Sheyna Gifford spent a year living on a volcano in Hawaii with just five other people as part of a NASA project to simulate life on Mars. Living in a biodome the size of a two-bedroom apartment, the crew studied the psychological effects and group dynamics that could be at play when astronauts eventually make it to Mars. This interview — about relationships, food and free time while in isolation — originally aired on Nerdette back in 2017, but it also has a few interesting parallels to our...
Jul 10, 2020•17 min
In this chock-full-of-bassoons episode, we talk about the history of the orchestra's largest woodwind with bassoonist and culture writer Eileen Reynolds, we jam with a principal bassoonist from the Chicago Philharmonic, and we even call up the self-proclaimed “Bassoon King,” The Office 's Rainn Wilson. Join Johnsen, Nerdette co-host emeritus Tricia Bobeda and this bevy of bassoon buffs for more bassoon than you knew you needed. This episode originally aired on August 11, 2017....
Jul 07, 2020•32 min
After she visited the very bottom of the Marianas Trench last month, Kathy Sullivan became the very first human to both fly to space and reach the deepest part of the ocean. We talk with her about about what drew her to the deepest part of the deep sea, what's so powerful about the power of discovery and why you, too, should follow your dreams.
Jul 03, 2020•16 min
The coronavirus pandemic is not over, but stay-at-home orders are starting to loosen up across the country. In Illinois, people can now visit hair salons, museums, restaurants and even bars. Meanwhile, other states are seeing more cases of COVID-19 than ever before. Which means all of this is really confusing. Dr. Emily Landon, an epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist at the University of Chicago , has spent a lot of time thinking about global pandemics, and C...
Jun 30, 2020•28 min
It's Nerdette Book Club! Each month, we read a book and chat about it with a rotating group of panelists.This month’s pick is Brit Bennett’s sophomore novel, The Vanishing Half . The story starts in rural Louisiana in the late 1950s, when two light-skinned Black girls run away from home to New Orleans. When one decides to pass as white, she leaves her past behind. The book unfolds to tell the stories of both sisters and their daughters as they live with the repercussions of the choices the...
Jun 26, 2020•1 hr 13 min
We talk with Emily Pilloton, author of Girls Garage: How to Use Any Tool, Tackle Any Project, and Build the World You Want to See , about representation, being your own repair person and it's important to put power tools in the hands of young girls....
Jun 23, 2020•26 min
For the last few weeks, our “Introvert’s Guide to the Good Life” series has been all about helping you find ways to enrich your perhaps-more-than-usual indoors-based life. Today, we talk to Pooja Naik, founder of Chicago-based organizational consulting company Organizing With You . She tells us why you should make your bed and how decluttering your physical space can help with your head space....
Jun 19, 2020•17 min
For the last few weeks, our “Introvert’s Guide to the Good Life” series has been all about helping you find ways to enrich your perhaps-more-than-usual indoors-based life. Today, we talk to plant expert Tara Heibel, who owns a garden center called Sprout Home here in Chicago and also in Brooklyn, about why you might want to consider putting some of your anxious energy towards helping something simple grow....
Jun 16, 2020•16 min
Greta talks with Brit Bennett, the author of this month’s Nerdette Book Club selection, The Vanishing Half, which just climbed to the top of The New York Times bestselling fiction list amid nationwide conversations around racial inequality. The Vanishing Half tells the story of two light-skinned black sisters whose lives take very different directions: Desiree moves back home after escaping an abusive relationship with her dark-skinned husband while Stella chooses to pass as a white woman....
Jun 12, 2020•28 min
It’s a question a lot of people are asking right now. So we talk with author and activist Kate Schatz about how white people can have constructive conversations with each other about racism in America. Ever since Schatz’s friend, comedian W. Kamau Bell, made Schatz responsible for “Conan O’Brien’s whiteness,” she’s been answering white people’s questions on Instagram live....
Jun 09, 2020•27 min
Widespread protests against police brutality have led many white people to ask how they can better understand the systems behind the disparities in our society. There are dozens of great resources out there. Nerdette host Greta Johnsen and NPR books editor Barrie Hardymon offer a few recommendations of the books they’ve found helpful. Plus a handful of summer reads, too.
Jun 05, 2020•26 min
We think you could use some joy and calm right now. So we’re taking a moment to take some deep breaths. Then, we’ll listen back to part of our delightful 2017 interview with Tom Hanks.
Jun 02, 2020•18 min
What if cities were embodied in human beings? If The Bronx were a human, what would she be like? And why is xenophobia so toxic? Listen along as Nerdette host Greta Johnsen discusses 'The City We Became,' the new novel from Hugo-award-winning author N.K. Jemisin, along with WBEZ host Jenn White and Michi Trota, editor for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. And then get ready for next month’s Book Club pick: The Vanishing Half , a new novel by Brit Bennett....
May 29, 2020•59 min
There are so many video game options that it can be hard to know where to begin. Which is why Nerdette host Greta Johnsen enlisted the assistance of Samantha Nelson, who writes about video games for The A.V. Club and Polygon . From simple task-oriented games to elaborate explorations, she’s got you covered. Plus, of course, we get plenty of recommendations from YOU....
May 25, 2020•19 min
Greta talks with grief counselor Claire Bidwell Smith about how anxiety is part of grieving and how grieving is now part of everyday life. Plus what you can do with all those anxious thoughts.
