What do you do when you're struggling to find a romantic relationship as deep as the relationship you have with your best friend? John Cameron Mitchell ("Anthem: Homunculus") reads Ephi Stempler's essay about a man considering a platonic life partnership.By WBUR and The New York Times.

Saturday Night Live's Cecily Strong reads a story about a woman's friendship with her doorman. This is an encore presentation.By WBUR and The New York Times.

How have you gotten through your worst breakups? Tinder? New hobbies? Cheap alcohol? Wallowing in Taylor Swift albums? William Jackson Harper ("The Good Place," "Midsommar") is back to read Mark McDevitt's piece about two breakup buddies.By WBUR and The New York Times.

What does luck mean to you? And how does that change depending on your circumstances? That's what Joyce Maynard writes about in this week's essay. It's read by two-time Academy Award nominee Jacki Weaver ("Perpetual Grace, LTD").By WBUR and The New York Times.

When you're dealing with a tragedy, it can feel like you would do anything for an ordinary day. But those ordinary days can come with their own complications. Ginnifer Goodwin ("The Twilight Zone") reads Monica Wesolowska's essay.By WBUR and The New York Times.

When we take stock of the people who matter most to us, there are the spouses, the family members, the best friends, the partners. And then there are the people who aren’t any of those things, but who change our lives anyway. Emily Raboteau's essay is about one of those people. It's read by Lake Bell ("Bless this Mess.")…

Under normal circumstances, trying to find love can be challenging -- and stressful. And for Elizabeth Koster, the pressure was even more intense. Sarah Goldberg (HBO's "Barry") reads Elizabeth's essay.By WBUR and The New York Times.

Love thrives on good communication. It can take many forms -- but what happens when you suddenly lose what was once your primary means of communication? Pedro Pascal ("King Lear," "Game of Thrones") reads Jamison's essay.By WBUR and The New York Times.

What happens when you know you want to marry someone, but you are also are falling in love with someone else? Is there a way for you to have everything? Sophie Lucido Johnson's essay is read by DeWanda Wise ("She's Gotta Have It").By WBUR and The New York Times.

Interracial relationships come with their own complexities, and there are a lot of questions that come up. Questions like: How does your partner think about race? How do you talk about it? What works, and what doesn't? Kim McLarin writes about race and dating in her piece, which is read by Lorraine Toussaint ("The Village").…

Anna Chlumsky ("Veep") reads Brooks Rinehart's essay, on 90 days that changed the entire course of one family's life.By WBUR and The New York Times.

When it comes to dating, Amy Cohen says this: "We all need to be reincarnated as an older Jewish man with an apartment on the Upper East Side.” Natasha Lyonne ("Russian Doll") reads Amy's essay about the difference between her 76-year-old father's dating life and her own.By WBUR and The New York Times.

How much can you give of yourself before it’s too much? And what do you do when you reach your limit? Nazanin Boniadi ("Hotel Mumbai") reads Tara Ebrahimi's essay.By WBUR and The New York Times.

Catherine O'Hara ("Schitt's Creek") reads Patricia Morrisroe's essay, about a piece of technology that complicates a marriage.By WBUR and The New York Times.

Dementia can alter someone's personality and change how how they interact with the world. But sometimes, it can also lead to moments of profound connection. Jenny McPhee writes about one of those moments in her piece, which is read by Zoe Saldana.By WBUR and The New York Times.

Therapists' offices are supposed to be places where you can be both vulnerable and safe. But what happens when your therapist crosses a line? That happened to Julianna Baggott -- and she writes about it an an essay that's read by Isabelle Huppert ("Greta").By WBUR and The New York Times.

You know the phase. The one when you're going back and forth between your place and your partner's, and you have to bring all your stuff with you. But when is it time to make a change? Deanna Clevesy's essay is read by Christina Hendricks ("Good Girls").By WBUR and The New York Times.

Have you ever dated someone living in a studio apartment with a pet? If so, how did you handle the logistics around sex? Ryan Pfeffer writes about how he dealt with that situation in his essay, which was performed by William Jackson Harper ("The Good Place") in front of a live audience at the Huntington Avenue Theatre in Boston.…

Last week, you heard an essay by Amy Krouse Rosenthal -- "You May Want to Marry my Husband." It was published just days before she died of ovarian cancer. Today, André Holland of "High Flying Bird" reads the essay her husband Jason wrote in response last summer -- and we hear from Jason himself about how he's doing today.…

Debra Winger reads the late Amy Krouse Rosenthal's essay about her fairytale love story, which was cut short by cancer. This is an encore presentation.By WBUR and The New York Times.

We're celebrating the 91st Academy Awards by revisiting two of our favorite episodes featuring nominated actors. We'll hear pieces read by Rachel Weisz of "The Favourite," and Willem Dafoe, of "At Eternity's Gate."By WBUR and The New York Times.

It's easy to single out the biggest decisions in a life. But this week's essay by Ann Leary is about little choices, that you might not think about very much in the moment, that end up slowly changing everything. It's read by Connie Nielsen ("I Am the Night").By WBUR and The New York Times.

Nikolina Kulidzan was twelve years old when she fell in love for the first time. Not long after, the Bosnian War changed her life forever. Her essay is read by Joanna Kulig ("Cold War").By WBUR and The New York Times.

How do you talk to your children about loss? What secrets do you keep, and for how long? And when do you decide to tell them everything? Emily Listfield faces those questions in her essay, read by Carmen Ejogo ("True Detective.")By WBUR and The New York Times.

