Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship

Nina Badzin
  • 4.9 (270)
  • Relationships
  • Updated Weekly

Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship is for anyone who wants to make sense of the gray areas of adult friendship---changed closeness, uneven effort, group dynamics, hurt feelings, and what to say and do next. As Nina always says, "Friendship issues are ageless and timeless." You can listen and relate to these topics no matter your age or your stage of life. And Dear Nina is a top 1% podcast so we know people of all ages are listening! Whether you've agonized over a text, wondered why you're always the one reaching out, or found yourself drifting away from an old friend—this show gets it and we're here to discuss it all. Note--these are conversations, not classic interviews. We're serious and practical, but we laugh a lot too! "Dear Nina" is hosted by Nina Badzin, who has been answering anonymous questions with "warm directness" in her friendship column since 2014. Every episode digs into the messy and sometimes maddening questions adults don't always want to ask out loud. Should you salvage a friendship that's fading or let it be? How do you kindly turn down an acquaintance who wants to be closer, but you're just not feeling the same chemistry? We talk about being the single friend in a coupled-up world, the grief of losing a friend to illness or a falling out, and what it means to be included in a friend group but not quite feel like you belong—whether that's happening to you or to your kid. Nina has been writing about friendship for over a decade, and her advice has been featured in NPR, Real Simple Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Time Magazine, The Skimm, and more. Every episode leaves room for the fact that there are no perfect answers. There's only real talk here, a lot of warmth, and the reminder that if you're overthinking your friendships, you're probably just someone who cares deeply about the people in your life. That's a good thing. Social connections MATTER deeply for your health and happiness! Let's talk about how to make it all easier. ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO !! Catch up on all Dear Nina episodes on Apple and Spotify 📢 How to promote your service, business, or book on Dear Nina 🎈 Celebrate your friend on the show by dedicating a week of episodes! 📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack ❤️  Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, & the Dear Nina Facebook group 📪  Ask an anonymous friendship question 📪 email: dearninapodcast@gmail.com 🔎 Want to work with me on your podcast, your friendships, or need another link? That’s probably here.

  1. #201 - A Softer Way to Think About Friendships That Faded (Rebecca Kotok)

    15h ago

    #201 - A Softer Way to Think About Friendships That Faded (Rebecca Kotok)

    How age, loss, and experience can change the way we see friendships from the past This week I’m joined by one of my very best friends, Rebecca Kotok, a public school counselor in Maryland and one of the most popular guests in the history of Dear Nina. Rebecca was first on the show in episode 34, where we talked about our friendship breakup in our 20s and our reconciliation. This time, we’re talking about a different kind of friendship shift: the way approaching 50, loss, and life experiences can soften how we think about friendships that faded, old hurts, and the stories we’ve been carrying for years. This episode is not about ignoring bad behavior or letting every person back into your life. But Rebecca and I talk about the peace that can come from no longer needing to prosecute every old friendship case in your mind over and over again until the end of time.  We talked about: • Why friendship breakups and faded friendships can carry so much shame • How midlife can change the way we understand old friendship disappointments • Why some friendships fade without anyone being "the villain" • The difference between being right and being at peace • How grief and life experience can make us more generous toward other people • Why you don’t have to reconnect with someone to think about them more positively • How gratitude, reflection, and therapy can help if a softer, more positive mindset does not come naturally One of my favorite ideas from Rebecca was that she now attributes perceived slights much less to someone’s character and much more to what that person may have been carrying. That feels like a wiser and "softer" way to move through the world.  Previous episodes mentioned:Episode #34: The breakup and reconciliation (with Rebecca Kotok) Episode #125: The 10% Rule in Friendship and the Negativity Bias (with Ann Imig) ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO !! Catch up on all Dear Nina episodes on Apple and Spotify 📢 How to promote your service, business, or book on Dear Nina 🔎 Information on any upcoming "Dear Nina Live" events 🎈 Celebrate your friend on the show by dedicating a week of episodes! 📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack ❤️  Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, & the Dear Nina Facebook group 📪  Ask an anonymous friendship question 📪 email: dearninapodcast@gmail.com 🔎 Want to work with me on your podcast, your friendships, or need another link? That’s probably here. Thank you to this week's sponsor: SINCERENOTES. SincereNotes is available to download free on Google Play and App store. Special thank you, as always, to my assistant producer, Rebekah Jacobs!

