My guest appearances on other podcasts

It was a thrill to be interviewed by Marielle Segarra on NPR’s LifeKit!

We spoke how to maintain longstanding friendships and the conversation went it new directions and gave me the opportunity to offer lots of practical and thoughtful tips.

From the Forum with Nina Badzin, Founder of Dear Nina Conversations About Friendship

“Building a business around friendship sounds personal because it is, and Nina Badzin shares what it takes to do it with clarity and staying power. As the founder of Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship, she talks about turning years of writing and real reader questions into a podcast and newsletter that function as the business itself, not side projects. Nina also opens up about the relief and clarity she found when she stopped trying to sound like an expert and simply showed up as a writer.”

I loved talking to Liz Forkin Bohannon on the Plucking Up Podcast. Here’s how Liz described the episode:

“I have to say – I have never met someone who has geeked out and deeply studied adult friendships, as much as our guest today! My guest today is Nina Badzin, writer, friendship advice columnist and popular podcaster of the Dear Nina podcast.

We speak about the common mistakes we make in building and sustaining friendships in our adult lives. Nina gets vulnerable and dives deep into how we can avoid and make sure we create and build beautiful friendships.”

I love how the hosts summarized this episode: “From the messy, dramatic, hilarious, ride-or-die bonds that shaped us, to the complicated seasons when friendships shift, stretch, or fade, this episode dives deep into what it means to truly show up for one another. We open up about our own friendships, the highs, lows, misunderstandings, reconnections, and the kind of love that keeps us rooted through every chapter of life.

Nina guides the conversation with warmth, wisdom, and real-talk honesty, helping us understand how friendship evolves, how to communicate better, and how to nurture the connections that matter most.”

I love that Emily Paulsen invited me to be a guest on “The Curious Life of a Childfree Woman” considering I have FOUR kids. That didn’t matter. The friendship lessons we discussed transcend whether or not you have kids. To quote Emily, “Together, Emily and Nina unpack the silent expectations that often trip us up, the habits that quietly erode closeness, and the surprising ways we can deepen connection even when life gets busy. From texting styles and mismatched energy levels to friendship between parents and non-parents, nothing is off-limits in this honest, relatable, and ultimately hopeful conversation.”

“In this episode of the Mad Rush podcast, host Trisha Addicks sits down with friendship expert Nina Badzin to discuss the importance of maintaining and deepening friendships, even when life gets busy. From scheduling calls with friends to the art of asking follow-up questions, Nina and Trisha cover essential strategies for fostering strong, lasting connections. Nina also shares her journey from being a writer to hosting her podcast, ‘Dear Nina, Conversations About Friendship,’ and offers practical advice for balancing professional aspirations with personal relationships. Whether navigating friendships in everyday life or preparing for a busy season, this episode provides valuable tips on connecting meaningfully with the people who matter most.”

I had a blast talking to Shane and Jenna, the mother/daughter hosts of The Social Dialogue Podcast. We had an excellent discussion about moving to a new city and making new friends, the friend who makes most of the effort, and whether there’s truly “always room for one more.”

Grateful to Molly Knuth of The Found Podcast for inviting me to have a hard conversation about friendship with her. I say “hard” because we address some points people need to hear.

• Not everyone will want to be your friend.
• You also don’t have time to be everyone’s friend.

So what does a healthy, reciprocal friendship look like?

We cover that and more!

“In this episode of the Total Health in Midlife podcast, I’m joined by Nina Badzin, writer and host of the Dear Nina podcast, to talk about the real stuff that comes up in adult friendships—like feeling left out, keeping score, and what to do when your once-close friends just… fade. Whether you’ve ever wondered, “Is it just me?” or you’ve found yourself ghosted or burned out from being the one who always initiates, you’re not alone—and you’re not doing it wrong. This episode is full of validation, fresh perspective, and practical tips to help you build stronger, more satisfying friendships, even if it’s been a while.”

“In this episode of The Coping Podcast, host Dr. Leigh Weisz sits down with Nina Badzin, Host of Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship, to talk about how to build, maintain, and end friendships. They discuss redefining reciprocity to strengthen bonds, avoiding social engineering in kids’ friendships, and fostering deeper one-on-one connections in groups. Nina also shares how to protect trust by practicing discretion.”

I spoke to therapist Jazzmyn Proctor, of THE VISIBILITY STANDARD, about the difference between real closeness vs. performative friendship, how social media warps our expectations of connection, what to do when a friendship starts feeling one-sided, why boundaries, forgiveness, and clarity are key, and how to decide when to repair or release a relationship.

