Jessica Pimentel, known for her role as Maria Ruiz on Orange Is The New Black , isn’t just an actress. She’s also in a band ... a death metal band. Nerdette ’s Tricia Bobeda sat down with Pimentel to talk about what it’s like to lead an alternate life as a death metal frontwoman and how her music, which is heavy and hardcore, is inspired by her Buddhist faith. Pimentel also talks about what it’s like working with one of the most diverse, majority women casts on what she originally referred to as...
Aug 04, 2017•25 min
Careful. Spoilers abound. Did Jon Snow take a Concorde jet to Dragonstone? What kind of loan forgiveness can you expect from the banks in Westeros? And did Samwell wash that hand? After a night of spirited brooding, Tricia, Greta and Peter gathered to analyze the latest episode of HBO's Game of Thrones . Feel free to join the conversation by using the hashtag #GOTNerdcaps or call us at 312-948-4687. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.co...
Jul 31, 2017•1 hr
Actress and comedian Jenny Slate has played many memorable characters on shows like Parks and Recreation , Kroll Show , Girls , and Brooklyn 99 . She also wrote and voiced her web series Marcel The Shell . Her most recent role is alongside Edie Falco and John Turturro in the film Landline . But from all of her work on TV and film, few people know about Slate’s one true love: houseplants. Nerdette ’s Greta Johnsen talked with Slate about why she loves houseplants, what she names them and how they...
Jul 28, 2017•34 min
What does bad boy pirate Euron do right before battle? Does Daenerys' leadership indicate strength or weakness? And is a large crossbow really a weapon of mass destruction? Tricia, Greta and special Peter-replacement Miles Doornbos analyze Season 7, Episode 2 of Game of Thrones. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Jul 24, 2017•53 min
If there’s one thing to learn about staying alive in Westeros, it’s never go to a party, ever. Tricia, Greta and Peter toast off the Season 7 premiere, giving their takeaways of bad boy pirate Euron, the Frey dinner party and Sam's library chores. They also share what they see when they look deeply into a fire. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Jul 17, 2017•59 min
Where exactly is Bran again? Does Cersei have any kids left? Are Tyrion and Daenerys besties? A lot went down in the last season of HBO’s Game of Thrones . To help refresh your memory, Tricia Bobeda, Greta Johnsen and Peter Sagal recap the last season and take a stab at making their own predictions for the next season, which premieres July 16. You can also join the conversation. Just use the hashtag #GOTnerdcaps on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can also leave us a voicemail at 312-948-468...
Jul 10, 2017•55 min
Samantha Irby released her third book, We Are Never Meeting in Real Life , this year, but it’s her first collection of essays that is being turned into a TV show. Last year, FX bought the rights to Meaty , Irby’s first collection of essays. Now Irby, who grew up in Evanston and lived in Chicago, is working with Broad City ’s Abbi Jacobson and Inside Amy Schumer ’s Jessi Klein to write for television for the first time. For Irby, almost everything is on the table when it comes to her work — wheth...
Jul 07, 2017•28 min
The best part about the summer? Plenty of extra time to do homework! Guests on Nerdette always assign listeners homework, and we’ve compiled the BEST OF THE BEST into this hour-long Nerdette summer homework special. Tom Hanks talks typewriters, Jane the Virgin actor Jaime Camil recommends a show about aliens, and Jessamyn Stanley explains why yoga is meant for all body types. We’ll also hear from Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me! ’s Peter Sagal, space doctor Sheyna Gifford, astronomer Jill Tarter, and ...
Jun 29, 2017•51 min
Astronomer and former SETI director Jill Tarter talks about the future of our planet and why she ate so many ice cream cones when she worked at NASA. Tarter’s career was the basis for Carl Sagan’s 1985 science-fiction novel, Contact , which was later made into a film starring Jodie Foster. She talks about what it’s like to have Sagan fictionalize her life, why we need to listen more than we talk, and why it’s important for us to think of ourselves as earthlings. See Privacy Policy at https://art...
Jun 23, 2017•31 min
TV director Lesli Linka Glatter started her career as a choreographer, but after a serendipitous series of events, Glatter found her way to film and television directing. Since then, Glatter has directed a spate of well-loved shows, including Homeland , The Walking Dead , Justified , Mad Men , True Blood , Weeds , ER , The West Wing , and Gilmore Girls . Tricia Bobeda and Greta Johnsen sat down with Glatter to talk about the differences between directing film and TV, working on shows with strong...
Jun 16, 2017•30 min
Stand-up comedian W. Kamau Bell is the host of CNN’s United Shades of America . He’s also the author of a new book, The Awkward Thoughts Of W. Kamau Bell. Nerdette ’s Tricia Bobeda talked with Bell about why awkwardness and comedy go hand in hand, what it’s like to be a blerd (black nerd), and why the TV show Blackish is so great. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Jun 09, 2017•30 min
This week is all about looking for pieces of space, whether they’re in orbit or in Antarctic ice. First, asteroid hunter Carrie Nugent talks about chasing down elusive celestial bodies and why she doesn’t like talking about what it’s like to be a woman in science. And then we talk about meteorite hunting with the hosts of Undiscovered , a new podcast from NPR’s Science Friday team. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-s...
Jun 02, 2017•29 min
Sean Gunn is known for playing the ever-eccentric Kirk on Gilmore Girls and space-pirate Kraglin in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. On Nerdette , he talks about what it’s like to be in a movie directed by his big brother, and how intense Gilmore Girls fans are. Plus, Sean shares his little-known obsessions with math, cats, and rap. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
May 26, 2017•29 min
Jaime Camil plays the dramatic, charismatic, slightly self-absorbed yet extra-endearing Rogelio De La Vega on the CW’s telenovela-style comedy, Jane The Virgin . Camil, who has starred in many Mexican sitcoms, films and telenovelas, tells Nerdette ’s Greta Johnsen why Jane the Virgin is so relatable and how it’s changing the game for people of color on American television. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-in...