    31 min
  2. Bonus - An Episode Honoring Jill Smokler: Friendship, Cancer, and Community

    Jun 28 ·  Bonus

    Bonus - An Episode Honoring Jill Smokler: Friendship, Cancer, and Community

    My friend, Jill Smokler, touched so many lives. If you loved Jill, I hope hearing her voice is a comfort. If you didn’t know her, I hope this episode gives you a glimpse of why countless longtime followers, fans, and friends felt deeply connected to her candor and warmth. This bonus episode of Dear Nina is a replay of a conversation Jill asked me to record with her in the summer of 2024, soon after she was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Jill died on June 22, 2026, and I’m sharing this conversation again around what would have been her 49th birthday. Jill was a certain kind of famous—not movie-star famous, but very known in a way that mattered. Her work and her support of so many writers and readers helped women feel less alone starting with her groundbreaking blog, Scary Mommy. She continued in that supportive role after she sold Scary Mommy and publicly figured out her next move, which included her podcast and online magazine, She's Got Issues, which gave an honest voice to midlife. I knew Jill first from Washington University in St. Louis, where we met as freshmen, but our friendship and professional relationship grew much more in adulthood. We collaborated in our work over the years, and I credit Jill with helping me understand what writing on the internet could be. Jill was proud of this conversation we had two years ago. You will hear her humor, her honesty, and her way of making room for the awful and the absurd at the same time. Jill spoke frankly about her diagnosis and what it felt like to receive an outpouring of love from people who knew her in every era of her life: childhood, college, parenting, work, and of course from her massive online community. We also discussed what friendship looks like in a crisis: what helped, what didn’t, and what she wished people understood. Jill was especially clear about the value of brief, consistent check-ins with no expectation of a reply and the practical relief of meals and DoorDash gift cards. Jill also reflected on her children, her best friend, the friendships she built over a lifetime, and the future she felt robbed of getting to enjoy. It's a heartbreaking, funny, blunt, generous, and "pure Jill" episode. Thank you for listening, and for helping me honor Jill. Links mentioned: Jill's official obituary where you can leave comments for her family to read.The June 23rd, 2026 NYT piece about Jill (gift link)The today.com piece I mentioned in 2024 about Jill's diagnosis and the rise of Scary MommyJill's books: Confessions of a Scary Mommy, Motherhood Comes Naturally and Other Lies, and Scary Mommy's Guide to Surviving the HolidaysMy visits on She's Got Issues mentioned in this episode: "Friendship-- Mistakes & Hard Lessons Learned" and "Friendship Breakups: Accepting When a Friendship is Over"Jill's previous visit to Dear Nina: "Old School Blogging Friendships"Kate Bowler's book, No Cure For Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear) ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO !! Catch up on all Dear Nina episodes on Apple and Spotify 📢 How to promote your service, business, or book on Dear Nina 🔎 Information on any upcoming "Dear Nina Live" events 🎈 Celebrate your friend on the show by dedicating a week of episodes! 📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack ❤️  Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, & the Dear Nina Facebook group 📪  Ask an anonymous friendship question 📪 email: dearninapodcast@gmail.com 🔎 Want to work with me on your podcast, your friendships, or need another link? That’s probably here. Thank you to this week's sponsor: SINCERENOTES. SincereNotes is available to download free on Google Play and App store. Special thank you, as always, to my assistant producer, Rebekah Jacobs!

