#179 – Your Newest Friendship Questions, Answered (With My Mom)
My mom is back for her 6th visit to the Dear Nina studio! 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 […]
#178 – Top Cities, Top Episodes, and Friendship Takeaways from 2025
End of Year Wrap-up: The Episodes You Loved, The Cities You’re Listening From, and What We Learned About Friendship (with Rebekah Jacobs) It’s our 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. Here’s the truth: the themes we keep coming back […]
#175 – December Friendship Challenge: Write a Letter to One Friend
December Friendship Challenge 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 […]
#174 – The Neuroscience of Feeling Seen, Ignored, or Left Out in Friendships
Your Brain on Friendship: Ghosting, Jealousy, and Why We Need Real Connection 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 […]
#173 – What Really Makes a Close Friendship Last
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 […]
#172 – What “Beaches” Gets Right About Friendship
A Deep Dive Into “Beaches,” the Best Friendship Movie Ever! 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 […]