A few years ago, while at summer camp in North Carolina, Ray was wrestling with some of life’s biggest questions. Identity, love, growing up, a first kiss — Ray had a lot on their mind, and no one to confide in. Until they met Maria, a counselor clad in sandals and tie-dye who would become Ray’s mentor, guide, life coach, and cheerleader, all wrapped into one. In this first episode of the new season, a portrait of two people and their lasting, beautiful bond. Email us at [email protected].

1989 Boston. The crack epidemic is raging, the murder rate soaring, and white flight has taken hold. Charles Stuart and his pregnant wife, Carol, are carjacked, drawn deep into a dangerous “inner city” neighborhood, and allegedly shot by a Black man. All of Boston – and the nation – is gripped by the hunt for the suspect. What follows will reveal truths about the city... and ourselves. Presented by The Boston Globe and HBO Documentary Films, Murder in Boston: The Untold Story of the Charles...

Almost every love story has a supporting cast — friends, relatives, therapists, and others who play a key role in what happens. In Season 9 of Love Letters, we pay tribute to those important figures in the background. You’ll hear all kinds of stories about help and guidance people received in their romantic lives, from an ex who became the perfect wingperson, to the communities that support the spouses of pro athletes, to the best queer mentor anyone could ask for. Season 9 launches Jan. 23....

It’s Meredith against the world in this bonus episode as she attempts to prove why a viral list of places women will supposedly never go on a first date is wrong, and why The Cheesecake Factory – that’s right, The Cheesecake Factory – is a totally acceptable date spot. To pull this off, she takes her producer, Jesse, to one of her most beloved spots for a platonic work-date. They discuss everything from Meredith’s devotion to the chain restaurant, to the horoscopian powers of The Cheesecake...

Meredith sits down with her sister, Brette, to tackle two family-themed letters from the Love Letters column. First, a woman feels some tension with her future sister-in-law. Second, a writer discovers that her boyfriend and her mother had a one-night-stand in the past. Should the woman confront her mom? Does the mom even remember this guy? How are they going to make it through the holidays? Send your own letter to [email protected].

Meredith sits down with comedians Jake Johnson and Gareth Reynolds, co-hosts of the popular new podcast “We’re Here to Help.” Gareth and Jake — who played Nick Miller on the hit show "New Girl" — are longtime friends who bonded doing improv together. Their podcast is a lot like them: fun, silly, sometimes accidentally poignant. Meredith, Jake, and Gareth compare their approaches to advice-giving and dish on baldness, horses, and trashy TV. Warning: This episode is very fun. Email us at...

For the final episode in our series “We Found Love,” we explore the psychology behind prison relationships, a proposed law in Massachusetts that would eliminate life sentences without parole, and the story of an incarcerated man who’s wrestling with the pressures of a young relationship. Email us at [email protected].

Venus and Cornelius have been together for more than six years and engaged for five. They dream of seeing the world together, buying a house, and making their union official. But whether any of those things will ever happen is unclear, because Cornelius is serving a life sentence for murder without the possibility of parole. In Episode Two of the three-part series “We Found Love,” Boston Globe criminal justice reporter Ivy Scott brings us an intimate portrait of a committed, loving...

The first chapter of “We Found Love,” a three-part miniseries exploring how romantic love and partnership run up against – and sometimes transcend – the criminal justice system. Through the stories of three couples, at all different stages in their relationships, Boston Globe reporter Ivy Scott dives deep into what it takes to find love in a hopeless place. In today’s episode, she tells the story of Sharlene, a successful working mother with a secret, and Blake, a Southern gentleman serving...

Meredith sits down with director Susanna Fogel to discuss Susanna’s new movie, "Cat Person," based on the buzzy 2017 short story by Kristen Roupenian in The New Yorker. They discuss Susanna’s decision to cast Nicholas Braun and Emilia Jones as romantic leads; the role that friends play in sussing out potential partners; and why "Cat Person," the story, stirred so much contentious debate — Susanna calls it a "weird Rorschach test for people's own [stuff]." Email us at [email protected].

On the next season of Love Letters, we’ll be featuring stories about the important role help and guidance from others plays in our relationship choices and love lives, from therapy and professional interventions to advice and assistance from friends, family members, and confidantes. If you have a story about a time someone helped you in your romantic life — or maybe a story about how you gave assistance to someone else — we’d love to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].

