalefriendships.com/officehours • Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist • Check out more connection resources → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources • Become a certified relational health coach → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/relational-health-institute

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book • Follow on Instagram → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram • Follow on TikTok → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok • Learn more about Danielle → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK

Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.

The art of the "platonic wingwoman": Helping your friends make friends (Solo episode)

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 magically available and deeply connected? It might be setting you up to discount the support you already have.

In this episode, Danielle sits down with clinical psychologist and executive coach Dr. Anne Welsh, author of the forthcoming book Ambitious Mother, to talk about what happens when ambition, motherhood, and friendship all compete for the same woman's energy. They dig into the difference between healthy and unhealthy striving, why ambition works better as a web than a ladder, what most women get wrong about the village, and how to maintain friendships with child-free women when everyone feels underwater. Dr. Anne also shares what she sees ambitious women ignoring that costs them the most: their own wants.

🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.

Members of Office Hours get supplementary material with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime (and get your first two weeks free) at: https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours.

TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:

 • The difference between healthy and unhealthy striving, and which one your ambition is actually fueling
 • Why thinking of ambition as a ladder is keeping you stuck
 • The ambition paradox that leaves working mothers depleted no matter how hard they try
 • What most women get wrong about the village (and the connections they're discounting)
 • Why your friendships outside of motherhood might matter more than the ones inside it
 • How to bridge the gap with child-free friends when everyone feels underwater

NYC EVENT 8/27: Danielle Bayard Jackson and Dr. Anne Welsh with be talking about Ambitious Motherhood (and friendship!) at 5pm at the Veronica Beard on Madison Avenue. Want to attend? Email hello@betterfemalefriendships.com to RSVP.

---------------------------------------------

ABOUT DR. ANNE WELSH

Dr. Anne Welsh is a clinical psychologist, executive coach, and mother of four. She's the author of Ambitious Mother: From Surviving to Thriving in Your Career and at Home, and her work centers on helping ambitious women shift from overwhelm and perfectionism to healthy striving, without giving up what they actually want.

CONNECT WITH DR. ANNE:

 • Book, 
Ambitious Mother • : 
https://www.drannewelsh.com/ambitious-mother-book • Website: 
https://www.drannewelsh.com • Instagram: 
https://www.instagram.com/drannewelsh/ • LinkedIn: 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/drannewelsh/

📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:

 • Dr. Anne Welsh, 
Ambitious Mother: From Surviving to Thriving in Your Career and at Home • : 
https://www.drannewelsh.com/ambitious-mother-book

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST

Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.

WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours • Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist • Check out more connection resources → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources • Become a certified relational health coach → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/relational-health-institute

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book • Follow on Instagram → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram • Follow on TikTok → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok • Learn more about Danielle → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK

Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.

CHAPTERS:

 • 00:00 — The pull of trying to be everything at once
 • 03:49 — Introducing Dr. Anne Welsh and Ambitious Mother
 • 05:35 — Healthy striving vs. unhealthy striving
 • 07:44 — Ambition as a web, not a ladder
 • 10:54 — The ambition paradox and spreading yourself thin
 • 13:22 — What we get wrong about the village and the value of weak ties
 • 16:14 — Why friendships outside motherhood still matter
 • 20:21 — Honesty, vulnerability, and reconnecting with your wants

How is the "ambition paradox" impacting your friendships? -- A conversation with Dr. Anne Welsh, author or Ambitious Mother

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 friendships: from birthday shout-out expectations to the "friends should support your business" discourse. Together, they explore how influencers with healthy pre-fame friendships navigate digital boundaries differently, why we've gone from reading the room to reading the feed, and what happens when we personalize every like, share, and story view. JoJo also walks through how to actually have the conversation with a friend when social media expectations don't match.

🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.

Members of Office Hours get supplementary material with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime (and get your first two weeks free) at: https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours.

TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:

 • The one thing that determines whether an influencer's friendships survive her platform growth
 • What the birthday shout-out expectation is actually telling you about yourself
 • We used to read the room; now we're reading the feed, and it's breaking something
 • The word Danielle almost didn't say out loud in this conversation
 • The myth that's quietly killing more friendships than any unshared post
 • What happens when JoJo asks her clients to role-play the friend they're upset with

ABOUT JOJO VENANT

JoJo Venant is a licensed mental health counselor and the founder of The Clarity Hour, a counseling practice based in Orlando, Florida. With over a decade of experience specializing in healthy relationships, self-esteem, and life transitions, she's known for her grounded, relational approach to helping women navigate connection and conflict. She has served as an adjunct professor at Palm Beach Atlantic University and contributed as an expert voice to the Mental Health Television Network.

CONNECT WITH JOJO:

 • Website: 
https://theclarityhour.net • Instagram: 
https://www.instagram.com/theclarityhour • Links: 
https://solo.to/joannvenant

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST

Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.

WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours • Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist • Check out more connection resources → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources • Become a certified relational health coach → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/relational-health-institute

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book • Follow on Instagram → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram • Follow on TikTok → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok • Learn more about Danielle → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK

Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.

