This week I spoke to Brendan Francis Newnam, the former longtime host of The Dinner Party Download, who went on to create and executive produce The Paris Review Podcast. He is the author of the book Brunch Is Hell and (most relevant to this conversation) he’s the host of the podcast Not Lost. It's a travel show Brendan started after the end of both his long-term relationship and his decade-long radio show, The Dinner Party Download.

Brendan "found himself on the wrong side of 35, unemployed, single, and with most of his friends ensconced in relationships and parenthood or both." So he took a microphone, hit the road with friends, and his adventure became Not Lost. The premise of the show is Brendan and his friends trying to get invited to a dinner party with locals in each city they visit.

We talk about how he made the show and I picked out a few clips that particularly landed with me, including the balance between sharing vulnerably and holding back, how our trauma impacts our openness to relationships, and thoughts on loneliness, rejection, and connection. And what doing the show taught him about, intimacy, friendship, choosing a city to live in, nature and more. We also talked about interviewing and podcasting at the end, which raised some interesting questions for me.

Show Notes:

- Listen to Not Lost on Pushkin | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Youtube

- My favorite episodes: Montreal | Portland

- Follow Brendan on Instagram

- Take the friendship breakup survey from me and Kayleen Schaefer here

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