    39 min
  3. #200 - Why Talking to Strangers is Good for Your Friendships (Dr. Gillian Sandstrom)

    Jun 21

    #200 - Why Talking to Strangers is Good for Your Friendships (Dr. Gillian Sandstrom)

    How small talk, "loose ties," and everyday conversations help us feel more connected For episode #200 of Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship, I’m joined by Dr. Gillian Sandstrom, an associate professor in the Psychology of Kindness at the University of Sussex and author of Once Upon a Stranger: The Science of How Small Talk Can Add Up to a Big Life. I came into this conversation a little wary. Do I really want to talk to more strangers? On airplanes? At Trader Joe’s? When I’m trying to get through my errands and keep moving? But Gillian’s research—and her very practical way of talking about it—made a strong case for why these small, low-stakes interactions matter. This episode is not about forcing every stranger into a future friendship. It’s about remembering that every friend was once a stranger, and that talking to people we don’t know gives us practice with the exact skills good friendships require: handling uncertainty, risking rejection, asking better questions, listening, ending conversations kindly, and staying open to other people. Gillian also explains why small talk is not as pointless as it can seem, why people usually like us more than we think they do, and why even brief moments of connection can change the way we move through the world. WE TALKED ABOUT: • Why talking to strangers is connected to making and keeping friends • The “liking gap” and why we often underestimate how much people enjoyed talking to us • How strangers can be lower-stakes practice for friendship skills • Why small talk can feel awkward, boring, or inefficient—and why it still matters • Gillian’s “QUICK” method for starting conversations: questions, in common, and kindness • How to politely end a conversation without pretending you need to take a call • The difference between strangers, acquaintances, weak ties, loose ties, and “fringe-ships” • Why we sometimes disclose more easily to strangers than to close friends • The awkwardness of reaching out to an old friend who now feels like a stranger • Why talking to strangers can make the world feel safer, warmer, and more human   One idea from Gillian I especially loved: not every interaction has to be transformative to be worthwhile. Like movies, not every conversation will be "amazing." Some will be forgettable and will be average, but over time, these small moments add up to something meaningful. In a world that often feels increasingly impersonal and distracted, I found that idea pretty convincing.  Meet Dr. Gillian Sandstrom:  Gillian Sandstrom is an associate professor in the psychology of kindness at the University of Sussex and author of Once Upon a Stranger: The Science of How 'Small' Talk Can Add Up To a Big Life. Her research has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic, and has been covered by other outlets around the world. She has been interviewed for major podcasts and radio shows, including Hidden Brain, NPR's Life Kit, and Claudia Hammond's All in the Mind. She lives in Brighton, England. Find her on LinkedIn and Instagram.  ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO !! Catch up on all Dear Nina episodes on Apple and Spotify 📢 How to promote your service, business, or book on Dear Nina 🔎 Information on any upcoming "Dear Nina Live" events 🎈 Celebrate your friend on the show by dedicating a week of episodes! 📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack ❤️  Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, & the Dear Nina Facebook group 📪  Ask an anonymous friendship question 📪 email: dearninapodcast@gmail.com 🔎 Want to work with me on your podcast, your friendships, or need another link? That’s probably here. Thank you to this week's sponsor: SINCERENOTES. SincereNotes is available to download free on Google Play and App store. Special thank you, as always, to my assistant producer, Rebekah Jacobs!

    42 min
  4. #199 - Traveling with Friends: Lessons From a Girls-Trip Regular (Rebekah Jacobs)

    Jun 14

    #199 - Traveling with Friends: Lessons From a Girls-Trip Regular (Rebekah Jacobs)

