Here is an easy reference to all episodes of Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship organized by subtopic.
PLEASE NOTE: Many episodes could have fit in several categories, but I picked one (in most cases).
Looking to pitch an episode idea? Details are here. BUT, read the list below first and please pitch a subtopic/angle I haven’t already covered.
Interested in placing on ad on the show about your business or your book? I have more information here.
How Friends Communicate (or not!)
#1. The Friend Who Will Only Text: Kathy Sackheim (my mom!)
#3. The Friend Who Never Initiates Contact: Pam Moore
#4. Revealing Too Much Too Soon: Christie Tate
#8. When Friends Ask Questions You Don’t Want to Answer: Kathy Sackheim (my mom!)
Mini-Episode: A Positive View of Friends Asking Personal Questions
#24. Maintaining Boundaries Without Damaging Your Friendships: Bryan Badzin
#25. Improving Group Texts: Kat Vellos
#95. Overtalking, Undertalking, and Lessons for Friendships in the Art of Storytelling: Micaela Blei
#111. The Friend Who Never Asks About You (Letter spotlight)
#168: From Surface to Substance: A Journalist’s Guide to Deeper Friendships: Jonah Kaplan
Ending Friendships or Changing the Friendship
#7. Forgiveness and Reconciliation After a Friendship Breakup: Rebecca Kotok
#29. Outgrowing a Friendship and Friends Who Do Not Root For You: Chaz Sandifer
#33. When the Desire for Friendship is Not Equal: Ruchi Koval
#47. Friendship Triangles, Envy, Competition and Ghosting: Christie Tate
#51. Recognizing a Toxic Friendship: Michelle Anderson and Lauren Massarella (of The Sister Project)
#71: Learning From Friendship Breakups: Diamonde Williamson
#109. Quiet Quitting a Friendship: Dr. Miriam Kirmayer
#143: The Law of Rejection in Friendships: Harlan Cohen
#180: Mean Mom Culture, Relational Aggression, and Belonging vs. Inclusion (with Dr. Noelle Santorelli)
Conflict and/or Forgiveness in Friendships
Mini-Episode: The Friendship Apology Creed
Mini-Episode: Friends Make Mistakes
#31. Friends Who are Different from You: Stephanie Pierce and Julie Burton
#32. Conflict Can Strengthen a Friendship: Dr. Marisa Franco
#34. Reconnecting with an Ex-Friend: Rebecca Kotok
#35. Managing a Lopsided Friendship and Assuming the Best: Anna Goldfarb
#48. Friendship Despite Disagreements: Yael Bar Tur and Chaya Leah Sufrin
#49. Unexpected Friendships: Will Schwalbe
#50. How Friendships Change With Age, Overlooking Foibles, Dealing With Our Teens’ Friendships, and more: Kathy Sackheim (my mom!)
#72. Grudges and Apologies in Friendships: Kathy Sackheim (my mom!)
#88. Differences of Opinion With Friends and the Potential of Friendship With Cousins: Emily Locker
#92. The Courage to Trust Friends After You’ve Been Hurt
#94. Five Friendship Issues to Consider Addressing With a Therapist: Dr. Roxanne Francis
#102. Friendships Can Survive Hurt Feelings and Conflict: Shasta Nelson
#119. Reviving Friendships that Drifted Apart (even decades later): Kay Paschal
#154: Discretion vs. Gossip: How to Handle a Friend Who Overshares Your News (Letter Spotlight) Rebekah Jacobs
#165: The Child-Free Friend: Honest Talk About Friendship and Different Life Paths: Dani Alpert
#166: Friendship Repair: How to Say I’m Sorry, Accept Apologies, and Ask for One: Marjorie Ingall
#186: The Friend Who Copies You — Flattering or Frustrating?: Candace Ourisman
Excluding and Including (all the issues that come up around this tricky topic)
#9. Friends Will Hang Out Without You: Taryn Kessel
#16. Stop Focusing on the Popular Group
#73. I’m Just Not That Into This Friendship: Ruchi Koval
#85. The More the Merrier? That’s Not Always True: Danielle Bayard Jackson
#91: Why Big Friend Groups Often Fail and Helping Kids Manage Conflict with Close Friends: Dr. Lisa Damour
#106. Healing After Being Dropped from a Group of Friends: Meghan Judge
#159: Teaching Kindness Without Forcing Friendships: A Parenting Dilemma: Jessica Speer
#160: From the Cafeteria to the Mahj Table: Friend Group Challenges from Teens to Midlife and Beyond (LIVE!): Rebekah Jacobs
#181: Exclusion and the Power to Build New Friendships: Amy Weatherly
Grief, Loss, Illness, Supporting Friends in a Hard Time + SHOWING UP
#12. Helping a Friend in Crisis and Asking Friends for Help: Alissa Butterfass
#21. Friends Who Are Like Family and the Ways Friends Show Up: Rachel Levy Lesser
#28. Grieving the Death of a Friend: Zibby Owens
#36. Widowhood and Friendship: Kathy Sackheim (my mom!)
