When a step-parent enters the picture, it can be an especially fraught new beginning -- for everyone involved. Stacie discovered this after she and Tim decided to make a life together. Tim came with two kids; Stacie had none. Nor did she have any idea -- at first, anyway -- what it meant to be a step-mom. Plus, Meredith and her sister, Brette, sing Mary Poppins. Sort of. Email us at loveletters@boston.com.

S5E6: How to Step-Mom

Love stories. Dating stories. Relationship stories. Stories about romance, marriage, partnership, sex, loss, and the human heart. Served with a side of advice. Hosted by Boston Globe advice columnist Meredith Goldstein. Distributed by PRX.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Relationships

Meredith sits down with Laura Stassi, host of the podcast “Dating While Gray.” They talk about what Meredith learned from her parents’ divorce, how she found a partner during the pandemic, and growing wiser with age. Also, hear an excerpt of a “Dating While Gray” episode about a widower helping his daughter with dating. Find more episodes of “Dating While Gray” at datingwhilegray.com. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

Loving, Aging, Growing

Can a city be a wingperson? Seongnam City, a community of more than 900,000 people just southeast of Seoul, South Korea, is certainly trying. Spooked by historically low birth and marriage rates, Seongnam City officials have launched a publicly funded matchmaking program to help young people find each other. The goal? Happy couples who start making babies. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

S9E11: City of Love

Let’s be honest: There’s a lot of trashy reality television out there. Some shows seem actively manipulative. But Netflix’s "Love on the Spectrum," which follows the dating journeys of young people on the autism spectrum, feels different. Meredith sits down with one of the show’s stars, James B. Jones, to talk about what the show gets right, and how it feels to look for love in such a public way. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

S9E10: Dating While Public

Join Meredith and fellow advice columnist Stacia Brown as they talk breakups with Anita Rao, host of the podcast “Embodied.” Stacia and Meredith give some guidance on how to break up “well” and discuss going no-contact, navigating social media, and finding the right breakup anthem for the moment. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

Breakups, Revisited (from the Embodied podcast)

As an animal researcher, Meghan Martin made groundbreaking discoveries about how giant female pandas choose their mates. She realized that they wouldn’t shack up with just any old male. They wanted a choice. The same held true, she would learn, with rabbits, birds, and other species. The question for Meghan was this: Could she apply those lessons to the human world—to her own world? Plus, we visit a Rhode Island animal shelter that raised money by letting people pay to have cats defecate on the names of exes. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. You can also send relationship questions to Meredith and sign up for Love Letters updates by texting 617-744-7007.

S5E6: How to Step-Mom

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