    How to make girls trips, weekend getaways, and friendship travel actually happen This week, I’m joined by one of my favorite people to talk to about friendship on and off the microphone: my assistant producer and friend, Rebekah Jacobs! We're discussing something she does far more often than I do—traveling with friends. Rebekah is a frequent girls-trip traveler. She’s the friend who is always hopping on a plane, meeting friends for a weekend away, or squeezing in a 24-hour getaway. Meanwhile, I realized while preparing for this episode that I’ve traveled with friends far less often than most people might assume, especially for someone who talks about friendship for a living.  Together, we unpack why friendship travel can feel so difficult to pull off, especially during busy seasons of life. We talk about kids, schedules, money, logistics, guilt, and the challenge of finding a date that works for everyone. But we also talk about why it’s worth the effort. In this episode, we discuss:Why you don’t need a big friend group to take a friendship trip (one-on-one is great too!)How to finally move a trip from “We should do that sometime” to an actual date on the calendarRebekah’s advice about being the “bendy friend” when schedules get complicatedWhat happens when different people want different things from the same tripHow to navigate money conversations without resentmentWhy self-advocacy is an underrated travel skillThe importance of putting your phone away and being presentHow trips help deepen friendships in ways everyday life often can’tOne takeaway I especially lovedRebekah said something during our conversation that I haven’t stopped thinking about: the worth-it bar is lower than you think. In other words, stop waiting for the perfect destination, the perfect budget, the perfect schedule, or the perfect group. If you can make one night work, do it. If all you can manage is 24 hours, take the 24 hours.  Links MentionedTickets to Dear Nina LIVE in Excelsior, Minnesota on July 29The White Lotus episode: Lessons from the White Lotus Friendship TrioThe 2025 live show: From the Cafeteria to the Mahj Table: Friend Group Challenges from Teens to Midlife and Beyond The Beaches episode! What “Beaches” Gets Right About Friendship: Professors Paul Eastwick & Eli Finkel (of The Love Factually Podcast)Article on Jane Pratt's Substack: "Girls Trips Always Make Me Feel Left Out, Disappointed and Depressed" As always, thank you for listening. And if this episode inspires you to finally book that trip you've been talking about for years, I'd love to hear about it. Safe travels! ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO !! Catch up on all Dear Nina episodes on Apple and Spotify 📢 How to promote your service, business, or book on Dear Nina 🔎 Information on any upcoming "Dear Nina Live" events 🎈 Celebrate your friend on the show by dedicating a week of episodes! 📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack ❤️  Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, & the Dear Nina Facebook group 📪  Ask an anonymous friendship question 📪 email: dearninapodcast@gmail.com 🔎 Want to work with me on your podcast, your friendships, or need another link? That’s probably here. Thank you to this week's sponsor: SINCERENOTES. SincereNotes is available to download free on Google Play and App store. Special thank you, as always, to my assistant producer, Rebekah Jacobs!

    35 min
  5. #198 - Making Friends Through Work: Collaboration Over Competition (Kim Oster-Holstein and Mara Smith)

    Jun 7

    #198 - Making Friends Through Work: Collaboration Over Competition (Kim Oster-Holstein and Mara Smith)

    Two entrepreneurs on friendship, support, and staying open to new connections. When we talk on Dear Nina about making friends as adults, I often focus on hobbies, neighborhoods, volunteer opportunities, or the activities we do outside of work. But work is one of the most common ways adults meet new people, and it's something I probably don't talk about enough. This week, I'm joined by Mara Smith, founder of Inspiro Tequila, and Kim Oster-Holstein, co-founder of Twisted Alchemy. Both women launched successful beverage companies as second (or third!) careers, and both found themselves navigating the challenges of entrepreneurship at the same time. What I love about their story is that they easily could have stayed acquaintances. Instead, they built a genuine friendship based on shared values, mutual support, and a belief that collaboration creates more opportunities than competition. In our conversation, we discuss how they met through industry events, why entrepreneurship can be surprisingly lonely, and how staying open to new friendships at all points in life can enrich both your professional and personal worlds. Whether you're a founder, work in a traditional office, or are simply looking for new ways to connect with people, this episode is a reminder that meaningful friendships can begin in unexpected places.   LINKS MENTIONED:  Kim's company, Twisted AlchemyMara's Company, Inspiro TequilaAnother helpful episode on making friends through work, but with another angle is #191 with guest, Lindsay Pinchuk, "The Case For Work Friends and Where to Find Them"Tickets for Dear Nina Live in Minneapolis on July 29th! MEET KIM & MARA: Kim Oster-Holstein is a respected leader in the food and beverage industry with over 29 years of experience driving innovation and growth. As Co-Founder and President of Twisted Alchemy, she has transformed the hospitality and home mixology markets with award-winning, 100% Whole30 Approved, cold-pressed juices distributed nationwide. Under her leadership, the company partners with prestigious brands such as Ritz-Carlton, Disney, Marriott, and Nobu, serving more than 10,000 hospitality accounts and major grocery retailers such as Whole Foods, Sprouts Farmers Markets and Albertsons. Previously, she founded and led Kim & Scott’s Gourmet Pretzels to multimillion-dollar success before its acquisition by J&J Snack Foods Corp. in 2012. A TEDx speaker, award-winning entrepreneur, and Northwestern University alumna, Kim is widely recognized for her visionary leadership, industry influence, and commitment to developing future leaders. Mara Smith, the founder of Inspiro Tequila, is a former attorney, corporate strategist and stay-at-home mom. Mara practiced law at a large Chicago law firm before joining the corporate strategy team at a Fortune 500 Company. After her twins were born prematurely, Mara made the difficult decision to leave her corporate career to stay home. She never stopped thinking about what was next. Mara always envisioned running her own company and in 2020 she set out on her journey to create a new tequila brand.  ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO !! Catch up on all Dear Nina episodes on Apple and Spotify 📢 How to promote your service, business, or book on Dear Nina 🔎 Information on any upcoming "Dear Nina Live" events 🎈 Celebrate your friend on the show by dedicating a week of episodes! 📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack ❤️  Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, & the Dear Nina Facebook group 📪  Ask an anonymous friendship question 📪 email: dearninapodcast@gmail.com 🔎 Want to work with me on your podcast, your friendships, or need another link? That’s probably here. Thank you to this week's sponsor: SINCERENOTES. SincereNotes is available to download free on Google Play and App store. Special thank you, as always, to my assistant producer, Rebekah Jacobs!