May 19, 2017•28 min
Yoga enthusiast, expert and internationally recognized teacher Jessamyn Stanley breaks all the stereotypes of a yogi. Nerdette ’s Greta Johnsen and Tricia Bobeda sat down with Stanley to talk about her new book, Every Body Yoga ; how yoga is for everyone (and not just the models drinking coconut water in the Lululemon ads); and why yoga is more than just a way to burn calories. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-...
May 12, 2017•35 min
Rebecca Skloot talks about the long journey of turning her book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks , into an HBO film starring Oprah. She also discusses the importance of storytelling in science and why, even after 18 years, she’s still traveling the world to talk about the life of Henrietta Lacks. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
May 05, 2017•32 min
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell talk about the importance of failure, the future of innovation, and when we’ll get to Mars. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Apr 28, 2017•30 min
Author Roxane Gay talks about writing her most recent book, a collection of short stories called Difficult Women , and why Beyoncé, Law and Order SVU and Channing Tatum’s neck are mentioned in the book’s acknowledgements. Then, “reformed librarian” Kelly Jensen on why feminism isn’t always fun — but should be accessible — and how her new book is helping girls (and boys!) everywhere. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-...
Mar 31, 2017•29 min
Orthodox Jewish sex therapist Dr. Bat Sheva Marcus founded one of the largest women’s sexual health clinics in the country. From taboos to vibrators, Bat Sheva talks about how she helps women embrace their sexuality. She also discusses her approach to solving specific challenges for women in the Orthodox Jewish community. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Mar 24, 2017•39 min
Amy Smeed, the leader of the animation team for Disney’s Moana, talks about what it’s like to build a character who is decidedly not a Disney princess, how the animation process works, and why deadlines are important. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Mar 17, 2017•27 min
YouTube’s queen of crappy robots, Simone Giertz, tells us how she got in the business of making the world’s best crappy robots, like an alarm clock that slaps you awake in the morning with a robotic arm, a robot that very terribly applies lipstick, and a vegetable chopper with 8-foot long knives. In an interview with Nerdette hosts Tricia Bobeda and Greta Johnsen, she talked about how building terrible robots is a constant learning experience. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and ...
Mar 10, 2017•27 min
Hugo Award-winning author N.K. Jemisin talks about how all of her book ideas start with a simple question: “What if?” She also explains the unusual circumstances surrounding her Hugo Award victory and how science fiction is evolving for the better. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Mar 03, 2017•27 min
Derek Thompson, senior editor of The Atlantic , tells Nerdette' s Tricia Bobeda about his new book Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction . He explains what makes Adele’s "Hello" and Drake’s "Hotline Bling" top hits and how Star Wars was almost totally unknown. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Feb 24, 2017•31 min
Dr. Sheyna Gifford tells us about her year living on a volcano in Hawaii with just five other people as part of HI-SEAS IV, a NASA project to simulate life on Mars. Sheyna was the space doc on the mission, accompanied by a physicist, an architect, an engineer, a biologist and a commander. Living in a 1200 square foot biodome and going outside only in their space suits, the crew studied the psychological effects and group dynamics that could be at play when astronauts make it to Mars. On Nerdette...
Feb 17, 2017•27 min
Maria Popova, the creator of the website Brain Pickings , explains how her job is to reflect on everything from literature and physics to astronomy and art. She tells Nerdette hosts Tricia Bobeda and Greta Johnsen about her rigorous daily diet of reading, writing, tweeting, and reflecting, as well as her newest guilty pleasure: Playing bridge. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Feb 10, 2017•24 min
Singer, rapper and flute player Lizzo breaks down her debut EP Coconut Oil and her bevy of musical styles. The multitalented artist talks about her early days in music, from being a band geek and starting girl groups as a kid to making music now that’s empowering and body-positive. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Feb 03, 2017•29 min
Tom Hanks is a little obsessed with typewriters. So when we put the Academy Award-winning actor in front of a pre-WWII Underwood Champion, he gave Nerdette hosts Tricia Bobeda and Greta Johnsen an impromptu master class on the machines he calls “self-contained printing presses with which you can change the world.” Want to support this show and get a sweet Nerdette mug and/or notebook as a thank you gift? Go to https://wbez.org/nerdalert See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Califor...
Jan 27, 2017•25 min
We talk to Andy Cohen, the man behind Bravo’s Real Housewives, about celebrity obsession. Then we break down some of the best podcasts of 2016 with help from Lauren Ober, host of NPR’s The Big Listen , and Brittany Luce, of Gimlet. And finally, author Margot Lee Shetterly on her book Hidden Figures (the inspiration for the new film by the same name) which tells the stories of black female mathematicians who played crucial roles in the early days of NASA. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/p...
Dec 22, 2016•57 min
Stephanie Beatriz plays Rosa on the Fox series Brooklyn Nine-Nine . Beatriz and her best friend Courtney Kocak also host Reality Bytes , a show where they discuss the myriad confusing things about having real relationships in the age of emojis and swipe-y apps. Then, delicious homework from cookie expert Dorie Greenspan. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Dec 15, 2016•30 min
Phoebe Robinson is a stand-up comic, the author of You Can’t Touch My Hair and host of two podcasts: 2 Dope Queens and Sooo Many White Guys . She talks about why people online flipped out about the title of ‘Sooo Many White Guys’ and how being a black feminist can be a full time job. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Dec 09, 2016•31 min
