This week, Daily Fail hosts Maura Currie and Kristen Meinzer join us to unwind from a particularly steamy week! We swap tricks for staying cool, talk about the joy of eating in front of the TV , and debunk sexist myths about hunter gatherers . Plus, in another installment of our ongoing Nerdy Jobs series, we meet Jennifer Mundt . She is a sleep psychologist at Northwestern Medicine, where she directs the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Lab and Training Program. She takes us on a trip to the lab and ex...
Aug 04, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nerdette Book Club’s August selection is Andrew Leland’s memoir The Country of the Blind . Andrew is gradually losing his sight due to a rare degenerative eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, which he was diagnosed with as a teen. In this vulnerable, funny conversation, host Greta Johnsen shares her own experience with a degenerative eye disease. The two dig into how blind people have advocated for themselves throughout American history, the intersectionality of blindness, and the importance...
Aug 01, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, our panelists are the host of the NHPR podcast ‘ The 13th Step ,’ Lauren Chooljian, and Jonquilyn Hill, who hosts the Vox podcast ‘ The Weeds .’ We talk about whether we indulged in Barbenheimer, then recommend some stuff to read, do, and listen to this summer. You can find a list of their recommendations here , at our website. Then, Aomawa Shields tells us about her circuitous trajectory from acting to astrophysics! Her new book is called ‘ Life on Other Planets .’ ]]>...
Jul 28, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nerdette Book Club is back to discuss our July selection, Tania James’ book Loot . It’s historical fiction, but the story centers around a real artifact: a life-sized, wooden automaton of a tiger devouring an English soldier known as Tipu’s Tiger. It was built in the late 1700s in Mysore, India, and it resides in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. Our protagonist is Abbas, a young and talented woodworker who’s summoned to the Sultan’s palace to help build that tiger. But the perspective shifts...
Jul 25, 2023•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we share some of the best things to watch and eat this summer! Our guests are Shilpa Uskokovic, food editor at Bon Appetit, and Shirley Li, staff writer at The Atlantic covering the entertainment industry. What to watch: ‘ How to With John Wilson ’ season 3 (July 28) ‘ Problemista ’ (August 4) ‘ Bottoms ’ (August 25) What to eat: Grilled Corn Tiger Salad Lemony Zucchini with Sour Cream and Dill Free Form Kebabs ]]>...
Jul 21, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s summer blockbuster season! Northwestern University’s Arionne Nettles and Chalkbeat Chicago’s Becky Vevea stop by to get excited about the opening week of both ‘ Barbie’ and ‘ Oppenheimer .’ We also chat about this year’s Emmy nominations and what in the world “ girl dinner ” is. Then, Simon Pegg reflects on an extremely nerdy career, his role in the latest ‘Mission Impossible’ movie, and whether he’s jealous of Tom Cruise’s absolutely deranged stunt skills. Plus, we have a book club announc...
Jul 14, 2023•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we are bringing you a special episode from our friends When Magic Happens from WBEZ! The podcast features intergenerational conversations between Black women. And this episode is for the nerds! Hosts Taylor Coward, Cheryle Jackson and Jennifer “Shea Love” Long get into why some nerdy hobbies challenge traditional notions of Blackness. They embrace the idea that the Nerdette team really values – that you can be a nerd about anything, as long as you’re unapologetically enthusiastic abou...
Jul 11, 2023•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, the hosts of the podcast Just Between Us , Gabe Dunn and Alison Raskin, stop in to talk about the concert-goers who keep throwing objects on stage, why everyone is in Europe right now, and the people who got stuck upside down on a roller coaster. Then, The New York Times ’ Alexandra Alter unpacks her story about how review-bombing on Goodreads is impacting the publishing industry. She also shares a few book recommendations of her own. Plus, we announce our 10th anniversary cake decora...
Jul 07, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast July’s Nerdette Book Club pick is the historical novel ' Loot ' by Tania James! The story opens in Mysore, India when a young wood carver named Abbas is summoned to the Sultan’s palace to help make a mechanical tiger. The novel spans continents and decades, but that tiger is at the center of the story. It’s based on the real artifact ‘ Tippoo’s Tiger ’ in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London that depicts a tiger mauling a British soldier. In this spoiler-free interview with the author, we ta...
Jul 04, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast ICYMI podcast hosts Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim, stop by to play our new game, Burden or Delight? We consider the Army’s new tactical bras , location sharing , and Fall Out Boy’s updated version of Billy Joel’s classic “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” Then, we dive into the Guinness Book of Records. Journalist and author Imogen West-Knights tells about how the company known for the world’s most odd and outrageous titleholders has lasted for over half a century. Plus, Amy Brady unpacks the surpri...
Jun 30, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nerdette Book Club is back to discuss our June pick ‘ The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi ’ by Shannon Chakraborty. The book weaves together fantasy and history in a propulsive plot set on the high seas of the Indian Ocean in the 12th century. Our protagonist is Amina al-Sirafi, a retired pirate who is called back to the high seas for one last job. She rallies her old crew and embarks on the treasure hunt of a lifetime, encountering all kinds of creatures and devious characters along the way. Our ...