    27 min
  6. #197 - Anxious Attachment in Friendships: Why You Keep Wondering Where You Stand (Rebecca Stambridge)

    May 31

    #197 - Anxious Attachment in Friendships: Why You Keep Wondering Where You Stand (Rebecca Stambridge)

    Why Reassurance-Seeking, Overthinking, and Fear of Rejection Can Strain Even Good Friendships Most of us have moments when we wonder where we stand with a friend. That's part of caring about people. But for some, those worries become a constant rumination in the background of their friendships. You might find yourself replaying conversations, looking for signs that something is wrong, or repeatedly seeking reassurance that the friendship is still okay. That's where a discussion about anxious attachment can be helpful. Attachment styles have become a popular topic online, but social media often reduces a complex subject to quick labels and catchy phrases. In this episode of Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship, we're taking a deeper look at what anxious attachment actually looks like in friendships. When is concern about a friendship justified? When is anxiety filling in the blanks? And how can you tell the difference? I'm joined by psychotherapist and mindfulness teacher Rebecca Stambridge, known online as The Friendship Therapist, to discuss anxious attachment style in friendships. While attachment styles are often discussed in romantic relationships, Rebecca explains why they show up in our platonic connections. We explore what anxious attachment style looks like in real life, why some friendships feel especially triggering, and how learning self-compassion can help you stop looking to friends to soothe every uncomfortable feeling.   WE DISCUSSED: The difference between normal friendship insecurity and anxious attachmentWhy some people constantly worry that a friend is upset with them even when there's little evidenceHow overthinking and seeking reassurance can strain friendshipsThe connection between childhood experiences and adult friendship patternsThe difference between healthy friendship expectations and looking to a friend to soothe anxietyHow secure friends can sometimes trigger anxious attachment in othersPractical mindfulness and self-compassion tools for managing friendship anxietyHow to tell the difference between your anxiety talking and a friendship that genuinely isn't workingWhy healing anxious attachment doesn't mean never feeling insecure again MEET REBECCA STAMBRIDGE: Rebecca Stambridge, known as The Friendship Therapist, is a psychotherapist and mindfulness teacher who helps people overcome low self-worth and anxious attachment so they can feel secure and at ease in their platonic relationships. Find Rebecca on Instagram: @the.friendshiptherapist. ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO !! Catch up on all Dear Nina episodes on Apple and Spotify 📢 How to promote your service, business, or book on Dear Nina 🔎 Information on any upcoming "Dear Nina Live" events 🎈 Celebrate your friend on the show by dedicating a week of episodes! 📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack ❤️  Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, & the Dear Nina Facebook group 📪  Ask an anonymous friendship question 📪 email: dearninapodcast@gmail.com 🔎 Want to work with me on your podcast, your friendships, or need another link? That’s probably here. Thank you to this week's sponsor: SINCERENOTES. SincereNotes is available to download free on Google Play and App store. Special thank you, as always, to my assistant producer, Rebekah Jacobs!

