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I haven't heard from my friend in a long time. Like: a lonnnng time. Are we still friends? This week, we discuss how equally valid all of the following options are: giving up, giving up for now but then trying again later, or trying now and giving up later.

We're not gonna mince words here. The asker's two best friends became best friends themselves, stopped talking to the asker, and moved in together. Allow us to be the first to say: What the fuck? Today we'll discuss accepting our bad feelings, Minecraft streamer RPF on AO3, and how you shouldn't start physical therapy while you're still in the ICU.

How do I maintain friendships if I have a very, very limited social battery? This week we discuss how to keep yourself charged while still putting in the work and being a supportive, loving friend. Content warnings for discussion of diagnosis, brief mentions of depression, PTSD.

My roommate films the whole damn apartment when he’s on Discord. Is it normal to have Good-Smelling Room Spray in your bathroom? Cohabitation in the Age of COVID is tricky, but we’ve got special guest co-host Billie Bullock to help sort us out!CWs: Poop is all over the first question. Skip to 24m15s if that’s not your thing.  We go real hard on poop at 11m10s Brief death mention at 11m17 Brief dong mention at 34m20ish A special note: Trin would like to acknowledge that there was indeed a time they bought the vegan propaganda of “vegetarian poops smell less bad.” Also, Trin apologizes for her terrible mic etiquette throughout.Learn more about Billie here. Check out their monthly online comedy show Congrats on your Success right here.

We found the only people on Earth who are consistently, meticulously getting ready for Zoom calls, and they are driving this week’s asker a little bonkers. Let us discuss this rare species and how to handle it when your friends look so perfect that it’s starting to give you feelings. Also covered: Chris Evans’ useless muscles, the deep satisfaction of a warm bowl of oatmeal, and how greasy and filthy we are, in detail. CWs: Lots of body issues, grooming, gender presentation, and hot people discussed in this one! Trin talks about her gender presentation a whole bunch at 14m04s until about 15m25s - ish, and we keep talking about makeup and stuff after that until pretty much the end.  Probably don’t google “Foul Bachelor Frog” if you can help it. Only about half of them still hold up.  Masturbation mentions: 22m26s and 23m07s. Light death mention around 23m17s. Mentioned in this episode:  Hyperchicken and Henry Birdeye’s Mostly Pants Tasteful Photos of Nude Olympians on ESPN

Alone time: a precious commodity in these trying times. How can I ask for and receive alone time when I'm stuck inside an apartment with two other adults 24 hours a day? This week, we'll discuss creating conditions that work for you and your housemates, just locking the freakin bedroom door already, and Trin's "two-hour long" Jimmy Eat World Greatest Hits Playlist (which in reality clocks in at 2 hours 57 minutes).

"My neighbors in having parties, not wearing masks in our apartment common spaces, and in no way following pandemic protocol. What can I do?" We've got some ideas to kick around. One involves laminating! Also, Jenn has a realization, and Trin takes a bathroom break. Content warnings for COVID; brief mentions of death and aging.

A listener wants to know how to best support her friends right now, even as she is feeling bad herself. This one's about managing the rage, ADHD coping mechanisms, and what you can do for yourself between therapy sessions.

"I’m quarantining, and my friends are not. What can I do?" This week, everyone we know is staying home and not breathing on anyone, including the wonderful person who asked today’s question. Content warnings: The entire episode is about COVID and isolation 22m12s - Penis mention, poop talk We also have two online events this week, and we'd love to see you there: Quarantine Book Club! on Tuesday, 11/24/20, 7PM CT. Registration is required, so please click the link!  We’re streaming on Thanksgiving! Join us 2PM - 4PM CT at twitch.tv/dofriendship. Our wholesome, feel-good streaming buddy Kate is also online that day. Now you've got holiday plans.  One more thing: Because she's our hero, here’s the article by our hero Captain Awkward. 

My friends are stressed. Can I tell them to take a break from the news cycle? Our answer is yes, no, maybe, and sometimes! Here's an episode about absorbing the world's crap like a Bounty paper towel.

This week: we're here, we're very tired, and we're discussing envy between friends. What if you and your friend want the exact same darn thing, but your friend is coming by it much more easily than you are? Also: Jenn speaks on behalf of the humble apple, and Trin puts their foot down for perhaps the very first time.

