Explore every episode of the podcast The Best Friend Project
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ep 5: What Happens When the Funny Friend Gets Sad? | 30 Jun 2026 | 00:42:46 | |
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 country than others? In this conversation, Rachel sits down with New Jersey comedian Noelle Rhodes to talk about friendship, loyalty, conflict, and the surprising ways geography shapes how we connect with one another. | |||
| Ep 4: ☎️ On the Phone | Michelle Mackenzie | 27 Jun 2026 | 00:07:00 | |
Hi! Have you listened to Episode Two: The Hidden Impact of Childhood Poverty on Friendship with Michelle and Elle? When Michelle shared how growing up in poverty shaped her self-confidence as a child, I was speechless. I could have talked for another 30 minutes. On this phone call, I wanted to hear her reaction to the episode, but I also wanted to thank her for shining a light on the important, and often overlooked, impact poverty can have on a child's sense of security and self-perception. Her perspective is incredibly powerful, and I haven't stopped thinking about it. If you haven't listened to Episode Two yet, I hope you will. Michelle's honesty, resilience, and extraordinary friendship with Elle are inspiring. I've seen listeners comment that they wish they had a friendship like theirs. Here's the thing—I believe they can. Michelle and Elle remind us that friendships like this are possible, and they're worth investing in. Guest: Michelle Mackenzie (@TheLifeofaWidow) 🎙️ The Best Friend Podcast explores how women find, make, lose, and keep the platonic loves of their lives through original friendship research, honest conversations, and unforgettable stories. Take the survey and share your friendship story at TheBestFriendProject.co. | |||
| Ep 3: ☎️ On the Phone | Elle James | 27 Jun 2026 | 00:07:34 | |
Hi! Did you have a chance to listen to Episode One: I Thought We'd Grow Old Together with Elle and Michelle? If so, I invite you to eavesdrop on my phone call with Elle. I was so curious to hear what it was like for her to listen back to her own words and relive such a personal conversation. This was my very first podcast episode, and I am honestly a little nervous to hear what she thought of it. If you haven't listened to Episode One yet, I hope you will. Elle and Michelle's friendship, their individual stories, and the way they found each other left a lasting impression on me. I genuinely feel like I'm a better human for having had that conversation, and I hope you will, too. Guest: Elle James (@shamelesselle) 🎙️ The Best Friend Podcast explores how women find, make, lose, and keep the platonic loves of their lives through original friendship research, honest conversations, and unforgettable stories. Share your friendship story by taking the survey at TheBestFriendProject.co | |||
| Ep 2: The Hidden Impact of Childhood Poverty on Friendship | Michelle Mackenzie & Elle James | 23 Jun 2026 | 00:22:50 | |
When Shameless Elle lost the friendship she thought would last forever, she wasn't looking for new friends. But life had other plans. In Part 2 of this conversation, Rachel Joy Swardson welcomes Michelle (@TheLifeOfAWidow) to the podcast to talk about the friendship that formed when three women found themselves navigating grief, loss, loneliness, and some of the hardest seasons of their lives at the exact same time. Michelle shares how growing up in poverty shaped the way she approached friendship, while Elle reflects on the surprising lessons she's learned from the women who stepped into her life after her best friend breakup. Together, they talk about accepting help, showing up imperfectly, and why some of the most meaningful friendships aren't built during the best years of our lives, they're built during the hardest. This isn't a conversation about waiting until you have life figured out before making friends. It's a conversation about finding people willing to march through the hardships with you, because they're in it too. In This Episode: • How three women found each other during seasons of grief and loss Connect with Our Guests: Shameless Elle Michelle About The Best Friend Podcast The Best Friend Podcast is where original friendship research meets real-life stories. Host Rachel Joy Swardson, founder of The Best Friend Project, investigates how women find, make, lose, and keep the platonic loves of their lives through original data, personal experience, and candid conversations. Chapters: 0:00 Opening — "Without Those Friendships, You'd Be Climbing the Walls" 1:00 Welcome to The Best Friend Project + Michelle Joins the Conversation 2:00 Michelle on Showing Up for Elle Through Grief 3:00 How Elle & Stephanie Show Up for Michelle Every Friday 5:00 The Power of Letting People In When You're Struggling 6:00 How Elle, Michelle & Stephanie's Friendship Was Born Out of Necessity 8:00 "Meet People Where They're At" — What Authentic Friendship Looks Like 9:00 Rachel Reflects on Survival Mode, Male Friends & Her First Real Female Friendship 11:00 Words of Advice