    40 min
  7. #196 - Second Homes and Friendship: Hosting, FOMO, and Unspoken Expectations (Stephanie Hansen)

    May 24

    #196 - Second Homes and Friendship: Hosting, FOMO, and Unspoken Expectations (Stephanie Hansen)

    In this episode of Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship, I’m talking about the social complications of having a second home. Whether it’s a lakeside cabin, a Florida condo, or simply living somewhere everyone wants to visit, these situations bring up all kinds of friendship questions around hosting, invitations, reciprocity, FOMO, boundaries, and expectations. My guest is the incredible Stephanie Hansen: cookbook author, novelist, broadcaster, podcaster, and expert on Minnesota cabin culture. Stephanie loves her family cabin in Ely, Minnesota, and she joined me for a candid conversation about what happens when your “happy place” also becomes a source of complicated social dynamics. This episode is funny, honest, surprisingly emotional at times, and full of the kinds of nuanced friendship situations that don’t have perfect answers. LINKS MENTIONED:  True North Cabin Cookbook Vol 1 and True North Cabin Cookbook Vol 2.Check out Stephanie's new novel, The Moon Tavern: A Culinary Love Story (With Recipes), co-written with her husband, Kurt Johnson.Stephanie's website and Substack newsletter full of fantastic recipes and storiesStephanie on Instagram @stephaniesdish MEET STEPHANIE HANSEN Stephanie Hansen is the co-host of the “The Weekly Dish” radio show and podcast on Hubbard Broadcastings MyTalk107.1 radio with Minneapolis St Paul Magazines food editor, Stephanie March. The show is going on its 18th year and is also a podcast. In 2023 and 2025 Stephanie won a regional Emmy award for hosting the TV show, "Taste Buds With Stephanie" that airs Saturday mornings at 8:30 am on Fox 9 and is currently in syndication at 89 TV stations throughout the United States. Season 4 starts in Fall of 2026. You can also catch Stephanie cooking and sharing recipes weekly on The Jason Show on KMSP Fox 9 in the Twin Cities. Stephanie also has a podcast called, “Dishing with Stephanie’s Dish” where she talks with other food writers, cookbook authors, and fans of food that she releases on her Substack newsletter with recipes each week from her blog StephaniesDish.com Stephanie loves to travel and has sailed throughout the Caribbean, Italy and Croatia. She loves her “Van Life” in her Winnebago Paseo and is a part-time resident of Ely on Burntside Lake in the Summer where she wrote and photographed the True North Cabin Cookbook Vol 1 and True North Cabin Cookbook Vol 2. And check out Stephanie's new novel, The Moon Tavern: A Culinary Love Story (With Recipes), co-written with her husband, Kurt Johnson. Find her on Instagram @stephaniesdishon Instagram @stephaniesdish ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO !! Catch up on all Dear Nina episodes on Apple and Spotify 📢 How to promote your service, business, or book on Dear Nina 🔎 Information on any upcoming "Dear Nina Live" events 🎈 Celebrate your friend on the show by dedicating a week of episodes! 📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack ❤️  Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, & the Dear Nina Facebook group 📪  Ask an anonymous friendship question 📪 email: dearninapodcast@gmail.com 🔎 Want to work with me on your podcast, your friendships, or need another link? That’s probably here. Thank you to this week's sponsor: SINCERENOTES. SincereNotes is available to download free on Google Play and App store. Special thank you, as always, to my assistant producer, Rebekah Jacobs!

