The Best Friend Project
When her best friendship ended, Rachel Joy Swardson went to the bathroom. Hundreds of them. She taped up postcards with a QR code in bathroom stalls, asking the question she was too hurt and humiliated to verbalize, "How do you do friendship?" Thousands of women answered, and their stories changed and healed her. So she brought them forward, here for you on The Best Friend Project podcast.
Episodes
30 episodes
Bonus 15: On The Phone | Kimberly's Mom Diane
After speaking with Brenda this week, I couldn't stop wondering "What was Kimberly's mom thinking." Here she was in the back of a cop car, with her daughter and Brenda - after the knife had been taken away.I had to talk to her. So I hopp...
Ep. 15: The Bully vs. the New Girl: Where Are They 42 Years After the Fight? | Brenda Scott
Have you ever wondered if the voice on the other end of the line was actually human? I have, which may be one reason this episode with Brenda Scott on The Best Friend Project stands out to me. Brenda is one of the rawest, realest, most...
Bonus 14: On the Phone | Kristy Brown
I can’t help feeling like Kristy brought Anne to life. I’ll never have the opportunity to meet her, but through the love that lives on in Kristy, and in the stories she shared, I feel like I know Anne.But what was it like for Kristy to h...
Ep 14: Would You Befriend Someone You Knew You’d Lose Too Soon? A Heart Transplant Story | Kristy Brown
When Kristy met Anne, she knew her new friend had a failing heart. She would most likely die without a heart transplant. Not a lot of people would rush into a friendship with someone who might not be around long, but those would be people who d...
Bonus 13: On the Phone | Barb Braaten
So, what happened? Did Barb call the old friend she hadn't talked to in years? Has her neighbor FKABF (formerly known as Best Friend) heard the episode? And what was it like for Barb to hear that incredibly real, still raw conversation between ...
Ep 13: Friendship Breakup After 60. Can Loneliness Create Connection? | Barb Braaten
By age 68, you’d think friendship drama would be behind you. For Barb, it wasn’t. And what she learned from a painful friendship breakup could help all of us think differently about friendship and loneliness as we age.After years of clos...
Bonus 12: On the Phone | Ali Lohman
What happened after the episode? The one where Ali talks openly about her biggest hater being the one who birthed her. Where I disclose a disconnect between me and my own mother that just might explain the gap that prevents me from trusting?
Ep 12: When You Don’t Trust Your Mother, How Do You Learn to Trust Women? | Ali Lohman
“My biggest hater gave birth to me.”When I came across Ali Lohman's Instagram posts about the years she spent trying not to go no contact with her mother, I knew I wanted to have this conversation. Research from The Best Friend Project ...
Bonus 11: On The Phone | Jackie Kashian
What did Jackie's former coach think of Jackie's comments? Find out as we hop On The Phone with our guest to hear her reaction, her experience with Jackie, spotting friendships as a coach, and much more.Stay in touch with Jackie...
Ep 11: “Are You Friendly?” | Jackie Kashian
"In the end, I don't know that we were friends at all."Jackie Kashian is known for being funny. Really funny. But in this conversation, we get to know the woman behind the comedy as she shares her experiences with friendship, and how he...
Bonus 10: On The Phone with childhood friend Paige Parranto
As I dig into my recent friendship break-up, I realized in order to understand "how I got here," I have had to go back and look at where I came from. On this episode of "On The Phone," I call up Paige Parranto, one of my oldest chil...
Ep 10: She Didn't Come to My Wedding and I Was a Jerk About it | Rachel Joy Swardson solo episode
One text message ended my longest, closest friendship of 12 years. No fight. No warning. Just "Friendship with you is like death by 1,000 cuts." Then ghosted. Before I started the Best Friend Project, I was a private investigator and TV journal...
Bonus 09: On The Phone | Donielle Young, The Grief Disruptor
What did Donielle think after hearing her story? Find out as we hop On The Phone with our guest to hear her reaction, answer listener questions, and respond to your comments and feedback.For more information about The Modern Wid...
Ep 09: Widowhood Changed Her Friendships: She Lost Her Husband and Her Friends | Donielle Young
How to be a friend, to yourself and others, when you don't even know who you are anymore. Because grief permanently altered your identity. As Donielle shares it can be really hard to recognized who your friends are anymore. "Didn't ...
Bonus 08: On the Phone | Jen Cote
Hopping On The Phone with Jen Cote from episode 14, where we talk Friendship and Menopause. On this call Jen corrects a misspeak, shares a text from her friend and asks Rachel the question she has been getting a lot lately, "Have you talked to ...
Ep 08: How Does Friendship Survive Menopause | Jen Cote and Margaret Honda
Menopause is a chemical castration that feels like it is wrecking your body and mind. So how do friendships survive it?Our original research says women need friends who make them feel safe, who remember the small things, and don't cance...
Bonus 07: On the Phone | Mary McGreevy
How often have you heard "Tennyson, C.S. Lewis and Tig Nataro" in the same sentence? Well, if you listened to The Best Friend Project this week - you heard it twice! Get Mary's take on our talk in this episode of On The Phone. A 199...
Ep 07: Death Does Not Get the Last Word, Friends Do | Mary McGreevy
What will you be known for after you die? Your life is so much more than a resume. Will your legacy of kindness live on? Your grudges? Your struggle to forgive? Or will it be hating cold butter, loving salty chips and chive dip, and the time yo...
Bonus 06: On the Phone | Robyn Liechti
Unfortunately I wasn't able to actually record my On The Phone call with Robyn. However, I did have a painful epiphany in replaying her episode. Some high school ghosts have come to haunt... And I think I need to face them, at some point. ...
Ep 06: "I Thought She Was Mean Because She Was Pretty" | Robyn Lietchti
Every friendship has a story — and Robyn's started at a locker in ninth grade with a snap judgment she almost let cost her everything. In this episode of The Best Friend Project, host Rachel sits down with journal creator and author...
Bonus 05: On the Phone | Melanie Curtis
Wait, did she really say she manifested a best friendship with Weird Al Yankovic? She said it, and more.In this 1990's-style phone call series, we check in with our featured guest of the week to hear what they thought of their episode.&n...
Ep 05: (Part 2): Healing the Friendship Wound | Melanie Curtis & Shannon Lee
What does it actually take to keep a friendship for 20 years? In Part 2 of this conversation, best friends Melanie Curtis and Shannon Lee show us — through wine, tears, ayahuasca, and a whole lot of radical honesty.In this episode of The...
Ep 04: (Part 1): A Skydiver, an Ayahuasca Guide, and a 20-Year Best Friendship | Melanie Curtis & Shannon Leigh
It was a short video. Not even two minutes long. Just two friends singing their hearts that made Rachel cry, and question everything about her own friendships. This is the conversation that followed.Scrolling Instagram one night, Rachel ...
Bonus 03: On the Phone | Noelle Rhodes (Well, almost...)
Well, I completely botched the time change, so Noelle and I aren't actually on the phone today. 😅 But something happened this week that I couldn't wait to share. After my conversation with Noelle, I found myself putting one of her friendship le...
Ep 03: The Funny Friend Gets Sad: A New Jersey Comic's Take on Adult Friendship | Noelle Rhodes
Rachel Joy Swardson first discovered Noelle Rhodes through a hilarious social media post about why everyone needs a friend from New Jersey. The post made Rachel laugh. It also made her wonder, is it easier to make friends in some parts of the c...
