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 after a long gap since the last hangout
• and what to do when a friend’s choices leave you conflicted and/or burdened (We slightly disagreed about that last one!)

My mom, at 80, brings decades of perspective and a refreshingly no-nonsense approach to friendship. We talk about being realistic without becoming resentful, staying nonjudgmental, knowing when to widen your circle instead of forcing a group dynamic to work, and why friends and romantic partners serve very different roles in our lives.

This episode is thoughtful, candid, and practical—exactly what happens when I put a microphone in front of my mom and let her answer your questions honestly.

PREVIOUS 5 EPISODES WITH MY MOM:

• Ep. #1. The Friend Who Will Only Text:
• Ep. #8. When Friends Ask Questions You Don’t Want to Answer
• Ep. #36. Widowhood and Friendship
• Ep. #50. How Friendships Change With Age, Overlooking Foibles, Dealing With Our Teens’ Friendships, and more
• Ep. #72. Grudges and Apologies in Friendships

LINKED MENTIONED:

• Find the anonymous questions in the newsletter at dearnina.substack.com
• Ask an anonymous question 
• The live episode in Chicago was Ep. #160
• Join the Dear Nina Facebook Group 

  

ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO

📢 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

🔎 Want to work with me on your podcast, your friendships, or need another link? **That’s probably here.**

Grateful to our sponsors this week: THE MIDLIFE CREATIVE STUDIO. Head to the MidlifeCreativeStudio.com and use the code DEARNINA at checkout to carve out an hour all to yourself, for free. And thank you to SAHA QUEST – A Global Friendship Club. You can apply to join at sahaquest.com Special thank you, as always, to assistant producer, Rebekah Jacobs.