Watching reality TV makes the Friends feel like they just ate a giant bag of Tootsie Rolls. Mm, candy. In this bag of candy episode, Keenan and Halsted talk about eating candy, bandanas, the weather in Celsius, and yearning to be mysterious.

Not-footnotes:

• That Oscar Wilde reference: “The Importance of Being Earnest”
•  Mystery Show, a wonderful podcast about little mysteries

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

Ostensibly, this episode’s topic is: How do we make time for the things we enjoy? Keenan has some insight that Halsted appreciates here. Lest you think the Friends stuck to one topic, this is not that podcast. Halsted tells the story of meeting Margaret Atwood and really embarrassing herself. Meanwhile, Keenan has met lots of famous people and NEVER ONCE embarrassed themself. What gives!?

Not-footnotes:

• The Quiet Year
• Margaret Atwood
• R.L. Stine, “the Stephen King of children’s literature”
• Episode 244 of Ruminate, “Shake the Shoe”
• Finch

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

If you enjoy episodes that refuse to stick to one topic, have Keenan and Halsted got the episode for you! The Friends are chock full of hot takes about working meetings, therapy, science fiction stories, being told how to interpret  literature, and sharks. Where they’re going, they don’t need segues. (That was a certified science fiction story reference.)

Not-footnotes:

• “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• “Survival Is Insufficient” (our bonus episode about “Station Eleven”)
•  “Babel” by R.F. Kuang

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

Not all friendships start with a podcast! Keenan is moving to a new country soon, and Halsted has lived in another country, so the Friends talk about making friends as expats.

And then they talk about what they wanted to be when they grew up. For a while, anyway, until the tangents begin!

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

Should friends make friendship contracts? Keenan and Halsted talk about unstated expectations and assumptions between friends, and what happens when they’re mismatched.

Turns out we’re all winging it, as friends!

Not-footnotes:

• This best friend contract includes “to once in a while sit in a field at sunset and do Sudoku puzzles together” which sounds quite nice to Halsted.
• Once again we talk about Robb Knight, Mastodon Celebrity™️: https://rknight.me
• We never told you the joke. And we never will. (Unless you write us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!)

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

Hey, 2026. Keenan and Halsted are back from holidays and vacations. They are totally fine and not at all feeling guilty for unpairing their identities from all the capitalism.

In this episode, the Friends talk about being recovering know-it-alls. Join them on their journeys through pedantry.

Not-footnotes:

• “The Freshmen” by The Verve Pipe
• Mondegreen (Wikipedia)
• And I brought you myrrh (YouTube)
• Descriptivism vs. prescriptivism (Wikipedia)

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

Show notes: Move over, morning zoo. It’s the Morning Jus with Keenan and Halsted! Dip a sandwich and get cozy, because it’s time to talk about literalism in storytelling. And then they discuss boundaries and friction in human relationships.

Not-footnotes:

• Kitchen Language: What Is Au Jus? (Michelin Guide)
• ”Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself” by Nedra Glover Tawwab
• ”Hell, I Love Everybody: The Essential James Tate”
• ”We Have Always Lived in the Castle” by Shirley Jackson
• Signs (2002)
• “The Remains of the Day” by Kazuo Ishiguro
•  The Remains of the Day (1993)

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

Show notes:

A funny thing happened on the way to the topic: Keenan and Halsted found so many other topics, including cherished childhood mementos, the bass clarinet, and one particular cult TV show that formed their senses of humor. This is chaos. And so is their friendship!

Not-footnotes:

• MST3K
• Duran Duran Briefcase
• Teddy Ruxpin
• That Doctor Worm t-shirt

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

Show notes:

Good morning! Join Halsted and Keenan for brunch and a great cup of coffee. And then they talk about their most transcendent and cathartic moments doing something they don’t entirely enjoy: going to concerts.

Not-footnotes:

• Cometeer Coffee
• Tangerine Dream

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

Do you have a friendship litmus test, the book or band or film you mention to someone you meet to figure out if you’re going to get along? Halsted has one. Keenan talks about a shift in their perspective, thanks to getting older. And they both discuss being reformed know-it-alls.

Then Keenan’s deity status is revealed, and they make some decrees.

