{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Generations","title":"The Introvert Who Never Was","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3270,"description":"Peter and Aubrey tackle one of the hardest social transitions there is: making friends as an adult, after college's forced proximity is gone. Aubrey shares how COVID convinced her she'd turned introverted — until a weekend with a fearless friend showed her the extrovert was still there, just walled off. Peter traces how med school and residency made friendship functionally impossible, and how a Dungeons & Dragons group finally gave him a reason to show up — and the stickiness to keep showing up. They separate social isolation from loneliness, debunk the viral claim that isolation is as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and land on the same conclusion: friendship takes intentionality, and it's worth it.\nMaking friends as adults: Aubrey's question of the week — how do you build community when you're new to a state, working, and there's no forced socialization like college?\nAubrey's COVID identity shift: She spent years convinced quarantine turned her from extrovert to introvert, until a weekend with her most socially fearless friend showed her the extrovert was still there — just walled off behind anxiety.\nThe college regret: Aubrey wishes she'd pushed harder in undergrad, when opportunities were everywhere — instead she sat alone in lectures and skipped discussions, convinced the effort wasn't worth it.\nPeter's med school trade-off: Peter admits he consciously chose career over friendships from medical school through his 30s — and says he'd make the same choice again.\nDungeons & Dragons built the friend group: A shared curiosity among work colleagues became a weekly game — and the obligation to the party, investment in characters, and between-session talk at work is what made it stick. Dungeons & Dragons\nAdults need a reason: Kids become friends instantly on a playground, but adults need an excuse to gather — which Peter argues is why grown men love golf.\nThe 6-hour board game: Aubrey played Oath, a strategy game built on lying and betrayal, and was still...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/fY2KwwwQLffNbRBMXpqVwuEgdwUGJAS7XvG8Vw5c2Sk/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8wOTc4/ZTM0MTY0MWQ0ODk4/OWI2OWU4YzhkYTdl/YWJiOC5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}