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This is Our Body Politics.

I'm Celeste Headley, sitting in for Farahidea.

Strong adult friendships are hard to get and hard to keep once you have them.

And over the course of the pandemic, many of these relationships have really been strained sometimes to the breaking point.

Loneliness is on the rise.

And between social distancing measures and the increase of remote work, we are interacting less with our coworkers and also acquaintances

at places like the post office or the grocery store. Even friends who live in the same city or town

that we do, who maybe live within a few miles of us, sometimes feel like long-distance friends.

So, since our close friendships actually keep us grounded and healthy, and they play a major

role in the battle against loneliness and social isolation, what can we do to keep these

bonds intact?

I sat down with Dr. Marissa Franco, psychologist, writer, and friendship expert.

She's the author of the forthcoming book, Plotonic, How the Science of

Attachment Can Help You Make and Keep Friends as an adult. It comes out in September of this year,

and I guess that means Dr. Franco, the first thing I'm going to say is congratulations.

...