Should your friends like all your posts on social media? With JoJo Venant

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 Hours bonus content includes an EXTRA episode that focuses on what to do when you feel resentful toward a friend. It drops in Office Hours on June 16.

Members of Office Hours get supplementary material like this with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime at: https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours.

TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:

 • What is the "fresh start" effect?
 • The 5 domains of relational health
 • How to set a goal for the domain that reflects your most pressing friendship issue/ desire

📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:

 • At the beginning of the episode, Danielle mentions her girls' trip to Savannah and her stay at the 
Marriott Savannah Riverfront • .

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST

Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.

WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours • Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist • Check out more connection resources → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources • Become a certified relational health coach → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/relational-health-institute

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book • Follow on Instagram → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram • Follow on TikTok → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok • Learn more about Danielle → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK

Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.

Set these friendship goals before the summer ends

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 episode, Danielle sits down with Yue Xu and Julie Krafchick, co-hosts of the Dateable podcast and authors of How to Be Dateable, to explore how your friends can be your greatest asset on your dating journey, or your biggest unintentional roadblock. They break down five dating archetypes, what each one looks like in action, and how to give the right kind of support to the right kind of dater; because the advice that helps one friend can sabotage another.

🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.

This week's bonus content for Office Hours members includes an exclusive video from Danielle breaking down four surprising research-based ways your friends can impact your romantic relationships, plus a bonus segment of this interview you won't hear in the free episode.

Members of Office Hours get supplementary material like this with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime (and get your first two weeks free) at: https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours.

TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:

 • The three ways your friends' opinions shape your romantic relationships (even before you're in one)
 • Five dating archetypes that change the kind of support your friend actually needs
 • The "supportive" response most friends default to that backfires every time
 • What friends keep asking Achievers that makes the problem worse
 • The one piece of advice that saved a Thinker's relationship… and would've ruined a Dreamer's
 • A better question to ask a dating friend than "when's the next date?"

ABOUT YUE XU & JULIE KRAFCHICK

Yue Xu and Julie Krafchick are the co-hosts and creators of the Dateable podcast, one of the longest-running dating podcasts and named a top show by the New York Times, HuffPost, and Oprah Daily. They're also the co-authors of How to Be Dateable: The Essential Guide to Finding Your Person and Falling in Love and the executive producers of the dating experiment show Exit Interview. After a decade of interviewing thousands of daters and world-renowned experts, they bring a research-backed, compassionate approach to modern dating and relationships.

CONNECT WITH YUE & JULIE:

 • Book, 
How to Be Dateable • + Dating Archetypes Quiz: 
https://howtobedateable.com • Podcast, Dateable: 
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dateable-your-insiders-look-into-modern-dating-and/id1084105171 • Website: 
https://www.dateablepodcast.com • Instagram: 
https://www.instagram.com/dateablepodcast/

📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:

 • Julie Krafchick & Yue Xu, 
How to Be Dateable: The Essential Guide to Finding Your Person and Falling in Love • : 
https://howtobedateable.com

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST

Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.

WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours • Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist • Check out more connection resources → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources • Become a certified relational health coach → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/relational-health-institute

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book • Follow on Instagram → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram • Follow on TikTok → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok • Learn more about Danielle → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK

Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.

Why your friends' dating advice might be hurting you, with Yue Xu & Julie Krafchick

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 to maintain.

In this episode, Danielle sits down with executive career coach and former Google marketing lead Brooke Taylor to tackle three of the most common questions women ask about navigating friendship at work. They dig into why mismatched expectations between "colleagues first" and "friends first" cause so much friction, how the success wound fuels jealousy and comparison with the women closest to you, and what happens when entrepreneur friendships blur the line between support and strategy-sharing.

🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.

This week's bonus content for Office Hours members includes:

 • a bonus segment of the interview with Brooke sharing 3 ways to raise your self worth (if you're often competing with work friends)
 • a personal video from Danielle sharing her key takeaways from Brooke's book
 • 3 scripts to help you address sticky work friend situations

Members of Office Hours get supplementary material like this with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime (and get your first two weeks free) at: https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours.

TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:

 • How boundary-setting can feel antithetical to the female friendship code of offering unconditional emotional support
 • How to respond to competition in the workplace (and why capitalism might be to blame)
 • Why friends who are both "entrepreneurs" might need to clarify boundaries around resource-sharing

ABOUT BROOKE TAYLOR

Brooke Taylor is an executive career coach for women, former marketing lead at Google, and the author of Healing the Success Wound. She coined the term "success wound" — the pain that comes from mistaking achievement for self-worth — and has coached over 5,000 women leaders at companies like Google, Goldman Sachs, and McKinsey.

