We all have that one friend: You text her a question, and her response comes in the form of a two-minute voice note. Then, maybe you respond to her voice note with another text, and she leaves you ...

I’ll be the first to admit, I love a voice note. I frequently catch myself sending five-minute long mini podcasts to friends, who probably only listen out of obligation rather than genuine interest.

Somewhere in the blur of 2020, as I slipped outside with a mask and running shoes in the early morning to walk around the block, the lilting drawl of a friend’s “hiiiiii” nearly stopped me in my ...