<p><span style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">Friendship is vital for our health and happiness, but we don’t always prioritize it. The Optimist’s Maggie Penman goes on a journey to make new friends and learn why so many of us are craving connection.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">Today’s show was produced by Maggie Penman, with help from Ted Muldoon, who also mixed the show. It was edited by Allison Klein.&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">For more stories from The Optimist,</span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/the-optimist/?utm_source=podcasts&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=post-reports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </a><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/the-optimist/?utm_source=podcasts&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=post-reports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">subscribe to our newsletter</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">. If you want to hear more stories like this on “Post Reports,” send Maggie an email at </span><span style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); background-color: transparent;">[email protected]</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">.&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">If you want to check out Billy Baker's book, it's called</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/We-Need-Hang-Out-Friends/dp/1982111089" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> “We Need to Hang Out: A Memoir of Making Friends</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">.”</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">Subscribe to The Washington Post</span><a href="https://subscribe.washingtonpost.com/acquisition/?s_l=OFFSITE_PODCAST&amp;p=s_v&amp;s_dt=yearly&amp;utm%5B%E2%80%A6%5De-podcast&amp;utm_medium=acq-nat&amp;utm_campaign=podcast-subs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </a><a href="https://subscribe.washingtonpost.com/acquisition/?s_l=OFFSITE_PODCAST&amp;p=s_v&amp;s_dt=yearly&amp;utm%5B%E2%80%A6%5De-podcast&amp;utm_medium=acq-nat&amp;utm_campaign=podcast-subs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">here</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">.</span></p>