This season, we’ve tried to answer one big question: Can people change for the better? The answer has been complicated. Basically: sometimes. In our season finale, we recap what we learned. We also visit a magical place called Butterfly Hollow, where caterpillars change into butterflies in real time. What can human learns from a creature that has to change to survive? Plenty, says an expert. Join us for an episode that brings metaphor to life. ___ Love Letters is taking stories for next season! ...
Jul 01, 2025•17 min
Meredith’s sister, Brette, has told a beautiful story about falling in love with her husband. But sometimes the narrative needs to change. In an emotional episode about partnership, sisterhood, and community, Meredith and Brette dissect the meaning of marriage – and how to make sure you’re getting what you need to be healthy. Enjoy this one. We loved recording it. Want to share your relationship story on Love Letters? Have thoughts about this episode? Email [email protected] or leave a vo...
Jun 17, 2025•44 min
Do you love meet-cutes? Then tune in to this episode – because Meredith would quite literally not exist without the adorable, rom-com love stories in it. Her family is FULL of meet cutes... and in this episode from Season 2 of Love Letters, you’ll get the details. We’re re-running this classic – updated with some new thoughts – to prepare you for next week’s story, which is about how the best love stories can change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 10, 2025•26 min
She’s American-Israeli. He’s Palestinian. They fell in love and navigated a universe of complications. Then, in 2023, a new war. Conflict, violence, and devastation rocked the world. Echos of trauma from decades past. Mya Guarnieri tells the story of how she met her now ex-husband, fell in love, and, in 2023, became each other's best support system, as exes, when they needed each other most. ___ Love Letters is taking stories for next season! To come on the show, email [email protected] wit...
Jun 03, 2025•39 min
Sadie Dingfelder was in the grocery store one day. She went to her husband to ask him why he was buying something new. Then she realized… this man was not her husband. Sadie was eventually diagnosed with face blindness. How did that change her perception of herself? How did it change her marriage? Sadie explains to Meredith in this funny, fascinating, and sweet episode about how we see the people we love. For giveaways, behind-the-scenes photos of guests, and extra commentary, sign up for Meredi...
May 20, 2025•41 min•Season 10Ep. 11
Michael's anxiety got so bad it was starting to ruin his marriage. That’s why he flew to Oregon for a psilocybin treatment that wound up changing his life. But with change ... comes more questions. Michael and his husband explain how mushrooms gave them a new perspective … on everything. Listen and take a trip to remember. Want to share your relationship story on Love Letters? Have thoughts about this episode? Email [email protected] or leave a voicemail at 401-484-0590. Read the Love Lette...
May 06, 2025•33 min
Today, we’re sharing a special episode from the Signal Award-winning podcast No Small Endeavor, a show that explores what it means to live a good life through insightful conversations with thought leaders across various disciplines. Hosted by Lee C. Camp, No Small Endeavor engages with some of the most compelling voices in philosophy, social justice, and the arts, like renowned happiness expert Gretchen Rubin, Hidden Brain podcast host Shankar Vedantam, and New York Times bestselling author Malc...
Apr 29, 2025•57 min
Ever heard of perimenopause? Meredith has! So has Eileen, who tells a story about how aging changed the course of her relationships for the better. This is a story about how an evolving older body … isn’t so bad. Sometimes the best love stories come later. Join Meredith and Eileen for a story about marriage, divorce, droughts, long-distance dating, and happiness in unexpected places. Also: sign up for Meredith's newsletter at Boston.com/Meredith to get the inside scoop on episodes, guests, and i...
Apr 22, 2025•43 min•Season 10Ep. 8
Economist and Wharton professor Katy Milkman has spent a lot of time figuring out why people decide to change – and how they actually do it. Through a great conversation about everything from friendships to the power of “Twilight,” Milkman gives Meredith an honest take on what we can expect from ourselves, and how we can help others evolve ... when they want to. Meet Milkman, author of "How To Change." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 08, 2025•46 min•Season 10Ep. 2
In Part 2 of a two-parter about video games and change, Meredith talks to Celeste Sangiorgio, a psychologist and researcher who thinks about video games a lot. Celeste happens to be co-creating a video game that’s meant to help us navigate relationships. Join this conversation about “The Last of Us,” “Cupid Parasite,” and a bunch of games that focus on love. Meredith will also talk about hew new favorite, a game about DADDIES. Even you non-gamers will enjoy. ALSO, we’re some episodes into the se...