for Anyone Struggling with Friendship 12:00 "Humble Yourself" — Elle's Honest Take on Growing Through Friendship 13:00 How to Be a Good Friend When You Have No Time or Capacity 14:00 "It's Not Do You Have Time for Me — It's How Can I Meet You Where You Are" 15:00 Michelle Opens Up: Poverty, Shame & Learning to Let People In 17:00 Overgiving to Be Loved — "If I Do This, Then You Will Love Me" 18:00 Elle Reflects on Michelle & Stephanie's Strength and Intelligence 19:00 Where to Follow Elle (Shameless Elle) & Michelle (Life of a Widow) 20:00 The Taylor Swift Origin Story Behind Michelle's Handle 21:00 Rachel's Closing Reflections — Seeing the Right People in Your Darkest Hour 22:00 Next Week: Noelle Rhodes on the Burden of Being the Funny Friend #TheBestFriendProject #FemaleFriendship #GriefAndFriendship #WomenSupportingWomen #FriendshipAdvice #MakingFriendsAsAnAdult #VulnerabilityAndConnection | |||
| Ep 1: I Thought We'd Grow Old Together | Elle James & Michelle Mackenzie | 23 Jun 2026 | 00:29:10 | |
Rachel Joy Swardson thought losing her best friend was rare. Then she met content creator Shameless Elle and discovered they shared a surprisingly similar story. For nearly a decade, Elle believed she'd already found her person, the friend she'd call in a crisis, celebrate life's wins with, and grow old beside. Then one difficult decision changed everything, and the friendship ended. In this candid conversation, Rachel and Elle talk about friendship breakups, losing the woman you thought would always be there, and the unexpected loneliness that follows when your social world is built around one person. But they also talk about what comes next. Because sometimes the friendships that change your life aren't the ones you lose. They're the ones you didn't see standing beside you all along. In This Episode: • The friendship breakup that changed the course of Elle's life Connect with Shameless Elle: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube & Facebook: @ShamelessElle Coming Up Next: Elles best friend Michelle @lifeofawidow joins the conversation in Part 2 to share how an unlikely friendship between three women became a lifeline during some of the hardest times of their lives. About The Best Friend Podcast The Best Friend Podcast is where original friendship research meets real-life stories. Host Rachel Joy Swardson, founder of The Best Friend Project, investigates how women find, make, lose, and keep the platonic loves of their lives through original research, personal experience, and candid conversations. Learn more, take the survey, and share your friendship story at TheBestFriendProject.co. Chapters: 0:00 Opening — "I thought we'd grow old together" 1:00 Welcome to The Best Friend Project 2:00 How Rachel Found Elle (and What She Saw in That Instagram Post) 3:00 Elle's Best Friend Breakup — Nine Years, Then Silence 5:00 The Moment That Ended Everything: A Crisis and a Phone Call 7:00 What It Feels Like to Lose Your "One Person" 9:00 How Elle Started Saying Yes to Friendship Again 11:00 Reflection: Was That Friendship Even Healthy? 13:00 Hiding Your Joy to Protect Your Friend's Feelings 15:00 Grieving a Friendship While Honoring the Good in It 16:00 How Elle Met Stephanie and Michelle 17:00 Three Women, Shared Grief, and a Friendship Born of Necessity 19:00 When Friendship Hits a Threshold — And You Have to Decide 21:00 Healthier Friendships Were There All Along 22:00 "I Thought I Only Needed One Friend" — On Codependency and Letting People In 24:00 The Story of Michelle's Car — What True Friendship Looks Like 27:00 How Michelle Teaches Elle to Be a Better Friend 28:00 Michelle Joins the Conversation — Stay Tuned for Part 2 #TheBestFriendProject #FriendshipBreakup #WomenAndFriendship #FemaleFriendship #BestFriendBreakup #MakingFriendsAsAnAdult #FriendshipHealing | |||
| Why Are Some Women Better at Friendship Than Others? | The Best Friend Project Podcast | 16 Jun 2026 | 00:01:39 | |
What happens when a 12-year friendship ends? For former television journalist and private investigator Rachel Joy Swardson, it sparked an investigation; not into a crime, but into one of life's most powerful and overlooked relationships: female friendship. The Best Friend Project is an independent deep dive into how women find, make, lose, and keep meaningful friendships. Through original research, real stories from women across the country, and candid podcast interviews, this show explores the full arc of women's friendships, from the joy of connection and belonging to the pain of friendship heartbreak and loneliness. Whether you're grieving the loss of a best friend, trying to build new friendships as an adult, or simply wondering why female friendships are so complicated, this is the conversation you've been waiting for. Tune in for honest, research-backed insights and real friendship stories that remind us: every friendship has a story worth telling. Take the survey here: https://thebestfriendproject.co/ #TheBestFriendProject #BestFriendPodcast #FemaleFriendship #WomensFriendship #FriendshipPodcast | |||