The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth8 Loka 2025

222: Never Wait to Be Invited: Lessons on Friendship for Ambitious Women with Nina Badzin

Friendship as an adult can be complicated — especially when you're an ambitious woman balancing work, motherhood, and a full life. That's why this week's guest, Nina Badzin, has spent over a decade studying, writing about, and talking about what makes friendships work (and why they sometimes don't).

Nina is the host of the Dear Nina podcast, a Top 1% charted show that's been featured in The Wall Street Journal, TIME, NPR, and The Washington Post. She's made it her mission to help women rethink how we approach adult friendships with grace, intention, and a healthy dose of realism.

In this conversation, Molly and Nina unpack what it really takes to maintain friendship as ambitious women, from how to handle rejection to why it's always your turn to reach out.

What You'll Hear in This Episode:

Why rejection is a natural (and essential) part of life and friendship
The importance of "freshman energy" and physically showing up in new communities
How to overcome fear of initiation and why it's always your turn to make the first move
Why ambitious women often struggle to prioritize friendship and how to change that
Actionable ways to cultivate connection right where you are

Key Quotes:

"If we as adults could learn to have a softer reaction to rejection, we would try more things and friendships wouldn't feel so high-stakes." – Nina Badzin

"The people with the happiest social lives accept that it is always their turn. If you make plans, you have plans." – Nina Badzin

Resources & Links:

Listen to Nina's podcast: Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship
Follow Nina on Instagram: @dearninafriendship
Read her essays: ninabadzin.com
Follow Molly on Instagram: @mollyknuth
Explore more episodes: mollyknuthmedia.com/podcast

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253: Stop Tying Your Worth to What You Do: Brooke Fitzgerald on the Path to Enough, Imposter Syndrome & What's Next

This is Brooke's third time on The Found Podcast. Every time she comes back, she brings something that stops me mid-conversation and makes me reach for my notebook. Brooke Fitzgerald is the Energy Bui...

20 Touko 40min

252: Stop Waiting to Feel Ready: How to Navigate Career Transitions, Burnout, and What's Next with Life Coach Katrina Klooster

Have you ever stood in the middle of a life that looks really good on paper and still felt like something was off? Like a quiet voice whispering, this isn't it anymore...and you didn't know what to do...

13 Touko 47min

251: The People Side of Business with Sarah Hermanson

In this episode of The Found Podcast, Molly sits down with Sarah Hermanson, founder of One Above HR, pumpkin farmer, and people-first leadership expert. With over 30 years of experience in human resou...

6 Touko 53min

250: The Stories That Shaped Us — A Look Back at The Found Podcast

This one feels really special. Back in 2020, The Found Podcast started with a simple idea: to share what I was learning about building a business, becoming a person, and navigating all the in-between ...

29 Huhti 44min

249: The Leadership Gap We're Not Talking About (And How to Fix It) with Melissa Reade of Leader Valley

There's a leadership gap in our communities...and it's not what you think. It's not about titles. It's not about experience. And it's definitely not about a lack of talent. In this episode of The Foun...

22 Huhti 44min

248: The Secret Sauce of Small Town Success: Leadership, Community, and Showing Up with Liesl Seabert

What actually makes a small town thrive? Hint: it's not population size, location, or luck. It's leadership. In this episode of The Found Podcast, Molly sits down with Liesel Seabert of the University...

15 Huhti 56min

247: Why Wellness Isn't Another To-Do List with Dominique Farrar

What if wellness wasn't another thing to optimize… but something you actually got to experience? In this episode, Molly sits down with Dominique Farrar, founder of Well in France — a Paris-based commu...

8 Huhti 48min

246: THIS was Killing My Leadership...and It's Not What You Think

What if the biggest shift in your leadership didn't come from doing more… but from understanding yourself better? In this solo episode, Molly shares a behind-the-scenes look at a pivotal leadership mo...

1 Huhti 44min