Apr 01, 2025•23 min
For Anthony Ureña, video games are more than simple entertainment or a way to pass the time. Games have actually changed him, he says. They’ve taught him who he is. They’ve shown him how to take the best next steps. Through a story about dating, loss, love, and resilience, Anthony explains how games have seen him through the most important relationship transitions in his life. Let’s all Pokemon Go! with him. (And Pac-Man with him. And Final Fantasy with him. And ... you get the point.) Learn mor...
Mar 25, 2025•42 min•Season 10Ep. 6
Love can be addictive. When Heather Mason leaves her relatively happy marriage to follow her heart, she has no idea that the mysterious South African photographer she’s following will teach her so much about herself. This is a story about a woman who learns she can’t change others, but can be happier and healthier on her own. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 11, 2025•43 min•Season 10Ep. 5
This season, we’ve been talking about how to change. We’ve wondered: can a big move really change you? Or are you the same inside, just with new, prettier scenery? Frances Mayes, author of “Under the Tuscan Sun,” has opinions about this. Decades ago, she moved to Italy and changed her life. After she wrote about her experience, other people followed her lead. Almost 30 years after "Under the Tuscan Sun" was published (and about 20 years after the movie), Mayes still sees many strangers stopping ...
Feb 25, 2025•32 min•Season 10Ep. 4
Meredith sits down with Dr. Steven Hyman – a brain expert at The Broad Institute – for a talk about the meaning of change … and whether it’s actually possible. Are people capable of change – in life and relationships? If so, how? Dr. Hyman explains the plastic brain, how it works, how eating a great sandwich in Chicago can be the best thing ever, and why Meredith once thought she looked like Reese Witherspoon. We also catch up with a very special Love Letters couple. Learn more about your ad cho...
Feb 11, 2025•32 min•Season 10Ep. 3
Can moving to a new place change you? Consider the story of Kelly, from Western Australia, who never quite fit in around her small hometown – before, during, or after her marriage. She says she was the victim of Tall Poppy Syndrome; as she strived to grow taller and more beautiful, everyone wanted to chop her down. What was the fix? Moving to one of the most beautiful places in the world (Italy). Kelly explains how leaving town changed her – and her relationship with her ex-husband – in this epi...
Jan 28, 2025•39 min•Season 10Ep. 2
In her late 20s, Funmi Adejobi was stuck in fight-or-flight mode. She’d been caregiving for her mom after a medical emergency – and every phone call felt like it would bring bad news. Forget dating. Funmi could barely relax on her own. But then … she took a clown class, which reminded her how to PLAY. How to be silly and ridiculous. That's when everything changed. Hear Funmi’s story about how she became a happy clown – one who’s open to love – on the season premiere of the Love Letters podcast. ...
Jan 14, 2025•48 min•Season 10Ep. 1
In Season 10 of Love Letters, host and advice columnist Meredith Goldstein explores whether people can change... in life, love, and relationships. Can old dogs learn new tricks? Can a troubled relationship improve over time? Can we be better to each other - and ourselves? Season 10 launches January 14. Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 01, 2025•2 min
Last March, Somerville passed a first-of-its-kind ordinance protecting non-monogamous couples from discrimination. In a ‘Love Letters’ live podcast recording, host and columnist Meredith Goldstein interviews a few of the changemakers who made it happen about what this ordinance and other public policy changes might mean for the future of relationships in Massachusetts and beyond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 15, 2024•56 min
A bonus episode from Boston Globe podcast Say More with Shirley Leung. Sex educator Emily Nagoski didn’t set out to be an expert on stress. But it turns out, stress is affecting peoples’ sex lives, big time. After helping her sister Amelia through two life-threatening burnout episodes, the two got together to write a book about the science of stress and how it leads to burnout. For them, the journey to understanding stress became a deeper quest for sisterhood and meaning. Emily talks to Shirley ...
