This actor drove 10,000 miles to ask men about loneliness

This actor drove 10,000 miles to ask men about loneliness

July 15, 2026 · 34 min

About this episode

Andrew McCarthy discusses his journey to understand male friendship and loneliness with host Megan McArdle.

For a lot of men, friendship doesn’t disappear all at once. It fades slowly: a missed call here, a canceled plan there, a few busy years that become a decade. Before you know it, the relationship has moved to the background of life, where it can feel easier to assume the bond will survive on memory than to do the awkward work of reaching back out. Andrew McCarthy wanted to understand why that story is so common. Host Megan McArdle is joined by the actor, director and author, whose new book, “ Who Needs Friends: An Unscientific Examination of Male Friendship Across America, ” follows his 10,000-mile journey to reconnect with old friends and ask men what friendship means to them.  For their buy 1 get 1 50% off deal, head to 3DayBlinds.com/OPTIMISTIC. Subscribe to The Washington Post here .

People in this episode

Host: Megan McArdle

Guest: Andrew McCarthy

Topics covered

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3DayBlinds

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Washington Post

Books & works: Who Needs Friends: An Unscientific Examination of Male Friendship Across America

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