    36 min
  8. Bonus: Are Your Friendships Surviving the Digital Age? Likes, Memes & What Really Matters (Nina on The Visibility Standard with Jazzmyn Proctor)

    May 18 ·  Bonus

    Bonus: Are Your Friendships Surviving the Digital Age? Likes, Memes & What Really Matters (Nina on The Visibility Standard with Jazzmyn Proctor)

    I’m sharing a bonus episode from my appearance on The Visibility Standard with Jazzmyn Proctor. We talked about modern friendship and all the strange new tensions that come with living so much of our lives online. From expecting friends to endlessly support our businesses on social media (and the resentment when they watch but don't 'like'), to replacing real connection with memes and endless scrolling, this conversation digs into the gray areas of adult friendship right now. We also talked about reciprocity, forgiveness, making actual plans with friends, and why maintaining friendships requires more intentionality than ever. Jazzmyn brought such thoughtful questions to this discussion, brought such thoughtful questions to this discussion, and I was excited to answer for a change. In this episode, we discuss: Why your friends are not automatically your audience, followers, or marketing teamThe difference between online reciprocity and real-life friendship reciprocityHow social media can quietly distort friendship expectationsWhy sending memes is not the same as maintaining a friendshipThe importance of scheduling time with friends—even when it feels inconvenientHow forgiveness and assuming the best help friendships last longerBuilding friendships through online spaces without confusing them for instant intimacyConcerns about AI, ChatGPT, and what happens when people stop practicing real human connectionLinks mentioned:Learn more about JazzmynJazzmyn on TikTok and Instagram (both @jazzmynproctor)Jazzmyn's episode on Dear Nina was one of my top of 2025: "Episode #151: "Myths Around Adult Friendships"Harlan Cohen on Dear Nina: Episode #143: "The Law of Rejection in Friendships"Dear Nina episode #139: "How to Start a Podcast"ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO !! Catch up on all Dear Nina episodes on Apple and Spotify 📢 How to promote your service, business, or book on Dear Nina 🔎 Information on any upcoming "Dear Nina Live" events 🎈 Celebrate your friend on the show by dedicating a week of episodes! 📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack ❤️  Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, & the Dear Nina Facebook group 📪  Ask an anonymous friendship question 📪 email: dearninapodcast@gmail.com 🔎 Want to work with me on your podcast, your friendships, or need another link? That’s probably here. Thank you to this week's sponsor: SINCERENOTES. SincereNotes is available to download free on Google Play and App store. Special thank you, as always, to my assistant producer, Rebekah Jacobs!

    42 min
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About

Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship is for anyone who wants to make sense of the gray areas of adult friendship---changed closeness, uneven effort, group dynamics, hurt feelings, and what to say and do next. As Nina always says, "Friendship issues are ageless and timeless." You can listen and relate to these topics no matter your age or your stage of life. And Dear Nina is a top 1% podcast so we know people of all ages are listening! Whether you've agonized over a text, wondered why you're always the one reaching out, or found yourself drifting away from an old friend—this show gets it and we're here to discuss it all. Note--these are conversations, not classic interviews. We're serious and practical, but we laugh a lot too! "Dear Nina" is hosted by Nina Badzin, who has been answering anonymous questions with "warm directness" in her friendship column since 2014. Every episode digs into the messy and sometimes maddening questions adults don't always want to ask out loud. Should you salvage a friendship that's fading or let it be? How do you kindly turn down an acquaintance who wants to be closer, but you're just not feeling the same chemistry? We talk about being the single friend in a coupled-up world, the grief of losing a friend to illness or a falling out, and what it means to be included in a friend group but not quite feel like you belong—whether that's happening to you or to your kid. Nina has been writing about friendship for over a decade, and her advice has been featured in NPR, Real Simple Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Time Magazine, The Skimm, and more. Every episode leaves room for the fact that there are no perfect answers. There's only real talk here, a lot of warmth, and the reminder that if you're overthinking your friendships, you're probably just someone who cares deeply about the people in your life. That's a good thing. Social connections MATTER deeply for your health and happiness! Let's talk about how to make it all easier. ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO !! Catch up on all Dear Nina episodes on Apple and Spotify 📢 How to promote your service, business, or book on Dear Nina 🎈 Celebrate your friend on the show by dedicating a week of episodes! 📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack ❤️  Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, & the Dear Nina Facebook group 📪  Ask an anonymous friendship question 📪 email: dearninapodcast@gmail.com 🔎 Want to work with me on your podcast, your friendships, or need another link? That’s probably here.

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