Sep 13, 2024•27 min
Love Letters is getting ready for next season — and it’s going to be good! You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You might move to Italy. It’ll all be explained. In the meantime, can you help us better ourselves? Please take this survey. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LLetters I wrote most of it myself! We want to know how to better entertain, serve, and give you *great* stuff. It’ll be quick, I promise. Again, find it here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LLetters See you soon. - Meredith Learn more about y...
Sep 05, 2024•3 min
In this guest episode from the podcast “Last Day,” host Stephanie Wittels Wachs shares the story of Brooke, who had the best and worst days of her life within a couple months of each other. The whiplash from the bliss of her wedding day to the reality of mourning rocked Brooke to her core. She had to learn how to treasure the memories while sitting in the worst suffering she’d ever felt. Find more episodes of “Last Day” at lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...
Jul 23, 2024•51 min
In the final episode of a season all about help, Meredith sits down with students from the writing and publishing organization 826 Boston, which just released a new book — called “What if the World Needs You?”— that’s full of advice and life lessons for young people. Also, Meredith’s producers surprise her with a collection of stories from her friends and loved ones about times she has helped them in ways large and small. Email us at [email protected]. You can also send relationship questio...
Jul 09, 2024•40 min•Season 9Ep. 15
As The Boston Globe’s travel writer, Chris Muther has gotten very good at navigating the planet alone. But he wasn’t always this way. It took years, through multiple relationships, for him to gain the independence necessary to thrive on his own — and be a better partner. How he got to this more confident place is a long, winding story that involves some of the most beautiful places in the world. Email us at [email protected]. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up ...
Jun 25, 2024•44 min•Season 9Ep. 14
Can relationships survive a political divide? Meredith sits down with podcast hosts Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers of the grace-filled podcast "Pantsuit Politics" to discuss the growing gender divide and how (and if!) to handle differences in political views within the context of a romantic relationship. Email us at [email protected]. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007. Learn more about your ad choices. V...
Jun 18, 2024•27 min
One day in June of 2014, at the height of the Syrian civil war, Rami made a daring escape from an ISIS militia. But that meant he had to leave his home country, maybe forever. His journey from that moment — into Turkey, then to California, and then to Rhode Island — was something he never could have imagined. Neither was the love story that came out of it. Email us at [email protected]. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-...
Jun 11, 2024•38 min•Season 9Ep. 13
On the next season of Love Letters, we’ll be featuring stories that are outside the box. Experiences and stories that fall outside the norm and broaden our understanding of love, gifting us in the most strange and unexpected ways - because love isn't just one thing. It's everything. If you have a story that you EXPERIENCED – or FELT – or are in the MIDDLE of – that was OUTSIDE THE BOX … and taught you something important about relationships — we’d love to hear from you. Email us at loveletters@b...
Jun 07, 2024•3 min
Krista Nabar got pretty good at talking about intimate, uncomfortable things. One, she was raised in a household where open dialogue was encouraged. Two, she became a sex therapist. But when it came to confronting things in her own life? Well, that was a different story. Email us at [email protected]. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 28, 2024•38 min•Season 9Ep. 12
Meredith sits down with Laura Stassi, host of the podcast “Dating While Gray.” They talk about what Meredith learned from her parents’ divorce, how she found a partner during the pandemic, and growing wiser with age. Also, hear an excerpt of a “Dating While Gray” episode about a widower helping his daughter with dating. Find more episodes of “Dating While Gray” at datingwhilegray.com. Email us at [email protected]. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Le...
May 21, 2024•28 min
Can a city be a wingperson? Seongnam City, a community of more than 900,000 people just southeast of Seoul, South Korea, is certainly trying. Spooked by historically low birth and marriage rates, Seongnam City officials have launched a publicly funded matchmaking program to help young people find each other. The goal? Happy couples who start making babies. Email us at [email protected]. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-...
May 14, 2024•32 min•Season 9Ep. 11
Let’s be honest: There’s a lot of trashy reality television out there. Some shows seem actively manipulative. But Netflix’s "Love on the Spectrum," which follows the dating journeys of young people on the autism spectrum, feels different. Meredith sits down with one of the show’s stars, James B. Jones, to talk about what the show gets right, and how it feels to look for love in such a public way. Email us at [email protected]. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up...
Apr 30, 2024•29 min•Season 9Ep. 10