CONNECT WITH BROOKE:

 • Book, 
Healing the Success Wound • : 
https://brooketaylorcoaching.com/successwound/ • Website: 
https://brooketaylorcoaching.com • Instagram: 
https://www.instagram.com/brookevtaylor/ • LinkedIn: 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brooke-taylor-18751949/

📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:

 • Brooke Taylor, 
Healing the Success Wound: Align Your Ambition, Find Lasting Career Fulfillment, and End the Cycle of Never Enough • : 
https://brooketaylorcoaching.com/successwound/

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST

Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.

WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours • Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist • Check out more connection resources → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources • Become a certified relational health coach → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/relational-health-institute

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book • Follow on Instagram → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram • Follow on TikTok → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok • Learn more about Danielle → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK

Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.

When female friendships get complicated in the workplace (and what to do about it), with Brooke Taylor, author of "Healing the Success Wound"

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 making this shift. And the answer is far more curated than you'd expect.

In this solo episode, Danielle breaks down the rise of “connection concierges” — friendship coaches, speed friending events, and supper clubs — and what this trend reveals about what women actually need when they're trying to make friends offline. She also walks through three things to consider before you invest in a curated social experience, including how to get specific about what you're looking for so you don't leave disappointed.

🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.

This week's Office Hours bonus content picks up right where this episode leaves off: Danielle shares three things gatherers and unofficial social connectors can do to meet this moment. Practical shifts for anyone who hosts dinners, book clubs, or get-togethers and wants to show up better for the people looking for curated connection.

Members of Office Hours get supplementary material like this with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime (and get your first 2 weeks free) at: https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours.

TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:

 • The real reason "going analog" isn't working for most women
 • What friendship coaches, speed friending, and supper clubs have in common
 • The Google search data that signals a bigger cultural shift than dating apps
 • Why "come one, come all" social events set you up to leave disappointed
 • Four ways to curate your search so you actually find your people
 • The question to ask yourself before choosing a coach, an event, or a club

📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:

 • Become a certified relational health coach at the Women’s Relational Health Institute: 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/relational-health-institute

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST

Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.

WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours • Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist • Check out more connection resources → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources • Become a certified relational health coach → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/relational-health-institute

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book • Follow on Instagram → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram • Follow on TikTok → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok • Learn more about Danielle → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK

Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.

Why “going analog” isn’t enough to make new friends: the rise of curated socializing

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 yourself you actually have left to give your own friends.

When men are disconnected from one another, women bear the burden. In this episode, Danielle walks through three specific ways she's seen this play out, both in the research and across hundreds of coaching sessions. You'll also hear directly from 4 different listeners who submitted voice notes about what they're experiencing. She also shares clips from her conversation with researcher Sherrie Xue, whose study on men avoiding "date-like" activities with their male friends went viral for a reason.

🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.

This week in Office Hours, Danielle shares 2 additional observations backed by the research.

Members of Office Hours get supplementary material like this with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime (and get your first two weeks free) at: https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours.

TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:

 • Where his emotions actually go when he can't bring them to his male friends
 • Sherrie Xue's viral study on why men won't go to a museum with their boys
 • The guilt that makes you choose friends based on whether your husband can come
 • Why some women stay in friendships that drain them… and it's not about the friendship
 • The demographic group with the largest gender friendship gap (it's not who you'd guess)
 • Voice notes from listeners living this right now

📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:

 • Previous episode about men’s friendships: 
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/are-mens-friendships-in-crisis-part-1-examining-the-problem/id1500460079?i=1000617147557 • Danielle’s viral reel discussing men’s friendships: 
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DU1CXX6DhHG/ • Sherrie Y. Xue, Stephanie C. Lin, and Christilene du Plessis, "The Persistence of Homophobia in Men's Friendship Norms" (published in 
Psychological Science • , 2025): 
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09567976251396084 • Emily C. Fox, "Are White Men Missing Out?: Differences in Friendship Closeness by Gender and Ethnoracial Identity" (published in 
Sex Roles • , 2026): 
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-025-01638-7 • "The State of American Friendship: Change, Challenges, and Loss," Survey Center on American Life (May 2021): 
https://www.americansurveycenter.org/research/the-state-of-american-friendship-change-challenges-and-loss/ • Liz Plank, 
For the Love of Men: From Toxic to a More Mindful Masculinity • : 
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250757203/fortheloveofmen/ • bell hooks, 
The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love • : 
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Will-to-Change/bell-hooks/9780743456081

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST

Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.

WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours • Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist • Check out more connection resources → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

 • Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book • Follow on Instagram → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram • Follow on TikTok → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok • Learn more about Danielle → 
https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK

Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.

When his lack of friends becomes your problem: how the male loneliness epidemic affects women’s friendships

"Girl Problems" is a new weekly mini-segment from the Friend Forward podcast where resident friendship coach and educator Danielle Bayard Jackson attempts to address a personal DM in five minutes or less with the help of fellow listeners. To learn more about friendship coaching (yes, it's a thing!), visit Betterfemalefriendships.com and follow Danielle on Instagram at @daniellebayardjackson NOTE: We are working on a program to support those who need support but aren't able to financially invest in personalized, professional help. Stay tuned!

Girl Problems: "What do I do if I can't afford friendship therapy or coaching?"

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