What if we held friendship—not marriage—at the center of life?
ABC 186: On the other significant others
In April 2020, I was introduced to Rhaina Cohen. She was a producer at NPR, I was a freelance journalist, and we both wanted to write books.
Nearly every Wednesday since, Rhaina and I have met for a half hour over Zoom. We are each other’s accountability buddies, and now, four years later, we can both call ourselves published authors. Her debut—The Other Significant Others—came out on Tuesday.
This week, I want to do an ABC first: I’m sending out a podcast episode rather than an article—specifically Rhaina’s interview on The Ezra Klein Show. I chose this conversation not just because Rhaina is a friend and loyal ABC reader, but because it speaks to one of the most urgent questions of our day: how do we builder stronger relationships?
Between the loneliness epidemic, rising divorce rate, and whopping 8% of Americans who report having no close friends, something needs to change. Rhaina points to a better way.
Here’s the episode: What Relationships Would You Want if You Believed They Were Possible?
(If you must read, you can also check out Rhaina’s viral Atlantic piece about people who prioritize friendship over marriage that lit the internet on fire a few years back. Also, buy her book.)
Warmly,
Simo
P.S. The song of the week is by Vagabon, a Cameroonian-American singer-songwriter, whose genre-crossing tracks seem to fit any mood. The full songs of the week playlist is here.