I spoke to pediatrician Dr. Jessica Hochman of “Your Child is Normal” about how parents can support their children’s social lives. There was a bit of tough love in this one! I hope it’s helpful and maybe even different from advice parents sometimes get about friendship.

I joined self-confidence coach, Leslie Randolph, of “Why Didn’t They Tell Us” for an episode about authentic friendship, fitting in, trying to be part of a “certain” group, community vs. friendship and more.

This conversation with Faye Lax of the TrailBlazer Podcast was more personal than many of my interviews. We spoke a lot about my writing background and my Jewish background.

Thanks to Estelle Erasmus of The Freelance Writing Direct Podcast for inviting me on to talk about landing in a specific niche for my writing and podcasting. If you follow me, you know it’s all friendship all the time, but it wasn’t always that way. (I’m glad it is now. The writing life was chaotic for me before this switch.) And if you’re looking to get published in more places, Estelle is your number one source. She knows everything there is to know about the publishing business, writing, and editing.

Midlife friendships come with their own complications. Andrea Hecht and I dissected all the issues in The Next ChaptHER Podcast.

Thank you to Dr. Emily Matheson, who specializing in advice for people moving to a new town for having me on New York Transplants in episode #10. We talked about my move to Minneapolis 25 years ago, and much more.

I spoke to Dr. Adam Dorsay in episode #247 of the SuperPsyched Podcast about many elements of adult friendship, especially taking control of your social life and of your feelings about your current friendships.

Honored to be a guest on Found Family with MaryB. Safrit about some of my favorite friendship topics, including friends who never initiate for plans.

The one and only Meghan Judge is authentic, deep, and not here for any skirting of the truth. I loved talking to her on Judging Meghan!

It was so much fun to give my 40s advice to a 20s/30s audience! Thanks to Lisa Giordano of the Surthriving Podcast for having me!

I love being a guest on other shows! I enjoyed a nuanced and lively conversation with Marnie Marmet and Stephanie Potter of The Art of Living Well Podcast about making new friends, taking a connection from acquaintance to friend, balancing new friendships with current friendships, and handling disappointment and rejection in the process of it all.

Confronting and forgiving friends was the topic of my guest spot on the We’re Not Fine Podcast with renowned relationship experts Dr. Talia Jackson and Doug Jensen. I became comfortable quickly and we dug into common problems I hear often.

“Your friend hurt you, is your friendship salvageable or do you need to move on?”

I was honored to speak with Danielle Bayard Jackson on Friend Forward about which friends to prioritize and pursue.

In 48 minutes, Hallie Sawyer, of The Awed Life, and I covered tons of aspects of midlife friendships. I loved this conversation!

It’s a crossover episode! Listen to the ladies of The Pop Culture Preservation Society tell me about becoming such close friends through my writing class in their 50s.

On Who I Met Today, Pam Lamp and I spoke about tons of practical ideas for making friends in midlife and beyond.

On Happiness Through Hardship, Caryn Sullivan and I discussed so many aspects of friendship, including friendship as a choice you have to keep making.

Andrea Scher and I had a wonderful conversation about many aspects of adult friendship on The School of Wonder.

I loved being back on She’s Got Issues. Jill and I discussed friendship mistakes and hard lessons learned.

Thank you to Rachel Levy Lesser and Stephanie Goldstein for inviting me on Life’s Accessories, The Podcast to talk about the BIG mistake I made quitting the tennis team in high school, how a little bit of good old-fashioned friendship jealousy got me back into tennis, and why I love tennis people so much.

I had my first live podcasting experience as a guest on Every Soul Has a Story LIVE. Dara Levan invited me for a conversation about the nuances of boundaries within friendships both on and offline, giving friends the opportunity to change, and reaching out to friends. We talked about being in charge of your own social life and teaching kids to do the same, the cliques that exist on social media, and more.

Did you love the movie Steel Magnolias in the 80s/early 90s? I did, but rewatching it recently brought up some thoughts I never would have had as a kid when I watched it MANY times.

You may know Jill as the founder of Scary Mommy, a blog that changed the internet and influenced more women to write honestly about their parenting lives. Jill published a few of my earliest essays on Scary Mommy and I’m forever grateful.

Jill knows how to cut to the good stuff, so it’s no surprise that on this episode, Jill got us right into a more personal conversation about friendships, specifically the endings of friendships and the heartbreak of it all.

Thanks to Christy from Forties Stories for having me on episode 6 to talk about some strong opinions on friendship, aging, and more.

I loved being a guest on Hyperbole. Episode #30: “The Best Nook Ever. Minute 18:55

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