Crappy Friends
199 episodes - English - Latest episode: 27 days ago - ★★★★★ - 155 ratingsAn advice podcast for females of all ages! Crappy Friends discusses female friendship: the good, the bad, the ugly. Bestselling authors (and best friends) Kristan Higgins and Joss Dey talk about common red flags, difficulties in friendship, how to overcome difficulties and when to ditch your crappy friend. Female friendship at its best brings immeasurable value to your life. At its worst, it can be heartbreaking. Tune in, and send your letters to [email protected]
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
185: Season 6: The Final Episode
March 29, 2024 18:24 - 37 minutes - 34.8 MBOne last letter, and, appropriately, on a topic the Ladies have yet to cover. As we ride off into the sunset, we want to say a heartfelt thanks to all who've listened, written and shared their embarrassing personal problems. It's been a blast.
184: Season 6, Episode 5: The Toxic Girl Gang
March 19, 2024 04:01 - 19 minutes - 17.9 MBYou've been friends for ages, but sometimes, you're not invited to things. Other times you are. But why aren't you on the inner circle? Are they mean girls, or are you just being a drama queen? The Ladies discuss in their second-to-last episode.
184: Season 6, Episode 4: Hate My Bestie's Boo
March 08, 2024 14:49 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MBYou adore her…it's her new love you can't stand. Do you say something? How do you suffer through evenings with him? As we wind down the podcast, the Ladies are joined by the Princess!
183: Season 6, Episode 3: Maturity Gap
February 21, 2024 06:47 - 16 minutes - 15.6 MBYou're just getting settled into your adult life: marriage, family, career. The problem is, your bestie is flailing. She hates her job, her relationship, doesn't know what she wants and complains about the same things over and over. But you love her, you've had so many good times, and you don't want to lose her. It's just that your lives are so different now. The Ladies weigh in, plus an epic Embarrassing Personal Problem as we enter into the last few episodes of our podcast.
182: Season 6, Episode 2: She Has All the Answers
February 07, 2024 17:01 - 29 minutes - 27.6 MBShe's been your best friend for years now…but she seems to have all the answers to life's deepest questions. Your life's deepest questions, that is. When you don't take her advice, she tells you you're wrong. Time to cut the cord, or is it worth trying one more time?
181: Season 6, Episode 2: The Judgey Friend
January 31, 2024 05:01 - 25 minutes - 24.1 MBShe's been a great friend until she says a few things about your family. Your kids. Your marriage. How do you handle this? Are friends allowed to judge each other, and if so, when? Kristan shares her latest humiliation in hot yoga, and Joss laughs at her. Again.
180: Season 6, Episode 1: Scorching the Earth
January 24, 2024 06:14 - 22 minutes - 21.5 MBYour mediocre friend sent your husband a message. Do you A) get your broadsword and drive to her house; B) email everyone she works with and tell them she's after your man; or C) take a good look at what's really behind this rage? The Ladies discuss…and have an announcement.
179: Season 5, Episode 10: Too Old for This
January 17, 2024 05:09 - 37 minutes - 35 MBYou're invited out. You politely decline, and suddenly, you're a horrible person. Our first letter discusses what to do with the frustration that comes from…well…other people being jerks. But the second is from a thoughtful friend, wondering how to stop her close, loving pal from always offering a solution that's worked for someone else. Plus, Joss's foray with a personal trainer and the shocking amount of sweat she can produce.
178: Season 5, Episode 9: Drama at the Dance
January 01, 2024 05:01 - 19 minutes - 17.9 MBOh, the difficulty of teenage friendship! As a parent, how much do you intervene when a mean girl comes after your kid? Do you talk to her parents? Was…horrors…your kid actually the mean kid? The Ladies discuss!
177: Season 5, Episode 8: But I Wanted to Be Maid of Honor
December 18, 2023 05:03 - 23 minutes - 21.8 MBShe's been your best, best friend since you were ten years old, and now she's getting married. And you're not her maid of honor. Is bridesmaid good enough? Why is she nicer to other friends? Are you the doormat, or are you maybe a little too needy? The Ladies discuss how different perspectives on childhood friendships can change everything.
176: Season 5, Episode 7: A Canadian Novel
December 08, 2023 23:20 - 33 minutes - 30.8 MBShe was the only one who stood by you during a tough time…and then her life went into the toilet. You're her emergency contact, she's got one disaster after another, now she's in the ICU (or not) and she's a THERAPIST, too. How the Ladies love a beautifully formatted novel!