#55. How to Support a Friend Facing an Ambiguous Loss: Emma Nadler
#68. When Your Friend is in an Unhealthy or Abusive Relationship: Rachel Katz
#69. Don’t Be Afraid of Saying the Wrong Thing to Friends With a Chronic Illness: Jennifer Cramer-Miller
#80. Neediness in Friendships: Sally Vardaman
#82. The Lasting Ties of Friendships Formed in Difficult Times: Jenny Leon
#90: The Friends You Want Around During a Crisis: Kelly Lang
#104. Being a Good Friend to Someone With Terminal Cancer: Jill Smokler
#128: Your Friends Won’t Always Say the Right Thing When You’re Struggling, Forgive Them: Steve Phillips
#129: Do you know how your friends like to be comforted in hard times?
#157: When a Community Shows Up: Childhood Cancer, Friendship, and Lifelong Ripple Effects: Amy Blumenfeld
#176: Divorce and the Impact on Your Friendships: Hope Lutz Firsel
#182: Three Phrases That Help When a Friend Is Experiencing Loss: Shelby Forsythia
Making New Friends in a New City or New Stage of Life (or JUST BECAUSE YOU WANT TO!)
#13. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone to Make New Friends: Michelle Platt
#14. Plan Ongoing Activities to Make Deeper Connections with Friends: Jessica Smock
#15. The Art of Small Talk and Body Language When Making New Friends: Ali Wenzke
#20. Friendship Chemistry
#22. Host Friends (and Potential Friends) for Meals with Less Stress: Debra Arbit
#26. Making New Friends After 50: the hosts of The Pop Culture Preservation Society
#37. The Benefits of Couple Friends: Bryan Badzin
#39. Trying One New Thing Every Day to Make New Friends: Pam Lamp
#52. Choosing a New Expat Life After a Tragedy: Jen Zwinck
#53. It’s Never Too Late To Make New, Close Friends: Megan Tamte (founder of Evereve)
#58. Poker, Mahjong, and Becoming Closer Friends Through a Game: Mark Oppenheimer
#70: Become Your Own Social Director: Don’t Wait for Invitations
#78. Pursuing a New Friend and Texting Etiquette: Rachel Levy Lesser and Stephanie Goldstein
#79. Moving Every Three Years and Creating Community: Bri McKoy
#83. The Sisterhood of the Fellow Exes: Lara Starr
#84. How to Turn an Acquaintance Into a Friend: Debra Arbit
#103. Friendship Meet Cutes and Your Fashion Emergency Friends: Rachel Levy Lesser
#115. The Freshmen Energy Trick for Making New Friends as an Adult
#117. Hobbies and Friendship: Preparing for the Empty Nest and Retirement: Dara Collins and Donna Kassman
#118. Navigating Post-30s Friendship Struggles Through Social Prescribing: Julia Hotz
#134: The Potential for Friendship in Fan Communities: SC Perot
#143: The Law of Rejection in Friendships: Harlan Cohen
#155: Thriving Solo–Making Friends and Creating Community After a Big Move: Lisa Giordano
#164: Making Mom Friends: Challenges & Opportunities: Alex Reed
#184: Socially Connected, Emotionally Unsettled: The Friendship Paradox in Your 20s: Dr. Jeffrey Hall
The Nuanced Art of Maintaining Friendships (Almost all episodes would fit here too!)
#30. Loneliness and Worry Despite Having Close Friends: Mary Laura Philpott
#38. Knowing Your Friendship Preferences and Limitations: Diana Spechler
#40. Giving Thoughtful Gifts to Friends
#41. Work Friend, Real Friend, or Customer?: Lisa Harris
#42. Which Friendships Do You Enjoy and Why?