Not-footnotes:

• “Wicked Little Critta” by They Might Be Giants
• Everything Is Awful and I’m Not Okay: questions to ask before giving up
• Song Exploder Episode 28: The Long Winters - The Commander Thinks Aloud

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

Show notes:

Keenan and Halsted don’t get excited about buying things anymore. What happened? Have their values changed? Was it some global event that massively disrupted everyone’s lives?

But first they talk about houses exploding, running down the street after the UPS delivery person, Bigfoot, and fancy soap.

Not-footnotes:

• “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl
• Spontaneous human combustion on Wikipedia
• What Are Aromatics?

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

Show notes:

Crispy like broiled tomatillo husks: that’s how Keenan and Halsted feel right now. They’re past burned out, and self-care doesn’t fix broken systems. How do they know when to ask for help, and how do they accept help?

And hey, have they leveled up? They talk about an evolution in their friendship.

Not-footnotes:

• “Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle” by Dr. Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski
• “How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing” by K.C. Davis, LPC
• That recipe with the tomatillos: Corn and Green Bean Salad with Tomatillo Dressing

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

How do two recovering perfectionists learn to be bad at things like learning a new language or playing a new videogame? And not just learn to be bad at them, but enjoy being bad at them?

Speaking of being bad at things, Keenan and Halsted talk about talking to strangers at parties. Halsted shares the best conversation starter she knows. And don’t forget your complimentary cocktail lemon.

Not-footnotes:

• “Should I Bring a Gift for My Host?” — Emily Post Institute
• “The “10,000-hour rule” was debunked again. That’s a relief.” — Brian Resnick, for Vox

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

Keenan and Halsted both search for meaning in perspectives, not answers. They share their experiences with organized religion, trying to find community, and how aging can make people less curious.

And then their tangent boat carries them away on the currents of Caves of Qud and Game of Thrones and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Not-footnotes:

• “Why Does My Mind Keep Thinking That?” - The Ezra Klein Show (Ezra Klein-lovin’ subscribers only, sorry lol)
• Search Engine - “The Psychic Question”
• Dr. Mark Epstein has been a guest on a lot of podcasts and has written some books.
• Caves of Qud and Game of Thrones and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Sunk cost fallacy
• “Past Lives”

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

Show notes:

It’s time to talk about Station Eleven. Halsted just finished watching it for the first time, and Keenan just completed their fourth rewatch. Spoilers abound, so please don’t listen to this until you’ve seen it!

Not-footnotes:

• Station Eleven (miniseries)
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (book)

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

The Friends talk about how they sometimes feel lonely even when surrounded by wonderful people. Halsted doesn’t cry over a post-it note in a library book. Keenan edits The Note.

And then they really piss off the scuba-diving community.

Not-footnotes:

• Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman
• Dunbar's number: Why we can only maintain 150 relationships

Scuba divers use diving weights. Not anchors.

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

Show notes:

One of Halsted and Keenan’s first interactions was bonding over their shared personality types: INFJ and Enneagram 4. So they talk about them!

Do personality types make us feel seen? Do they help us understand how we act and interact? Are they helpful (and unhelpful) shorthand?

Not-footnotes:

• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
• The Enneagram: A Primer for Psychiatry Residents

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

Show notes:

Halsted and Keenan warm up with some meta chat about podcast recording and editing, plus musings about their shared conversational style. Because their friendship is podcasted and their podcast is friendshipped.

And then Keenan asks Halsted, “What’s the deal with your name?”

Not-footnotes:

• Elite Dangerous

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

Show notes:

Keenan and Halsted are creating a friendship, but they’re also creating Content. (Keenan really hates that word.) They definitely don’t talk about late-stage capitalism.

So they don’t have a plan for this episode (or this podcast, or this friendship). They may be outside our comfort zones and that’s not terrifying at all!

And then they approach a Big Topic and talk about it. Like new friends do!

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

Topics include, but are not limited to: abject terror, unyielding gratitude, Mastodon Celebrity Robb Knight™ 

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!

This is where it all began! Keenan and Halsted talk about how they were orbiting each other on Mastodon before Halsted jumped in and said, “Let’s record a podcast!”

They discuss how similar they are! And how different, too. They learn about what their friendship dealbreakers are, and their distinct approaches to what they write.

But who has the higher Mastodon Celebrity Status™️?

Not-footnotes:

• Robb Knight, Mastodon Celebrity™
• The omg.lol Mastodon server
• Dirty Baja Blast

Get in touch with us at hifriendshipmaterial@gmail.com!