Love Letters

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.

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 about completing the stress cycle, the problem with self-care, and the connections between stress, sleep, and orgasm. Email us at Saymore@globe.com.

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

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.

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 loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

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 loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

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 loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

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 loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

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@boston.com or leave us a voicemail at 401-484-0590

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 loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

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 loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

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 loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

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 loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

Join Meredith and fellow advice columnist Stacia Brown as they talk breakups with Anita Rao, host of the podcast “Embodied.” Stacia and Meredith give some guidance on how to break up “well” and discuss going no-contact, navigating social media, and finding the right breakup anthem for the moment. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

As an animal researcher, Meghan Martin made groundbreaking discoveries about how giant female pandas choose their mates. She realized that they wouldn’t shack up with just any old male. They wanted a choice. The same held true, she would learn, with rabbits, birds, and other species. The question for Meghan was this: Could she apply those lessons to the human world—to her own world? Plus, we visit a Rhode Island animal shelter that raised money by letting people pay to have cats defecate on the names of exes. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

Are more people considering polyamory these days? Has the pandemic permanently changed the ways we relate to each other? And can Esther Perel take some credit for Meredith's dating success? Meredith sits down with the psychotherapist, relationship expert, and all-around empathetic person to get into these questions and more. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

In Part Two of our series on pro athletes and their spouses, we talk to Shannon Allen, the wife of former NBA superstar Ray Allen, about a bittersweet moment in their lives. Just as they were celebrating a historic NBA championship, they got some very scary medical news about their son. Where did Shannon turn for help? The answer may surprise you. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

What does it feel like to be the partner of a pro athlete? Where do you find support to handle the public pressure, the instability, the constant threat of being traded? Today, we bring you a two-part series on elite athletes, their spouses, and the people who help them. In Part One, we talk to Jordan Whitlock, the wife of Red Sox pitcher Garrett Whitlock. Jordan, who has a PhD in genetics, had to learn how to balance her own career with her husband’s, and how to deal with the loneliness that sets in after many weeks apart. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

Ever since Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey was a kid, music has played a major role in her life. “Eye of the Tiger” got her pumped for basketball games. She caught sets from Joan Baez and Melissa Etheridge working as a cocktail waitress. When she came out in her early 20s, she found solace in the Indigo Girls. These days, the governor uses music to center herself, especially at hard moments. She and her partner, Joanna Lydgate, sit down with Meredith to talk about how music helps them in their lives and in their relationship. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

Meredith’s advice column turns 15 this year. 15! So she’s feeling a little nostalgic. In this episode, Meredith sits down with longtime Boston Globe sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy to trade notes on the thousands of columns each has written over the years. They also compare grief in love to grief in sports, reflect on why sports reporters have always been big fans of Love Letters, and discuss the couple of the moment: Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. Email us at loveletters@boston.com.