#43. Navigating Money and Friendship: Mia Brabam
#44. Diet Culture and Friendship:Pam Moore
#46. The Power of Casual Friendships: Shari Leid
#54. Text Your Friends Back and Other Tips on Maintaining Friendships: Laura Tremaine
#57. Listen for What’s Not Being Said and Other Friendship Solutions From the Five Senses: Gretchen Rubin
#61. The Case for Phone Calls and Low-key Hangs with Friends: Jo Piazza
#62. The Friendship of the Weekly Walking Partners: Leslie Hooton
#63. Telling Friends They’ve Let You Down: Dr. Marisa Franco
#66. Introvert Energy in Friendships: Heidi Shertok
#67. Visit Your Long Distance Friends
#75. Scheduling, Structure, and Traditions as the Key to Making and Keeping Friends: Jeff Waldman and Dan Moore
#86. Every Friendship Starts (or deepens) With an Act of Bravery: Amy Weathery + Jess Johnston (of Sister I am With You)
#87: Beyond The Golden Girls: Platonic Life Partners at Any Age: Rhaina Cohen
#89. Negative Friendship Patterns & Breaking an Unhealthy Cycle: Christie Tate
#97. Disclosing My Invisible Disability Increased the Intimacy In My Friendships: Estelle Erasmus
#98. 5 Questions to Evaluate Your Friendships at the End of the School Year (or any time!)
#99. The 14-Day Friendship Mindset Cleanse: Anna Goldfarb
#105. Quick Friendship Tip: You Need (Some) Time With Your Long Distance Friends
#107. Friendships between sisters-in-law plus roommates, cousins, and neighbors (Letter Spotlight)
#110. Neurodiversity and Friendships: Dr. James Richardson
#114. The Enneagram and Friendships: Christina Wilcox
#116. Lose Track of who Makes the Plans and 7 Other Friendship Tips from Dr. Ruth: Allison Gilbert
#120. 6 Ways to be More Generous in Your Friendships: Emma Nadler
#121. Rules For Making Plans With Friends: (Letter Spotlight)
#125: The 10% Rule in Friendships and the Negativity Bias : Ann Imig
#132: The Power of the 4 Types of Connection: Dr. Adam Dorsay
#133: Talking to Friends About Your Sex Life: Dr. Arielle Buch-Frohlich
#136: Your Three to Five Closest Friends: (Letter Spotlight) Rebekah Jacobs
#145: Rules for Supporting Your Single Friends: Meghan Keane
#146: Tolerate Uncertainty & Stop the Overthinking Spiral in Your Friendships: Dr. Jackie Henry
#147: Share Good News With Friends + How to Receive Your Friends’ Good News
#148: Tricky Friendship Etiquette for the Modern Age: Daniel Post Senning
#151: Myths Around Adult Friendships: Jazzmyn Proctor
#163: Shame and Friendship: What We Hide, What We Share: Melissa Petro
#169: Hosting a Salon: The Friendship Upgrade from Book Clubs: Linda-Marie Barrett
#170: The Friend Who Really Sees You: Hannah Rosenberg
#173: What Makes a Friendship Last: Lessons from 40 Years: Sunny & Jenn
#174: The Neuroscience of Feeling Seen, Ignored, or Left Out in Friendships: Dr. Ben Rein
#183: Are You Mad at Me? Friendship Anxiety and the Need for Validation: Meg Josephson
#185: When Career Success Strains Your Friendships: Dr. Kimberly Horn
Social Media Issues + Digital Life Realities
#5. The Friend Who Ignores Your Social Media Posts: Rudri Patel
#6. Unfriend, Mute, Unfollow, or Block
#56. Revisiting the Problems and Potential of Group Texts: Kat Vellos
#64. Old School Blogging Friendships: Jill Smokler
#142: Friends, Phones, and the Problem of Distraction: Katherine Martinko
#161: How Much Can You Expect Friends to Support Your Business, Book, or New Endeavor?: Jackie Friedland
Sobriety and Friendship Challenges and Opportunities
#17. Friendship and Sobriety: Jen (Gilhoi) Veralle
#130: The Sober Curious Lifestyle and Your Friendships: Hallie Sawyer
Parents Dealing With Kids’ Friendships (and their own adult friendships when kids are having issues)
