Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship

For the first episode of 2026, I have my mom, Kathy Sackheim, in the studio for her 6th appearance on the podcast to help me answer a stack of listener questions straight from the Dear Nina inbox. We move quickly through a range of friendship dilemmas from listeners: milestone birthday expectations uneven effort friend group tension an uncomfortable confrontation a group chat blowup reaching out a...

It’s the annual end-of-year wrap-up, and my assistant producer Rebekah Jacobs is back for a behind-the-scenes look at what landed with listeners in 2025 and why. The themes we keep coming back to on Dear Nina aren’t “college friends” or “mom friends” or “work friends.” It’s all of the above and more. The need to be chosen, to belong, to be wanted, and the sting when we don’t feel it—this is ageles...

Finding Your People in College Takes Longer Than You Think. At some schools its even a structural problem. As students come home between semesters, some parents might be worried about kids who haven't "found their people" yet. But it's so normal for friendships to take time to form! And even when it feels like "everyone else has a group," those groups often continue to chan...

This week’s episode is a bonus! I’m sharing a conversation from when I was a guest on Dr. Adam Dorsay’s podcast, SuperPsyched . I don’t usually repost my own guest interviews, but I’m starting to sprinkle them in the feed because when I’m not the host, different things come out. Different angles. Different stories. Perhaps an even more direct way to discuss making and keeping friends. This intervi...

I’m finally tackling a topic I’ve been wanting to cover for a long time: how divorce affects our friendships. Today's episode addresses both sides of this question--whether you’re the one going through a divorce or you’re watching a friend go through it. Either way, the social fallout can feel confusing, lonely, and awkward. I’m joined by Hope Lutz Firsel , a women’s life coach who specializes...

The final friendship challenge of the year is to write one friend a real letter. This was inspired by the novel I'm currently reading and loving-- The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. Yes, it can be typed and even sent via email. But this NOT a text saying, “I hope you’re well" or "I miss you." Write an honest, thoughtful note saying: Here’s why you matter to me. . . Or I keep thin...

I'm thrilled to welcome Dr. Ben Rein , neuroscientist and author of Why Brains Need Friends: The Neuroscience of Social Connection . We discuss what friendship does to your brain and why loneliness is SO damaging over time. We cover why introverts still need connection (just in smaller “doses”), why ghosting and quiet quitting in friendships can land so harshly, what’s really behind jealousy w...

The Real Work Behind Lifelong Friendship This week I’m joined by two women who accidentally went viral on social media, but they've been doing the real work of close friendship for over four decades. I'm a BIG fan and begged them to let me examine their friendship on the show. Meet Jenn Sherman (who you might know from Peloton) and Pam “Sunny” Sunshine who are the best friends behind the p...

You've arrived at the best academic nerd-out ever on the movie Beaches. Find out why CC Bloom and Hillary Whitney's instant friendship chemistry, breakups and makeups, and tear-jerker ending still wrecks us (in the best way). Is there something we can still learn in 2025 about making, keeping, and losing friends from this late 80s film? Absolutely. And professors of psychology agree! My as...

This month’s friendship challenge is all about generosity, but not the kind that empties your wallet or the type that requires a special occasion like a birthday or holiday gift. Think thoughtfulness and the joy of letting friends know you're thinking of them for no reason whatsoever. It's generosity of time and spirit merely to show friends they matter to you. A small gesture can leave a...

"This made me think of you." Is there anything more delightful to hear from a friend? These are the words often written between friends when someone shares one of Hannah Rosenberg 's (always viral!) poems from Instagram . And the incredible Hannah Rosenberg is my guest on Dear Nina . I was so excited to meet the woman behind the words I've been sharing in my own Instagram stories f...

Want a social gathering for making new friends or deepening friendships that’s not a book club , not mahjong, not a cooking club, not pickleball—just high-level, soul-filling conversation? Enter "the salon." Linda-Marie Barrett , author of Creating a Salon: The Magic of Conversations that Matter , shows us exactly how to plan a modern salon: who to invite (and who not to), how to set a cle...