175: Season 5, Episode 6: Ending Friendships Well
November 20, 2023 04:58 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBTwo letters ask if they've done the right thing the right way when a friendship goes stale. Dogs vs. cats, plus Joss's epic, never-to-be-topped embarrassing personal problem.
174: Season 5, Episode 5: Sister on the Edge
November 09, 2023 05:10 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBIs it possible to be friends with a sister who's always in some kind of crisis? You grew up together, you love each other, but damn it, you're tired of the latest installment in the soap opera. But what about the family at large? They want everyone to get along. The Ladies discuss at length, and Joss, no longer a model of grace and elegance, shares her Embarrassing Personal Problem.
173: Season 5, Episode 4: Three for One Special
November 01, 2023 01:35 - 33 minutes - 30.7 MBThe Ladies tackle three letters about three very interesting and different topics and bask in the glow of listener compliments.
172: Season 5, Episode 3: Rich Friends, Can't Play
September 22, 2023 19:27 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBYour friend group is well-heeled, and you've participated in some events. But now the financial strain of hanging out with this crowd is starting to show. Can a balance be found? Are these true friends, or just a gang of lobster-eating, champagne-drinking people you know?
171: Season 5, Episode 2: Rejected for Success & Tragedy
September 12, 2023 15:22 - 34 minutes - 32.3 MBYou're great and wonderful friends with a guy (yeah, we know, we know). You make each other funnier and smarter. Then tragedy strikes…and he backs off. Even worse for the friendship, you turn your tragedy into success, and he drops off the damn face of the earth. What the what?
171: Season Five, Episode 2: Rejected for Success & Tragedy
September 12, 2023 15:22 - 34 minutes - 32.3 MBYou're great and wonderful friends with a guy (yeah, we know, we know). You make each other funnier and smarter. Then tragedy strikes…and he backs off. Even worse for the friendship, you turn your tragedy into success, and he drops off the damn face of the earth. What the what?
170: Season 5, Episode 1: Four Shorts
September 05, 2023 12:03 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBThe Ladies are back from summer hiatus! This week, we discuss four short letters on dealing with friendship issues, encourage you to resend your letters if we haven't covered them yet, and why O'Hare is the most exhausting airport in America (and possibly the best).
169: Episode 171: Is She Worth the Time?
June 29, 2023 04:01 - 32 minutes - 30.5 MBIn this episode, we have two letters from women who are wondering if the time required to maintain the friendship (that is, appease the difficult "friend") is worth it. Based on the use of air quotes, you can imagine the Ladies' response. Plus, one of our Hall of Fame Embarrassing Personal Problems.
168: Episode 170: The Friend Who Ditches Friends
June 13, 2023 17:23 - 20 minutes - 19.3 MBShe's got a pattern, and yep, it came around to you. Then you dated/married one of her pals, and it seemed like she wanted to reestablish contact. Or not. Hubby in the middle, awkwardness abounds, a high school reunion is coming up! How best to handle the potential drama? The Ladies weigh in!
167: Episode 169: I'm being let go
June 06, 2023 04:22 - 41 minutes - 38.2 MBThere's no drama mama like a theater drama mama! Two friends, their two daughters, auditions and vacations! Pettiness abounds, and you can't help feeling hurt that you're being let go. Is it because your daughters are competing for the same roles? Or was she always kind of cut-throat? The Ladies discuss and suggest ways to deal with friends in competition and still be super classy.
166: Episode 168: Audience for Her Misery
May 30, 2023 15:23 - 21 minutes - 19.8 MBYour friend was great…until she went through some health struggles and can't seem to focus on anything but negativity. Is there a way to adjust course? Plus, one of the best embarrassing personal problems ever!
165: Episode 167: Get Her Out of My Head
May 23, 2023 13:25 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBYour friendship deteriorated, and you're over it…theoretically. But you still run into her, and when you do, she takes up way too much mental space. The Ladies discuss how to break this rumination habit and share their own experiences with the same issues.
164: Episode 166: Friends with Fragile Mental Health
May 15, 2023 16:45 - 44 minutes - 41.6 MBIt can be a dawning realization…this friend of yours with whom you've shared plenty of good times isn't mentally well. First comes the quirkiness, or the hurt feelings, or the ghosting. Strange requests, asks for more help than you're qualified to give. How do you help a friend in this situation? Should you try? The Ladies discuss, have a rare disagreement and talk about what our roles are when someone is in crisis.
