Part 1 of TED Radio Hour episode Who counts as a significant other?
Friendship often takes a back seat to romance, but does it have to? Journalist Rhaina Cohen shares stories of people who have made friendship their top priority—and how you can too.
About Rhaina Cohen
Rhaina Cohen is a producer and editor for NPR's documentary podcast Embedded. She is the author of The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life With Friendship at the Center, a nonfiction book exploring close friendships. Her writing on social connection has been published in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post and other outlets. She previously worked on the podcasts Hidden Brain and Invisibilia.
This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Katie Monteleone and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at TEDRadioHour@npr.org.
Web Resources
Related TED Bio: Rhaina CohenRelated TED Talk: How to live a meaningful lifeRelated TED Talk: The secret to making new friends as an adult
Related NPR Links
The Sunday Story: More than friendsLife Kit: Making friends is easy when you're young, but it can be harder as you ageLife Kit: Friendships Change. Here's How To Deal
Copyright 2026 NPR