#2. When Your Friend’s Kid is Being Mean to Your Kid: Taryn Kessel
#10. My Kid Isn’t Interested in Pursuing This Friendship: Jessica Speer
#23. When Kids’ Issues are Too Private to Discuss with Friends: Rebecca Prenevost
#59. Difficult Teen Friendships and Levels of Parent Involvement: Stephanie Sprenger
#65. Teen Friends Groups and Teen Friendship Strife: Dr. Lisa Damour
#152: When Your Child’s Friendship Issues Reopens Unresolved Wounds: Beth Segaloff
College Friendships
#60. College Friends: The Magic of the 90s and the Potential of Current Campus Friendships: Daisy Alpert Florin
#112. Navigating Friendship During the College Admissions Process: Kate Proger
#177: The Myth of Instant College Friends: Dr. Janice McCabe
Male Friendships
#11. Lessons From Male Friendships: Dave Dluger
#37. The Benefits of Couple Friends: Bryan Badzin
#49. Unexpected Friendships: Will Schwalbe
#58. Poker, Mahjong, and Becoming Closer Friends Through a Game: Mark Oppenheimer
#75. Scheduling, Structure, and Traditions as the Key to Making and Keeping Friends: Jeff Waldman and Dan Moore
#77. Laughter From Loneliness: Gabe Mollica
#123: Male-Female Friendships and Liking Friends’ Social Media Posts: Matt Ritter and Aaron Karo
#128: Your Friends Won’t Always Say the Right Thing When You’re Struggling, Forgive Them: Steve Phillips
#168: From Surface to Substance: A Journalist’s Guide to Deeper Friendships: Jonah Kaplan
Lessons From Our Own Childhoods
#45. Learning From Our Parents’ Friendships: Linda Pressman
#74. The Childhood Friends Who Shaped Our Identities: Kristin Nilsen
#96. Mixtapes, Mahjong, and Other Sensory Friendship Experiences: Gretchen Rubin
#100. The Magic of Camp Friends: Dara Levan
Community VS. Friendship
#138: The Neighborhood Village and How Community is Different From Friendship: Seth D. Kaplan
#150: Join or Die: Pickleball, Potlucks, Democracy, and Your Health: Rebecca Davis and Pete Davis
Friendships in Pop Culture
#19. Novels and Memoirs About Friendship: Rebekah Jacobs
#141: Lessons from the White Lotus Friendship Trio: Rebekah Jacobs
#172: What “Beaches” Gets Right About Friendship: Professors Paul Eastwick & Eli Finkel (of The Love Factually Podcast)
Too Many Topics to Slot into One Place
#18. Four Friendship Dilemmas in 30 Minutes: Taryn Kessel
#27. Covid Issues with Friends, Teen Groups, and Friends Who Leave: Taryn Kessel
#101. Ask Me Anything! (Best Friends, Friendship Trios, Being More Direct with Friends and much more)
#124: Friendship Who Criticize You and Two Other Dilemmas (Letter Spotlight)
#156: Four Years In: The 4 Biggest Lessons I’ve Learned About Friendship (and 4 about podcasting too)
#178: Top 5 Cities, Top 5 Episodes, and Friendship Takeaways from 2025 (Rebekah Jacobs)
#179: Your Newest Friendship Questions, Answered (With My Mom)
The 12 Friendship Challenges!
#127: See a Friend in Person This Month (January)
#131: Start a Ritual/Tradition with Friends: Rachel Steinman and Rachel Winter (February)
#135: The Hyperlocal Friendship Challenge (March)
#140: Celebrating Friends’ Birthdays and Your Own Birthday (April)
#144: The Secret Power of Changing the Venue in Your Friendship (May)
#149: Ask a Friend For a Favor (June)
#153: Three Questions to Reflect on Your Friendships: (July)
#158: You Need an Older or Younger Friend: Liz Alterman (August)
#162: Listen to Your “Bestie Brain,” Not Your “Bully Brain”: Leslie Randolph (September)
#167: Ask Your Friends More Questions (October)
#171: Brighten a Friend’s Day with One Simple Gesture (November)
#175: Write a Letter to One Friend: (December)
