How does a friendship last for 30 years through distance, career changes, marriage, caregiving, loss and everything else life brings?

In the first episode of Dude, Tengo Chisme, best friends and co-hosts Maribel Lara and Aimée Thorne-Thomsen share how two first-generation New York Latinas met in 1996 and grew into adulthood together.

Their friendship began when Maribel was a freshman at Tufts University looking for a stronger sense of community on a predominantly white campus. Her search led her to a Latina sorority founded at Yale and to Aimée, one of its founders. What started as sisterhood became a chosen-family relationship that has lasted more than three decades.

Maribel and Aimée revisit the experiences that shaped their friendship, including Thursday night dinners in New York City when no one had much money, sharing a twin bed during college visits, attending graduate school at the same time and maintaining their connection when Maribel moved across the country. Aimée also reveals why that move made her fear she might lose her best friend, something Maribel had never heard before recording this episode.

They reflect on what has helped their adult friendship endure: shared values, fierce loyalty, honest conversations, respect for each other’s need for space and the ability to show up when it matters most. They also talk about navigating professional life as Latinas, supporting each other through family illness and loss, and making memories through travel, Broadway weekends and concerts around the world.

You’ll also learn the story behind the podcast’s name. “Dude, tengo chisme” is often how their conversations begin, but the chisme is rarely where they end. A piece of news, an awkward interaction or a pop-culture moment becomes an invitation to compare notes, question what happened and explore what it might reveal about family, culture, politics or the world around them.

Dude, Tengo Chisme is a podcast about friendship, culture and the conversations that happen when two middle-aged Latinas from New York bring more than 30 years of history to everything from politics, sports and books to travel, theater, menopause and the latest cultural moment.

In this episode:

• How Maribel and Aimée met through a Latina sorority
• The first-generation college experience at predominantly white institutions
• How to sustain a long-distance friendship
• Why adult friendships need both closeness and space
• Growing into adulthood alongside a best friend
• Building chosen family through shared values and experiences
• The deeper meaning of chisme in Latino culture
• What to expect from Dude, Tengo Chisme

If this episode reminds you of a friendship that has grown with you, share it with your person. Then join the conversation and tell us: What has helped your longest friendship last?