We're back, we're online, and we're not entirely sure if we remember how to talk to people. Let's find out! This week, an asker wonders: When should I switch therapists? How do I know if this therapist is The One? We're here to give you our hottest therapy tips, appreciate one another, and read from our upcoming book. Content warnings: The first nine minutes revolve around coping with existential dread, loss, and social distancing.

What is the right thing to do? What should you do when you tried to do the right thing, but ended up doing the wrong thing? We hope you’re in the mood for a good, deep cringe! After Animal Crossing and plants banter, we detail some choice moments when we really screwed the heck up, and how we made amends and recovered in the aftermath. CWs In banter (first 14 min): Humorous/cartoon skeleton, death, fake murder mentions. After banter: Racism, social mistakes discussion. Trump admin mention. 9m20s: Humorous 9/11 mention. 34m50s: Mention of Trump’s history of sexual assault. Dismissal of social injury, pussy hat discussion.

The first asker is caught between two friends going through a sudden divorce, oh no! The second asker isn't freaking out about COVID, and can't understand why everyone else seems to feel differently. Hm!! Most importantly, we want to know: Why do all men go through a phase of hitting each other in the testicles? Aaaa!!! CWs: - Discussion of testicles and kicking them, first ten minutes of the show. - Discussion of divorce, death throughout show. - Big death mention at 27m20s, big climate change mention at 37m00s. - Poop mention, eating poop mention 27m20s

Sometimes, you just need a little more. We’re here to help you figure out how to effectively ask for it. How can I get my friends to talk freely about their guilty pleasures? What can I do to encourage my buds to initiate more conversations and online hangouts? In personal news, Jenn has started Animal Crossing, and Trin waxes poetic about her Wonder Woman emotions. Content Warnings: - Food mentions around 7m00s, 7m50s, and 18m18s. - COVID-heavy second question. - Occasional joking references to porn starting at 14m08s. - Death mention 19m43s.

First up: “I was out on leave and I’m worried my coworkers are resentful that I’ve been gone. What can I do to feel less terrible about this?” Then, “I feel closer to my coworkers through this pandemic trauma. Is this why hazing works?” Around Friendshipping Headquarters, Jenn just started playing Animal Crossing, and Trin can’t stop screaming. Big week all around for everyone. Production note: Trin is wrong; Spanish Flu was not our most recent pandemic. But she is correct that we did not have The Internet back then. CWs: Discussions of COVID and hazing

Today on this here podcast, it’s all about being polite on our favorite utopia simulator, Animal Crossing. What’s the tea on Blood? Do you leave a tip for big gains on the Stonk Market? Why is my friend sitting motionless on a log? Whew! Now that we got that out of our collective system, we’ll be back on Thursday with your regular friendship programming.

“My friend mailed me $50. She’s the worst, right?” This week, Jenn wonders if there’s a gas leak, Trin deeply mispronounces “Oregon,” and neither of us can quite wrap our brains around an asker who feels grievously wronged by a sorta disappointing wedding gift, I guess. Thank goodness, the second question is about Animal Crossing (but is applicable to the other social tech that we now rely on for human interaction). CWs: Queerphobia, and money are discussed at length. COVID mentions.

Is it okay to like having time off from work? Jenn and Trin tell you the hard truth about enjoying your life. We also get down with house envy, the box full of personal shame that lives in everyone’s home, and empathizing with your bored house cat on a level you never thought possible. CWs: Discussion ADD/ADHD spectrum. Brief, sudden masturbation mention when we read the first question.

Mary Tyler Moore, the real one*, wants to know how to deal with the guilt of her shelter-in-place privilege in relation to her friend Ethel, who has it much harder as the single caretaker of four kids and one adult nurse. This week we once again validate an asker and everything they are doing. Plus: How to gracefully exit a group video call when everyone knows you don’t have anything better to do, and Tom Nook is an oligarch who must be deposed, his monopolies disbanded, and his assets redistributed to the people. *real in the existential sense CWs: Humorous, metaphorical mentions of blood. Discussion of COVID. Poop mentions, Casual death mentions. Trin goes on an anti-capitalist rant again.