Ever feel like your friendships are trapped in the very general "how are you?" catch-up loop? Award-winning journalist Jonah Kaplan joins me to talk about moving from small talk to something more substantive that feeds connection. Jonah has spent two decades covering difficult stories for CBS and WCCO, and he’s learned that the best conversations—on camera or off—come from curiosity, empat...

You're probably not asking your friends enough questions.   This month’s Friendship Challenge is simple but powerful: ask your friends more questions. (Way more than you think you should.) Trust me, people notice when you're not asking questions. One of my most viral TikToks from last fall was when I talked about "the friend who never asks about you." It has over 90K views and over...

A good apology can save a friendship; a bad one can torch it. And yes, our friends will mess up. As will we! That's why learning to say "I'm sorry" (and why!), accept an apology, and even ask for a better apology if the one you got was "off" are all important skills in maintaining and deepening your friendships. In this episode of Dear Nina , I spoke to author and journalis...

Different choices, same friendships—if you’re willing to speak up. This week on Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship , I talk with bestselling author Dani Alpert , who has always known she didn’t want children. While her five best friends all married and had kids, Dani carved out a different life. The result? Decades of navigating friendships where communication was extra necessary to keep re...

New parenthood can be isolating and full of unspoken (or spoken!) pressures. But those early years are not only about the challenges. There are opportunities too! For one, being at a drastically new stage of life is a common time for making friends who are going through similar experiences. I spoke to Alex Reed , a new-ish mom (at least compared to me--a mom for two decades), a tech-industry pro,...

What happens when we carry shame into our friendships? How does it keep us apart? How does it connect us deeply to others? I spoke with author Melissa Petro , whose book, SHAME ON YOU: How to Be a Woman in the Age of Mortification, delves into the complex relationship between shame, identity, and connection. Together we explore how unacknowledged shame affects our ability to form deep, meaningful...

This month’s Dear Nina Friendship Challenge taps into the fresh-start energy of September to help you quiet the inner bully telling you you're awkward or not desired and dial up your inner bestie. I'm joined by Leslie Randolph , certified coach and TEDx speaker, who helps adults, tweens, and teens cultivate self-confidence that sticks. Leslie and I break down self-confidence as a skill (no...

What should we expect from friends when we launch a new business or creative project like a book or a new company? Bestselling author Jackie Friedland joins me to wrestle with the messy feelings of disappointment, obligation, vulnerability, and gratitude that come with asking friends for support. Jackie opens up about the rollercoaster of releasing five books—sometimes surrounded by cheering frien...

My dream for " Dear Nina" has always been to make people feel less alone in the messy parts of friendship. Episode #160 was our first-ever LIVE show with 120 people in the room—and wow, you could feel the energy, see the heads nodding, and appreciate the camaraderie of an audience who has experienced the highs and lows of friend groups. Friend groups are complicated. They can be the source...

As parents, we all want our kids to be kind, inclusive, and compassionate. But what about when your child simply isn’t interested in a friendship? How do you balance kindness with their right to choose who they spend time with? This week, I revisit one of my earliest and most-loved conversations with award-winning author Jessica Speer , whose books help kids and tweens navigate the tricky terrain...

The August Friendship Challenge on Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship is all about mixed-age friendships, and I’m grateful to dive into the topic with author Liz Alterman . Her latest novel, Claire Casey’s Had Enough , includes a beautiful friendship between a 46-year-old and a 78-year-old woman, which gave me the perfect reason to talk about why we all need a friend who’s not in our exact...

Amy Blumenfeld was in 8th grade when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. While the medical story is remarkable on its own (including Amy becoming the first adolescent with Hodgkin lymphoma to have an autologous bone marrow transplant at Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC ), what stayed with her deeply was how her community showed up for her family. Just one example: a group of friends and synago...

It’s the four-year anniversary of Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship ! Whether you’ve been with me from the column that began in 2014, started with the first episode in 2021, stumbled in at episode 86, or you're new around here at #156— thank you . Thank you for caring about friendship on a deep level and for helping this podcast grow into something that’s helped me (and hopefully you)...