This is a podcast for modern women looking to understand the complexities of female friendship. Hosted by Danielle Bayard Jackson --female friendship coach and educator-- Friend Forward provides research, strategies, and tough-love truth to answer your questions about how to navigate relationships with other women. Tune in every week for new insights about how to create and maintain better female friendships. (And in between episodes, follow along on TikTok at @thefriendshipexpert or IG @daniellebayardjackson)
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Friend Forward, a podcast by Danielle Bayard Jackson | Female Friendship Expert & Relational Health Educator - Stats, Episodes and Rankings - My Podcast Data
Should your friends like all your posts on social media? With JoJo Venant
Season 7 · Episode 18
Thursday, June 25, 2026 • Duration 30:32
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.
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.
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
Season 7 · Episode 17
Friday, June 12, 2026 • Duration 28:05
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.
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 or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.
Why your friends' dating advice might be hurting you, with Yue Xu & Julie Krafchick
Season 7 · Episode 16
Thursday, June 4, 2026 • Duration 26:02
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?"
When female friendships get complicated in the workplace (and what to do about it), with Brooke Taylor, author of "Healing the Success Wound"
Season 7 · Episode 15
Thursday, May 28, 2026 • Duration 19:24
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
Why “going analog” isn’t enough to make new friends: the rise of curated socializing
Season 7 · Episode 14
Thursday, May 21, 2026 • Duration 15:40
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
When his lack of friends becomes your problem: how the male loneliness epidemic affects women’s friendships
Season 7 · Episode 13
Thursday, May 14, 2026 • Duration 28:35
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:
The grief of outgrowing a friendship because of misaligned values, with Gina Moffa
Season 7 · Episode 12
Thursday, May 7, 2026 • Duration 22:55
She's the same person you've loved for years… until suddenly she isn't. Maybe it was a comment that stopped you cold, or the slow realization that the worldview you thought you shared has been cracking underneath you for a while. How do you stay connected when you can no longer relate?
Danielle sits down with therapist and author Gina Moffa to talk about what happens when a friendship splits over values– not just opinions, but matters of principles and identity.
🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.
This week's bonus content for Office Hours members includes an extended version of this episode (12 additional minutes of content!), including strategies Gina provided to help you navigate a friendship that dissolved because of split values.
You’ll also enjoy a coaching exercise Danielle personally uses with clients to help you identify the gap between your lived values and your ideal values, and position yourself to attract friendships that actually align.
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:
Why perceived similarity matters more to friendship quality than actual similarity
Values vs. opinions: how to tell the difference and why it changes everything
Repetition compulsion and why we sometimes seek familiarity over safety
The grief of losing a friend who's still alive but no longer recognizable
How to decide whether to stay, speak up, or step away
ABOUT GINA MOFFA
Gina Moffa is a licensed psychotherapist, grief and trauma specialist, and author of Moving On Doesn't Mean Letting Go: A Modern Guide to Navigating Loss. Based in New York City with nearly two decades of clinical experience, she specializes in helping people navigate grief, loss, and life transitions. She is currently writing her next book on friendship breakups.
4 things I no longer believe about friendship (because learning THIS research changed my mind)
Season 7 · Episode 11
Thursday, April 30, 2026 • Duration 22:51
You've probably had at least one friendship belief you were sure about… until life proved you wrong. Maybe it was the idea that your two best friends are all you need, or that men just "do friendship better," or that conflict is the beginning of the end. These beliefs feel true until they don't.
In this solo episode, Danielle gets personal about the friendship beliefs she once held that have completely shifted since doing this work. She pulls from the research, her own relationships, and nearly a decade of studying women's relational patterns to explain why some of our most popular ideas about friendship are actually keeping us stuck, and what to believe instead.
🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.
This week in Office Hours, Danielle shares TWO additional friendship beliefs that have evolved for her as a result of doing this work. You'll also get this month's Gathering Kit: a step-by-step activity so you can host your people in a low-cost, low-key way.
Why some women rush platonic intimacy in new friendships, with Minaa B.
Season 7 · Episode 10
Thursday, April 23, 2026 • Duration 20:37
You finally meet someone you click with. You've got things in common, the conversation flows, and suddenly you're ready to tell her everything. But that hunger for closeness in a new friendship can actually push people away before the relationship has a chance to build.
In this episode, Danielle sits down with therapist and author Minaa B. to explore why so many women rush platonic intimacy, what happens when a new friend doesn't match your energy, and how early sibling dynamics can subtly fuel competition and scarcity in adult friendships. Minaa also shares what it actually takes to break the pattern, starting with the self-worth work most of us skip.
🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.
This week's bonus content for Office Hours members includes three original exercises to help you adopt a healthier pace in friendship, created by Danielle herself, plus bonus content from Minaa B. explaining how platonic intimacy can look different from friendship to friendship.
What oversharing (unintentionally) signals to others
Why some women don’t “match energy” right away
How sibling competition and scarcity show up in adult friendships
Why the sitcom fairy tale of friendship and why it sets you up for disappointment
The secret to taking it slow moving forward
ABOUT MINAA B.
Minaa B. is a licensed social worker, therapist, and author of Owning Our Struggles: A Path to Healing and Finding Community in a Broken World. She created The Siblinghood Theory, a framework for understanding how sibling and peer relationships shape adult connection, belonging, and conflict.
I asked women with a lot of friends to share their "social secrets". Here's what they said.
Season 7 · Episode 9
Thursday, April 16, 2026 • Duration 17:34
You know those women who seem to make friends everywhere they go? Have you ever wondered how they draw people to them so easily?
When Danielle asked her audience about their "social secrets" , more than 500 women responded-- and the patterns were hard to ignore.
In this solo episode, Danielle breaks down six themes that came up over and over again from women who have built large, joyful friendship networks. From the role of proactive initiation to the identity shifts that make connection feel natural, these mindset tips and habits will change your friendships.
🎧 JOIN US FOR BONUS CONTENT IN OFFICE HOURS
Want to go deeper into this work? Members of our Office Hours community get access to bonus material for this episode, including a set of reflection questions to evaluate how your ambition may be impacting your friendships, plus scripts for making new friends when you tend to lead with your accomplishments. Join anytime at: https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours.
TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:
They initiate first, and don't keep score
They keep expectations low, especially with new and outer-circle friends
They categorize their friends by context instead of lumping everyone together
They have relational diversity, and the research says that makes them happier
They show up authentically, even if it turns some people off
They stay deeply curious about other people
They own their role as the initiator or the planner: identity over willpower
Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.
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.
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.
Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"Similarity in Relationships as Niche Construction" — the study on 1,523 pairs of friends showing that value similarity matters most in early friendship formation: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26828831/
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.
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.
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.
Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.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.
Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.
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