Friendship IRL: Real Talk About Friendship, Community, and What It Actually Takes
Tired of hearing “just put yourself out there” when it comes to friendship or community? Same.
Friendship IRL is the podcast that skips the fluff and gets real about what it takes to build meaningful adult friendships and lasting support systems. Whether you're struggling to make new friends, maintain old ones, or just want people in your life who really show up, you're in the right place.
Each week, host Alex Alexander brings you honest conversations and tangible strategies to help you connect—for real. You’ll hear stories from everyday people (plus the occasional expert), learn what’s working in modern friendships—and what definitely isn’t—and walk away with ideas, scripts, and action steps you can actually use.
Think of it like a coffee date with your wisest, most encouraging friend—the one who tells the truth and hands you the playbook.
🎧 New episodes drop every Thursday. 💬 Want to share your friendship win or struggle? Leave Alex a voice message at AlexAlex.chat.
Follow along on Instagram or TikTok @itsalexalexander and join the movement to rethink how we build connection, community, and friendships in real life.
Friendship IRL: Real Talk About Friendship, Community, and What It Actually Takes
Pet Peeves: The Things We Never Talk About
Everyone’s allowed to have pet peeves. It’s normal and bound to happen.
In this episode, I talk about common pet peeves; my friends’ pet peeves; and my own pet peeves. Do you ignore them? Deal with them? (Also, how DO you deal with them?)
Some people say to write off friends whose tendencies are driving you crazy. My thought: it’s a lot of work to make new friends! What if we instead navigated that conflict and created a feedback culture in our friendships?
These confrontations don’t have to be big blow-outs. In fact, I hope they’re not; I hope you get to them before they reach that point.
Like with most things, there is no overarching solution. It’s acceptable to be annoyed with your friends, and it’s also acceptable to give feedback and work through it, because that’s how friendships grow.
In this episode you’ll hear about:
- The idea for this episode (and where ideas for this show come from); I promise, I am not actively angry with any of my friends right now!
- Common pet peeves, from phone-interrupted conversations and last-minute cancels to the friend who always tries to fix it
- How I’ve addressed my own pet peeves and discovered my friends’ pet peeves by paying attention to subtle feedback
- Addressing pet peeves BEFORE they become major issues and how to give feedback in a thoughtful and non-accusatory manner
- Getting to the root cause of the frustration and giving friends time to reflect on the feedback – and know that initial reactions might be defensive
Resources & Links
Like what you hear? Visit my website, leave me a voicemail, and follow me on Instagram and TikTok!
Want to take this conversation a step further? Send this episode to a friend. Tell them you found it interesting and use what we just talked about as a conversation starter the next time you and your friend hang out!