163: Episode 165: A Letter from London
May 04, 2023 04:26 - 23 minutes - 21.8 MBYou've been friends for a long time with this life-of-the-party pal, but for the past few years, she's gotten clingier, weirder and more demanding. And now she's preggers. What's your role in this friendship?
162: Episode 164: It's Not Them, It's Me
April 27, 2023 14:35 - 45 minutes - 42.4 MBTwo letters this episode with a common theme…the letter writer is the piece that doesn't fit. What can one do? Should one even try? The Ladies discuss over a glass of sauvignon blanc.
161: Episode 163: The Horrible Choices Friend
April 13, 2023 04:01 - 23 minutes - 22.3 MBYou've been friends for decades, and you've watched, time and time again, as she shoots herself in the foot with bad choices. Men, money, tattoos…and she vents about these choices to you, but never takes your advice. Honey, the Ladies have been there! Also, another letter writer talks about her quiet life without a superclose girlfriend and how she's pretty dang happy anyway.
161: Episode 162: An Incredibly Yucky Love Triangle
April 05, 2023 18:23 - 33 minutes - 31.2 MBYou were young. She liked him, he liked you, you liked him, she said sure, go for it and ick. Now you are in a hot mess, mature enough to own how skanky you were, wondering if you can salvage a friendship with a truly good person, despite the past. The Ladies have MUCH to say, and the Princess weighs in with her preternatural wisdom.
160: Episode 161: My Mother Needs a Friend
March 24, 2023 18:55 - 22 minutes - 21.2 MBIt's that time of life when your mom needs more of a social life than she has. Otherwise, it's you on the phone with her sixteen times a day. The Ladies offer suggestions for both parties.
159: Episode 160: One-Sided Hostility
March 16, 2023 16:00 - 20 minutes - 19 MBShe's in your friend group…and she goes out of her way to make you feel dumb, invisible or unwelcome. What does a woman do? Outclass her! The Ladies lay out a plan to make you look great and her look exactly how she is: abrasive.
158: Episode 159: Stabbed in the Back at Work
March 07, 2023 21:58 - 22 minutes - 21.3 MBYou were colleagues. Then you got a promotion, she left the company, but it still seemed like you were friends…except she's undermining you from afar. You make some good decisions but still somehow manage to get ground under her heel. The Ladies weigh in, and Kristan changes her mind.
157: Episode 158: Am I Even Helping? Am I Allowed to Stop?
February 20, 2023 06:00 - 31 minutes - 29.4 MBWe've all had that friend who needs so much…and it's exhausting. Are you stuck with her for life? Nope! The Ladies give specific instructions on what boundaries are and how to enforce them.
156: Stalked by a Coworker
February 10, 2023 15:36 - 31 minutes - 29.4 MBWork friend getting a little clingy? Not in this case. The Ladies urge our letter writer to call in the big guns and get this dealt with. Also, a letter complaining about texting in friendships and how misleading that can be. Joss discusses intestinal issues and shares a wonderful story about the same.
155: Episode 156: Get Out of My Head
January 31, 2023 05:01 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBShe was a crappy friend, and you dumped her…but you can't stop thinking about her, and it's driving you crazy. She's taking up way too much of your mental energy, even now. The Ladies discuss techniques on cleaning out your head after a break-up.
154: Episode 155: Not My Bridesmaid
January 23, 2023 05:01 - 32 minutes - 30.2 MBYou know she'll pitch a fit when she finds out she's not in the wedding party, and you're not happy about it. Hurting someone's feelings goes against the grain, but MAN, you have good reason not to include her. Once again, Kristan's daughter joins in for the Gen Zennial perspective and shares her own embarrassing personal problem.
153: Episode 154: The Birthday Bitch
January 13, 2023 14:51 - 38 minutes - 36 MBA juicy letter about a birthday weekend gone wrong in so many ways! The Ladies get all fired up with our special guest, Kristan's daughter, aka the Princess, who provides the youth (ish) perspective. Salty language is tossed around, plus advice on dealing with passive aggressive behavior.
152: Episode 153: The Unbalanced Friendship
January 06, 2023 18:03 - 20 minutes - 19.6 MBThe Ladies lie in this podcast, telling you there are two letters when there are only one. Nevertheless, we discuss what you can reasonably expect in a friendship, when trying to be helpful can backfire and being able to trust that you're enough just the way you are.
151: Episode 152: When Friends Steal
December 28, 2022 15:07 - 31 minutes - 29.3 MBShe was your friend and colleague, and you did your best to look the other way at her occasional petty behavior…until she outright stole from you. You're gutted and furious and bereft. The Ladies understand.
