Male friendship

The author and screenwriter Max Dickins was preparing to propose to his girlfriend when he came to a realisation: he didn’t have anyone he felt he could ask to be his best man. It prompted him to write the book ‘Billy No-Mates’, looking at why he didn’t have any close male friends any more, and asking if men, in general, have a friendship problem. In a special discussion in front of a live audience at the Cheltenham Science Festival, Claudia Hammond speaks to Max about his journey alongside Professor Robin Dunbar and Dr Radha Modgil. Robin Dunbar is a Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at Oxford University who’s spent decades researching friendships in humans and other primates. He’s also known for having Dunbar’s Number named after him, which suggests most of us have a limit to our social circles of around 150 people. Radha Modgil is a practicing GP and wellbeing expert whose book ‘Know Your Own Power’ looks at what advice there is for people facing difficulties as they go through life. The panel look at what psychology can teach us about friendships between men, the difference these relationships can make to our mental health, and the best way of both maintaining the friendships we have and finding ways to make new friends. Produced in partnership with the Open University. Producer: Dan Welsh