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ALAIN DE BOTTON: WHY MAKING FRIENDS AS AN ADULT FEELS IMPOSSIBLE (BUT ISN'T)

ALAIN DE BOTTON: WHY MAKING FRIENDS AS AN ADULT FEELS IMPOSSIBLE (BUT ISN'T)

Great Company with Jamie Laing
Sep 2, 2025 1h 21m
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About this episode

<p>Alain de Botton came on the show one year ago and totally blew me away. We spoke about relationships with parents, partners, attachment styles and so much more. And now he’s back and we’re talking all about a relationships we often overlook but is potentially one of the most important in our lives: friendship.</p><br><p>Alain artfully dissects the issues we run into with deepening our friendships, why it’s so scary to vulnerable but how and why letting people in can lead us to a richer life.&nbsp;</p><br><p>We cover:</p><ul><li>How to open up to having more meaningful friendships</li><li>Sexual anxiety in friendship particularly among men</li><li>How polyamory could be born from a lack of real friendship</li><li>Friendship break-ups and why they can be a good thing</li><li>Why people might be bad friends</li><li>How to argue well in relationships</li></ul><p><br></p><p>As expected, my mind was well and truly blown again. This conversation reminded me we can all have richer relationships if we take down our guards and ask the questions we really want to be asked.</p><br><p>If you enjoyed the show, you can also follow us:</p><p>Instagram - www.instagram.com/greatcompanypodcast</p><p>TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@greatcompanypodcast</p><p>And if you've got thoughts, questions and comments, you can email us at greatcompany@jampotproductions.co.uk</p><br><p>If you'd like to get Alain's latest book, 'The Secrets of Successful Friendships', you can find it here: <a href="https://shop.theschooloflife.com/products/the-secrets-of-successful-friendships" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">shop.theschooloflife.com/products/the-secrets-of-successful-friendships</a></p><br><p>You can also hear more about The School Of Life here: <a href="https://www.theschooloflife.com/signup/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.theschooloflife.com/signup/</a></p><br><p>And I’m also releasing a book, ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ which you can pre-order here: <a href="https://boysdontcry.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://boysdontcry.co.uk/</a></p><p>--</p><p>THE CREDITS</p><p>Exec Producer: Jemima Rathbone</p><p>Producer: Helen Burke</p><p>Video: Jake Ji</p><p>Audio: Rafi Amsili</p><p>Social Media: Laura Coughlan &amp; Anthony Barter</p><br><p>Great Company is an original podcast from JamPot</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

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