150: Episode 151: The Imitator
December 17, 2022 17:00 - 26 minutes - 24.7 MBYou've been frenemies for years, connected by family, location and mutual friends. But whatever you like, she likes more. Whatever you do, she learns to do better. You get a black cat, she gets a black cat. Is there any way to stop her from imitating your life, or at least, any way to stop being infuriated by her copycat ways?
149: Episode 150: The Know-It-All Mother Friend
December 08, 2022 13:22 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBYou make a friend. She had a baby. You get preggers. She tells you exactly what to do, see, think, feel…and some of her ideas are whack. She tortures you with her bizarre theories and cult-like devotion to the friend du jour. Nevertheless, you find yourself…missing her.
148: Episode 149: Circle Jerk
November 30, 2022 18:33 - 24 minutes - 22.7 MBThe Ladies read two letters this week in a burst of enthusiasm and energy! When you've been ghosted by a friend without explanation, is it okay to ask around to get an answer? Also, what happens when you deeply love a friend, but she's become…boring?
147: Episode 148: Left Out by Geography or Circumstance
November 25, 2022 22:21 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBYou're having a baby, and you don't want to become that mom who complains about…well, everything…to your childless by choice pals. How do you make sure you're still a good friend? Or maybe you've moved back to your partner's hometown, but all the ladies are friends already, and you feel left out. The Ladies have lots to say!
146: Episode 147: The Clingy Not-Friend
November 02, 2022 04:01 - 24 minutes - 22.5 MBShe acts like you're best friends, but you've never given her any reason to think that, aside from basic common courtesy. You can't ghost her completely, because you work for the same company. How can you get the message through without being downright mean? Also, Kristan shares about a surprise package one of her readers received.
145: Episode 146: Three Roomies and a Bad Vibe
October 26, 2022 04:01 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBYou were all friends, more or less, but now the other two are freezing you out. Was it something you said? Did? How can you live peacefully after being told they're just not that into you? In our second letter, the Ladies discuss a work friendship gone wrong, cliques and expectations.
144: Episode 145: Not Keeping Up with the Joneses
October 20, 2022 04:01 - 15 minutes - 15 MBYou've been there for her through thick and thin, cheered for her, celebrated her…and when you need a little of that from her, there's…nothing. In this eloquent missive, our letter writer details a friendship that's kinda sorta weird, especially when it comes to her pal's husband…who was once in love with her. Oy! The drama!
143: Episode 144: My Dead Best Friend & Her Sister
October 13, 2022 05:02 - 25 minutes - 24 MBYou've had a best friend for almost your entire life, and she's been stellar. But tragically, she dies, and you and her sister bond in your shared grief. Then Sis lets something slip that throws you so off course you're utterly crushed and confused. The Ladies have a LOT to say on this letter, and not to worry, listeners. It's all positive.
142: Episode 143: Super Crazy Friend, Part II
October 06, 2022 13:16 - 52 minutes - 48.5 MBAnother "why did I spend so much time with this person?" letter, plus the reasons we latch onto people, even when it's clear they're not good for us. The Ladies discuss the pressures and ideals that make women think they MUST have a BFF, and what can be wrong with this picture.
141: Episode 142: Just When I Made a Best Friend
September 27, 2022 04:01 - 20 minutes - 19.5 MBA complicated letter about a shy woman who finally makes a best friend, only to have her partner become more and more uncomfortable with the friendship. The Ladies discuss what seems to them to be a good friend and a potentially dangerous romantic relationship. TW: Isolating behavior bordering on abuse
140: Episode 141: Friends and their kids
September 18, 2022 21:08 - 30 minutes - 28.1 MBTheoretically, we WANT to be that person who's like a cool auntie to our friend's kid. In reality…well. If you're wondering how to get out of that kindergarten graduation party of baby shower you just don't want to attend, listen up. The Ladies also discuss their casual style tips (pockets) and hints for avoiding unwanted guests (crawling).
139: Episode 140: A Friend, A Fiancé and a Flame
August 03, 2022 04:01 - 21 minutes - 19.8 MBYour best friend is getting married, and you're her maid of honor! It's lovely…but here's the thing. You recently started dating someone she once dated way back in high school, and now you're getting some weird vibes from the bride-to-be. How do you handle this without damaging a very precious friendship? The Ladies are confident it will all be well in the end (and if we're wrong, we definitely want to hear that story, too).