What does it mean to be a good friend? In Kinfolk Issue Fifty-Seven, we explore the many dimensions of friendship—its intimacy and ambiguity, its power and promise—in search of an answer.

Along the way, we speak with leading philosophers, anthropologists, and psychotherapists, including Orna Guralnik, star of Showtime’s Couples Therapy, who believes “the best manifestation of humanity is in friendship.” In Los Angeles, musicians Kelly Zutrau and Buddy Ross reflect on the creative trust behind their music, while in Accra, painter Amoako Boafo reveals how close friendships shape both his art and worldview. As psychotherapist Mark Vernon notes, “We humans find ourselves in others.”

This issue also features a conversation with novelist Ottessa Moshfegh and visits to a mid-century home in Hawai‘i, a centuries-old textile workshop in Kyoto, and the London studio of design duo Barber Osgerby.