Episode description

To celebrate the approach of another wonderful two-day break, Nerdette host Greta Johnsen talked with Alison Roman, author of the new cookbook Nothing Fancy, about three ways to make sure you host the most badass dinner party possible (she prefers to call it “having people over”).

And did you know that the largest 3D printer in the world just printed the world’s largest 3D-printed boat? We talk to Habib Dagher, the executive director at the Advanced Structures and Composites Center at the University of Maine. His team was responsible for this accomplishment, so we asked him why they did it, how much pizza it took to do it, and what it might mean for the future of innovation and manufacturing.

Plus, if you’re a grammar nerd, this episode may tick you right off. Gretchen McCulloch is the author of Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, and she explains how the internet has given us all access to the writings of normal people, which has led to more and more people writing with less formality and more creativity — and without obeying grammar rules.

Then she goes on to tell us why that’s awesome. You'll either love it or hate it!

(And oh yeah: Check out this week's Nerdette newsletter and sign up!)