May 22, 2020•21 min
Have you been exercising lately? No shame if you haven't! But ... personal trainer Sarah Gonsiorowski of The Lunge Ladies has some ideas to get your body moving. We also hear about some great apps and workout routines from YOU, our lovely listeners....
May 19, 2020•21 min
How does one deal with existential horror from beyond? That’s one question at the heart of The City We Became , a new novel from Hugo Award-winning author N.K. Jemisin, in which New York City literally comes alive in order to fight off “creepy tentacle monster creatures." Nerdette's Greta Johnsen talked to Jemisin earlier this week about the novel, how all cities have personalities, and why she doesn’t describe racism with subtlety. AND in a couple weeks, we'll bring you a pane...
May 15, 2020•36 min
TV! We need it, you probably need it, and New York Times TV critic Margaret Lyons has it! Lyons tells us about four great new TV shows — each of which fits into that “Just-feed-it-to-me-like grapes” model of show that we all so desperately crave right now. And of course, we field TV recommendations from listeners, too!...
May 12, 2020•22 min
When Nerdette listeners told us last week what they would have done with a warning before stay-at-home orders, haircuts were top of mind. But is an at-home haircut ever a good idea? Nerdette host Greta Johnsen asked her friend (and hair stylist) Julia Pishko for some tips....
May 05, 2020•16 min
If you had a one-week pre-stay-at-home warning, what would you have done? This episode is filled with your pre-pandemic wish lists, from spending time with loved ones to buying nail polish to dancing your face off.
May 01, 2020•15 min
In the middle of a pandemic, dating might be the last thing on your mind. But some singles are feeling more isolated now than ever, and some of them want to do something about it. We talk with two dating experts — Bela Gandhi of Smart Dating Academy in Chicago and San Francisco-based dating coach Logan Ury — about the kinds of advice they’re giving their clients right now. ...
Apr 28, 2020•16 min
Are you ready for a fresh look at George Washington and his many foul diseases? You've come to the right place! Nerdette host Greta Johnsen joins Lulu Miller, co-creator of NPR's Invisibilia podcast and author of Why Fish Don't Exist, to break down Alexis Coe’s new biography of George Washington, You Never Forget Your First . We also eat hoecakes and consider bloodletting. Plus, get ready for next month’s book club pick: The City We Became , a new fantasy novel by Hugo Award-winning a...
Apr 24, 2020•37 min
There’s never a bad time to expand your musical horizons, and mid-pandemic is no exception. So we got ahold of Jill Hopkins, host of The Morning AMP at Vocalo, Chicago’s urban alternative radio station, to provide us with some positive listening. Nerdette listeners supplied the rest. Enjoy! (Need a list of the songs in this week's episode? Check it out right here .)...
Apr 21, 2020•22 min
We’ve all heard the mythology around George Washington: He never told a lie! He had wooden teeth! There was a cherry tree that one time! But in her new biography, You Never Forget Your First , historian Alexis Coe revisits the origins of those myths and explores aspects of George Washington that may have been brushed over or misconstrued. Coe talked with Nerdette host Greta Johnsen about what surprised her most about our first president, the unfair portrayals of Washington’s mother, and why it’s...
Apr 17, 2020•19 min
We check in with podcast nerd Nick Quah to hear about some of the podcasts that can help you use your imagination, cook a meal and maybe even better yourself. And of course, we’ll get some pod recommendations from listeners, too! Here are the podcasts Nick mentions in this week’s episode: Home Cooking Personal Best Phoebe Reads a Mystery The Anthropocene Reviewed The Sound of Casual Violence Walking...
Apr 14, 2020•23 min
Imagine you’ve written a new book, your first in six years. And your last book? It was a novel about the aftermath of a deadly pandemic. That’s Emily St. John Mandel, author of the award-winning 2014 novel Station Eleven . Her new book — released on March 24 and titled The Glass Hotel — is decidedly different; she called it “a ghost story with a Ponzi scheme and container shipping.” We talk with Mandel about what it’s like to release a highly-anticipated novel durin...
Apr 10, 2020•23 min
Let's all go to the lobby! But first, we check in with NPR film critic Bob Mondello about the best movies to watch right now. (Hint: he's not interested in pandemic movies like Contagion .) And of course, we’ll get some movie recommendations from listeners, too!
Apr 07, 2020•14 min
Welcome to the Nerdette Book Club! Each month, we read a book and chat about it with a rotating group of panelists. It’s just like a normal book club, except you don’t have to share your industrial-sized carton of Good & Plentys. The book on tap today is Emily St. John Mandel’s The Glass Hotel . On one hand, it’s a novel about a 2008 Bernie Madoff-esque ponzi scheme. On the other hand, it’s a ghost story. For insights and analysis, follow along with Nerdette host Greta Johnsen and New York m...
Apr 03, 2020•56 min
Sure, lots of celebrities are hosting conversations and table reads on social media these days. But author and actor John Hodgman has been hanging out on Instagram Live for months already, interviewing random humans and their pets, in a show he calls … wait for it … “Get Your Pets.” Nerdette host Greta Johnsen talks to Hodgman about why he thinks “Get Your Pets” is maybe, actually some of the most important work he’s done. Plus, we hear from you about some of the creatures keeping you company th...
Mar 31, 2020•15 min
A good book can get you through a lot of uncertainty. What’s better than diving into another world and staying there for hours and hours? In this episode, we’ll hear from a BUNCH of listeners about what’s getting you through these weird times. Plus, we’ll check in with Rebecca George, who owns Volumes Bookcafe in Chicago.
Mar 27, 2020•15 min
