Introduction

Meet the hosts of Make New Friends: Mary Akemon and Sienna Mooney, two spunky gals whose friendship was forged online only a few years ago via Ye Olde Google+ Hangout. Crazy, right? 2010 was a wild year. Mary’s passion lies with digital media while Sienna’s is centered around anything and everything creative (plus cats).

What’s Make New Friends all about?

When Sienna tweeted about wanting to make a blog or a podcast about friendship, Mary was eager to volunteer her services! Sharing a lot of similarities in terms of friendships and lives, Mary and Sienna are hoping to make new friends through the podcast with interviews or through creating a community via the podcast.

What to Expect in Season 1

• Friendship is something that evolves throughout all areas of life, and while a large chunk of the friends we make can often take place during childhood, Mary and Sienna are interested in keeping the podcast more focused on young adult and adult friendships.
• Over the course of Season 1, Mary and Sienna hope to ask some of the bigger questions such as: can pets be friends? What happens if a friend ghosts you? How can you tell if someone’s your BFF? Each episode is going to be packed with person experiences but also tons of research and a look at some of the science behind why friendship is so difficult and yet so rewarding. In addition to this, Mary and Sienna hope to share listener stories, questions, and advice in future episodes!

Why is it easier said than done?

• Social network changes and life events across the life span: a meta-analysis. Wrzus C1, Hänel M, Wagner J, Neyer FJ.
• Why You Might Find It Harder To Make Friends. Denise Cummins, Ph.D.
• Research: You Have Fewer Friends Than You Think. Alex “Sandy” Pentland
• Just Between Friends. Adam Liebendorfer

Tune in next week for Episode 2: Who We Are As Friends

Do you have a story about friendship? Good, bad, or ugly — we wanna hear it! Click here to learn more about submitting your story and you might just hear it in a future episode or featured on the blog!

Hosted by Mary Akemon and Sienna Mooney
Produced by Alex Papworth
Music by Max Wallace
Episode illustration by Maddy Vian