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I was listening to some radio program. In the introduction they said
Welcome to the _some_program_! Today I'm joined by _the_name_of_a_person_.
Looking for examples with join in the passive voice didn't get so much. Link1, Link2.
How can we use the phrase to be joined? Is it formal/informal? Can it be used in a general discussion with, say, my close friend?
Definition #4 in your first link seems to fit this usage of join well.
Today I'm joined by (name)
has the meaning of
Today (name) and I are coming together/meeting
This phrase is often used in radio programs.
It's neither formal nor informal. In an informal conversation with a friend, you can use join. For example:
I'm going to join my friend at the arcade.
Another way of wording that without the use of join could be
I'm going to meet up with my friend at the arcade.
Either sounds fine in an informal conversation.
Your first link has a good example of joined by being used outside the context of radio programs as well:
The police car was soon joined by two ambulances.
That sentence means
The police car and two ambulances came together/met up.
The verb 'to join', when referring to people, means to get together or to meet somewhere and is neither formal nor informal. It can be used with friends.
E.g. meeting friends at a pub - someone could ask 'Is Simon going to join us?". At a restaurant you might say that 'John is joining us later', or 'Everyone has gone to the pub; I'll be joining them after the meeting.'. One exception is to describe a couple getting married as 'being joined in matrimony.'