Shirley Leung, a business columnist who hosts Say More — a new podcast from Boston Globe Opinion — sits down with Meredith for a few final reflections on love and money, the theme of Season 8 of Love Letters. Also, listeners weigh in with their takes on the season. Email us at [email protected]. Find Say More wherever you listen to podcasts, or at globe.com/saymore.

Meredith makes a guest appearance on the podcast Meditative Story, a show that tells human stories but with meditation prompts. Vampires, naming squirrels, the death of her mother — it all comes out. Email us at [email protected].

Meredith visits her sister, Brette, on the West Coast, where Brette is recuperating from knee surgery. Together they tackle a letter from a writer who, after a series of serious relationships, wants a year of just being single. But what if that means missing out on a connection of a lifetime? Send your own letter to [email protected].

Erica Spates and Sam Littenberg-Weisberg have been professional television writing partners for 13 years. Together, they’ve co-written dozens of TV episodes, pitched and run their own Netflix series, and even won a couple Emmys. They are also married, which means they understand both the emotional highs of working with your partner and the financial lows – like the ongoing Hollywood writers' strike that's put both of their careers on ice. Email us at [email protected].

Meredith talks to Jenée Desmond-Harris, Slate’s Dear Prudence advice columnist and podcast host, about weddings, commitment, and whether it’s kosher to grow an ugly mustache right before you get married. Email us at [email protected].

It’s easy to understand why prenuptial agreements get a bad rap. We think of that rich guy, selfishly protecting his assets just in case wife No. 3 doesn’t work out. But it turns out that’s a pretty narrow view. There are plenty of people whose marriages have been made stronger by prenups. For Anne and Nick, it wasn’t a hedge against their marriage falling apart. It was an important gesture of trust. Email us at [email protected].

As a food and travel influencer, Anela Malik’s social media feeds used to be full of inviting dishes and beautiful vistas. Then, in the spring of 2023, her posts took a turn: Anela announced tearfully to her many followers that she was getting divorced. It was an emotional hit but also a financial one. Anela was suddenly forced to make a major investment in a whole new life. And yet … it wasn’t all bad. Email us at [email protected].

Meredith is joined by two of her favorite Boston Globe colleagues, business reporters Diti Kohli and Dana Gerber, to chat about two things that have long bothered her: the way lease cycles influence relationships, and the financial gap between coupled people and single people. Plus, they discuss a pair of letters, including one from a single person who is worried their married friends are growing distant. Email your dating and relationship questions to [email protected].

A portrait of two daters in their 20s — Jackie in Chicago, and Nick in Washington. Both of them have been on lots of dates; Nick went on 46 last year alone. When you date this much, the expenses add up quickly: drinks, food, hair, parking, Ubers, clothes, and more. So how do they do it? What happens when the bill comes — who pays? And is it all worth it? Email us at [email protected]. *Programming note: The next full episode drops July 11th.*

A story about partnership and compromise, told in two acts. Two working spouses — writer Kara Baskin and psychologist Sadé Soares — talk about how they and their partners have navigated money, ambition, career, and sacrifice. How do people combine finances and lives and priorities without losing out or getting resentful? Email us at [email protected].

No matter how much you might click with a potential partner, there will always be something you don’t quite see eye-to-eye on. Maybe it's religion. Maybe it’s kids. Sometimes? It’s money. In Vicki's case, she and her girlfriend, Jessica, seemed to be a good match — if they could just get past that one thing. Email us at [email protected].

Meredith’s childhood friend Justin L. Wilson was standing at a funeral, listening to a eulogy, when he had an epiphany: I’m going to quit my job. This decision to follow his passion took Justin on a journey that involves falling in love. Breakups. Martin Scorsese. Hall & Oates. The Kelly Clarkson Show. And a lesson – very much still-in-progress – about the price of a dream. Email us at [email protected].

A special visit from our friends at NPR’s Dear Life Kit podcast, where experts answer your most pressing and personal anonymous questions. In this bonus episode: A letter writer loves her boyfriend's parents, but their generosity feels inappropriate. Maya Lau, host of the podcast Other People's Pockets, weighs in on how to move forward. Email us at [email protected].

Meredith and her sister, Brette, take on two letters, including one from a writer who’s happily coupled but still thinking about an ex. Not because the ex was so great, or because there’s any desire to get back together. It’s purely because he came from family money and offered the prospect of financial stability. Email us at [email protected].