When you think back to sex ed class, it's not hard to come up with a couple of memories that might have scarred you for life. But actor Gillian Anderson reads an essay that shows it can be equally scarring for the parents.By WBUR and The New York Times.

Happy Holidays from all of us at Modern Love! We will be back with brand new episodes in 2019, but today, we're bringing you a playlist of our favorite holiday episodes from the past two years.By WBUR and The New York Times.

When people ask for advice, do they really want to hear what you have to say? Sometimes it's hardest to find a friend who can give just a simple, sympathetic ear. Actor Laura Dern takes us deep into a friendship that experienced a unique evolution. This is an encore presentation.By WBUR and The New York Times.

Getting undressed in front of your partner can be really hard. And for Jameson Rich, is was even more complicated. He writes about it in his piece, which is read by Finn Wittrock ("Write When You Get Work").By WBUR and The New York Times.

When Rand Richards Cooper was in his 40s, he was faced with a question: How late is too late to first become a dad? He writes about it in his essay, which is read by Stanley Tucci ("A Private War").By WBUR and The New York Times.

How do we choose what to hold onto from loved ones after they've died? Doris Iarovici asks that question in her essay, which is read by Michelle Rodriguez ("Widows").By WBUR and The New York Times.

When Charlotte Bacon went to a temple in Bhutan, the place unlocked feelings in her that she hadn't truly realized were there. Her essay is read by Mira Sorvino ("StartUp").By WBUR and The New York Times.

Jennifer Finney Boylan -- an accomplished writer, academic and activist -- reads her own essay about coming out as transgender to her two young sons. This is an encore episode.By WBUR and The New York Times.

We cross paths with so many people in our lives -- but only a few of them truly change the direction we thought we were headed in. Busy Philipps ("Busy Tonight") reads Laurie Sandell's piece, about the little girl who changed her path.By WBUR and The New York Times.

After a divorce, it can feel like the last thing you want to do is revisit the past. But a ritual forced Cindy Chupack to do just that, in an essay read by actor Amy Landecker.By WBUR and The New York Times.

Lance Reddick, best known as Lt. Cedric Daniels on HBO's "The Wire," reads a story about infidelity and healing.By WBUR and The New York Times.

Tim Elhajj was a divorced dad who was desperate to connect with his son -- and went about it in an unconventional way. His essay is read by John C. Reilly (The Sisters Brothers).By WBUR and The New York Times.

Would you buy a sex chair? Well, Lori Jakiela did -- and she writes about the chair, and the misadventures involved in trying to use it, in an essay that's read by Kristen Bell ("The Good Place.")By WBUR and The New York Times.

Would you start online dating just to make your best friend feel better? Author Victoria Redel did that, and she writes about in her piece, which is read by actor and singer Rita Wilson ("Bigger Picture").By WBUR and The New York Times.

Some crushes are brief: the guy at the gym, the girl on Twitter, your barista. But others are epic -- and take on a life of their own. Olivia Munn ("The Predator") reads Marina Shifrin's essay.By WBUR and The New York Times.

We’re back in your feed to share a project we think you’ll love. It’s a new podcast called “Last Seen,” about the largest unsolved art heist in history -- the theft of thirteen irreplaceable pieces of art from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner museum.By WBUR and The New York Times.

On a normal day in 2004, Lloyd Zimmerman got the chance to fulfill a man's dying wish. Giancarlo Esposito ("Better Call Saul") reads his piece, about the complications of a last request.By WBUR and The New York Times.

Ethan Hawke ("Blaze") reads an essay about how lonely it can be at rock bottom -- and how sometimes, taking care of someone else is the only way out.By WBUR and The New York Times.

This playlist episode features stories about people whose relationships were challenged by illness -- and where the promise to stand by each other "in sickness and in health" was tested. It features stories read by Michael Shannon, Sarah Silverman, Chris Messina, Rebecca Hall, and Patina Miller.By WBUR and The New York Times.

It can feel easier to leave things unspoken than to find the right words to explain ourselves. But sooner or later, the things we keep from each other can come to define our relationships. This edition of Modern Love features a playlist of three of our favorite episodes about secrets, read by Danielle Brooks, Cynthia Nixon, and Uma Thurman.…

Communication. Respect. Intimacy. Doing the dishes. Those are all things that have been called the secret to marriage. But Gabrielle Zevin has a different idea. Sandra Oh ("Killing Eve") reads her piece.By WBUR and The New York Times.

We know you appreciate a good love story ... so we're bringing you two stories of relationships that have stood the test of time, from another podcast from WBUR, called "Endless Thread." Hear the story of the couple featured in an iconic photo from Woodstock, and one about a relationship that started with a note sent in second grade.…

Let's face it. With the ghosting, inappropriate comments, and awkward small talk ... dating can be so bad it's hilarious. Awkwafina ("Crazy Rich Asians," "Oceans Eight") reads Sarah Moses's essay.By WBUR and The New York Times.

The emotions of parenting can feel completely out of control sometimes. Whether it's love, joy ... or, occasionally, rage. Susan Perabo writes about them in her essay, which is read by Ellie Kemper ("Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt").By WBUR and The New York Times.

Sometimes, our deepest loves aren't people at all -- they're the places that make us feel most like ourselves. Laura Dave tells a story about one of those places in her essay, which is read by Diane Guerrero ("Orange is the New Black").By WBUR and The New York Times.

Peter Goodman thought that he could fix any problem by sweeping his wife off her feet. But when his daughter was born, that strategy failed him. His essay is read by Mike Colter ("Luke Cage.")By WBUR and The New York Times.