The Connection Code with Rachel and Jeana

A diploma doesn’t come with instructions for making friends, navigating workplace expectations, or walking into a room full of strangers. So where do we learn those things?

This week, Rachel and Jeana welcome Heather Redisch, creator of Adulting 101 Masterclass, for a conversation about building confidence and connection through the everyday experiences that stretch us. Heather shares what she’s learning from coaching Ge...

What’s the difference between collecting contacts and building real relationships?

Award-winning communications executive—and lifelong super-connector—Jon Harris joins us to share what more than three decades of bringing people together has taught him about curiosity, generosity and the relationships that remain long after jobs and titles change.

Jon opens up about the difficult childhood that shaped his commitment ...

What does it mean to love a place deeply and know when it’s time to leave?

New York Times bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist Xochitl Gonzalez joins Jeana and Rachel for an expansive conversation about the places that make us, the people who remember our earlier selves, and the courage it takes to enter a new chapter.

Xochitl reflects on Brooklyn as both a hometown and a living archive. She also talks about writing L...

People-pleasing can look like kindness—but is it actually bringing us closer to one another?

In this episode, Rachel and Jeana examine how people-pleasing shows up at work, in friendships, in romantic relationships and even in hospitality. Inspired by Adam Grant’s writing on the subject, they explore the fear of disappointing others, why saying no can feel so loaded and how trying to earn someone’s approval can cre...

What if the goal of a disagreement wasn’t to win, but to make the next conversation possible?

Rachel and Jeana talk with Harvard professor Julia Minson, author of How to Disagree Better, about what happens when we assume we already understand the other person. Julia shares a late-night disagreement with her daughter that went sideways, why curiosity needs to be spoken aloud, and a simple “curiosity sandwich” for ex...

What happens when kids put down their phones and have the freedom to simply be kids?

Rachel and Jeana sit down with Tommy Hoffman, executive director of Herzl Camp, to explore why summer camp remains one of the rare places where young people can practice the art of conversation, navigate conflict, develop independence, and form meaningful friendships through repeated, real-life experiences.

Tommy shares how returning to camp after a ...

We’re back for Season 3—and after 50 episodes of talking about friendship, connection and the relationships that make life better, we’ve learned a few things.

In this season opener, Rachel and Jeana look back at the conversations from Season 2 that have stayed with them, changed their behavior and even sparked new friendships in real life. They talk about why friendship can feel harder in adulthood, the invisible w...

What happens when you stop waiting to feel ready?

This week, we're joined by Peloton instructor, author, and all-around force of nature Kirsten Ferguson for one of our favorite conversations of the season.

Kirsten shares the winding path that led her from the NFL to Peloton—including heartbreak, infertility, divorce, reinvention, and learning to embrace a dream she never saw coming. Along the way, she opens up about public spea...

What happens when your dream job ends?

For fashion expert, media personality, and entrepreneur Lilliana Vazquez, it became the beginning of something even bigger.

In this conversation, Rachel sits down with Lilliana to explore the connections that have shaped her remarkable career—from cold-calling a television station and becoming the first Latina host of E! News to reinventing herself as one of today's most trusted style crea...

Rachel and Jeana welcome back their very first reconnection guest: Mo News founder and journalist Mosh Oinounou.

Since his first appearance on The Connection Code, Mosh's world has grown in every direction. Mo News has expanded, he's preparing to welcome his second child, and he's spending more time thinking about what it means to stay connected—not just to the headlines, but to the people and moments that matter most.

Together...

This week, it's just Rachel and Jeana.

No guest. No expert. Just two friends asking each other the friendship and connection questions they've always wanted to explore.

Why do some friendships feel effortless while others require more work? How do you handle jealousy when a friend gets something you want? What do you do when judgment sneaks into a relationship? And how many friendships do we actually need to feel connected?

Along the ...

Friendship isn't hard because you're doing it wrong. It's hard because adulthood changes everything. This week, Rachel and Jeana unpack why friendships drift, why they break, and what actually keeps them alive.

Together, they explore the realities of friendship drift, life stage changes, geographic distance, busy schedules, and the small misunderstandings that can quietly erode even meaningful relationships. They share personal stor...

This episode of The Connection Code is one of our most personal and eye-opening yet. Rachel and Jeana sit down with Rachel’s 12-year-old niece, Lily Engelbret, to talk about what it’s been like to learn she’s autistic. Lily shares how that has shaped the way she experiences friendship, school, masking, and connection.

With incredible honesty, humor, and wisdom beyond her years, Lily shares what autism means to her,...

Sara Haines spends her days connecting with millions of viewers on The View, but in this episode of The Connection Code, she joins us for a much more personal conversation about friendship, vulnerability, homesickness, motherhood, and the people who make us feel truly seen.

We talk about:

• why curiosity matters more than networking
• the emotional power of female friendships
• what Sara has learned from interviewing people for a living
• t...

This week on The Connection Code, Jeana and Rachel are diving into the friendship stories, trends, and hot takes taking over the internet right now.

From the rise of “doorbell friends” and apps designed to match you with new friends, to whether we should stop doing catch-up dinners entirely, this episode is a real-time conversation about how connection is changing — and what we may be gaining (or losing) along the ...

What if just four minutes a day could change the way you make decisions, navigate relationships, and understand yourself?

In this episode, we talk with Laura L. Rubin about the transformative power of journaling ... not as a “nice-to-have,” but as a tool for clarity, confidence, and connection.

From processing conflict to making life’s biggest decisions, Laura shares how putting pen to paper helps quiet the noise an...

What if oversharing isn’t something to fix, but something to use?

This week on The Connection Code, we’re joined by Leslie John. She's a behavioral scientist, Harvard Business School professor, and author of Revealing: The Underrated Power of Oversharing

Together, we unpack one of the biggest myths about connection: that saying “too much” is a social mistake. Leslie explains why what we call oversharing is of...

What happens when you take 16 strangers, sit them down at one table, and design every moment for connection?

This week on The Connection Code, we sit down with Shreena Amin and Chef Nicolai Mlodinow, the founders of Class Act Dining—a Chicago-based, 16-seat communal dining experience built to bring people together through food, storytelling, and intentional design.

What started as a scrappy, post-pandemic dinner party in an apa...

Friendship expert Danielle Bayard Jackson joins us for one of our favorite conversations yet, breaking down the real work behind meaningful friendships.

From why adult friendships feel harder than they used to, to the role of conflict, effort, and emotional support, Danielle shares the research-backed truths most of us were never taught.

We talk about:

• Why friendship isn’t as “natural” as we think and what that m...