Jun 27, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Aisha Harris, co-host of the NPR show ‘ Pop Culture Happy Hour ,’ joins us to chat about her new book ‘ Wannabe: Reckonings with the Pop Culture That Shapes Me .’ The book is a testament to the fact that, whether we want to or not, we inevitably learn a lot about the world from TV shows and movies and music videos. In essays on everything from the Spice Girls to film critic Roger Ebert to ‘King Richard,’ Aisha explores her own relationship to pop culture over the past three decades, both as a co...
Jun 23, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast In our new game “Burden or delight?,” we ask our panelists to determine if stories from the week’s news are in fact burdensome or delightful. To give it a try, we invited WEBZ metro reporter Adora Namigadde and ' The Rundown ' podcast host Erin Allen to play along with us. We consider a surprise discovery of one million pennies, a new single from The Beatles, and waking up at your own funeral. Then, we talk to author Jessi Kneeland about their new book ' Body Neutral: A Revolutionary Guide To Ov...
Jun 16, 2023•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Way back in the year 2013, “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore was at the top of the charts, President Obama began his second term, and Disney released the blockbuster Frozen. But perhaps most importantly, the podcast Nerdette was born. In this anniversary episode, co-host emeritus Tricia Bobeda rejoined Greta behind the mic to reflect on ten whole years of the show. They also welcomed back Peter Sagal, host of NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, who co-hosted Nerdette Recaps with the pair. We also get the c...
Jun 09, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast June’s Nerdette Book Club pick is The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty! It is the first of a new trilogy about pirates, magic, and mystical artifacts. While the book is technically fantasy, it is also deeply grounded in the history of the Crusades. Author Shannon Chakraborty joined us for this spoiler-free conversation about mixing fantasy and history, middle-aged protagonists, and her pandemic writing process. We will be back for a panel discussion on the last Tuesday of Jun...
Jun 06, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, scholar, author, and organizer Eve Ewing joins forces with X-Ray Vision podcast co-host Jason Concepcion to talk about Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown and the importance of soft pants. Then, podcast host and TV writer Jamie Loftus stops by to tell us about her new book Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs . It’s a travelogue with a slice of American history, a squirt of capitalist critique, and a dollop of relish on top! ]]>...
Jun 02, 2023•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast This month’s book club selection is Idra Novey’s Take What You Need , a novel that centers around Jean, an older woman who welds giant sculptures in her rural Pennsylvania living room, and Leah, her estranged ex-stepdaughter. We’re joined by two novelists who wrote books that came out in 2022: Cleyvis Natera, the author of Neruda on the Park , and Fellowship Point author Alice Elliott Dark for a reflection on the imperfections of love, the importance of art, and the narrative structure of the no...
May 30, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nerdette had the great privilege of hosting a live WBEZ event with Samantha Irby to celebrate the release of her newest book Quietly Hostile . Like her other books, it’s a collection of essays that span a huge variety of topics. She writes about lesbian nun porn fantasies, living with teenage stepkids, why her wife has SO many condiments in their fridge, and chronic illness. (If you’ve read Sam’s work before, you won’t be surprised to hear it includes a lot of diarrhea.) In addition to her essay...
May 26, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Greta is joined by host of City Cast Chicago Jacoby Cochran and WBEZ reporter Araceli Gómez-Aldana. We get into the newly announced sequel to Freaky Friday and whether Martha Stewart’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover is really breaking down barriers. Then, NPR host-at-large Elise Hu tells us about her new book Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital . It’s about how South Korea is a leading influencer of beauty standards and trends worldwide, from multi-step...
May 19, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tracie Hunte, correspondent and producer for WNYC studios, and Arionne Nettles, journalism lecturer at Northwestern University, join us to wade through some of the week’s most amusing stories, from the coronation to a study on how to properly call a cat. Then, Tre’vell Anderson tells us about their beautiful new book We See Each Other: A Black Trans Journey Through TV and Film . It’s a look at the history of trans representation on screen, as well as an exploration of Tre’vell’s own journey of s...
May 12, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Pulitzer Prize in fiction was awarded this week to Hernan Diaz’s novel ‘Trust,’ a Nerdette Book Club pick! To celebrate, we are sharing our book club conversation with the author from December of last year. In this spoiler-free episode, Hernan discusses the novel, male privilege, and who does – and doesn’t – have the power to tell their own story. Hernan shares the prize with Barbara Kingsolver for her novel ‘Demon Copperhead.’
May 10, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Get ready to add a LOT of new titles to your TBR list this summer! Three of the best readers around came on to talk about the book they’re extra excited about: Liberty Hardy, senior contributing editor and podcast host at Book Riot, Lupita Aquino, who is on Instagram and Substack as Lupita Reads, and Traci Thomas, host of The Stacks podcast. Head to our website for more info on the books mentioned in today's episode: https://trib.al/QhoRdF0 Here are the titles in order of appearance: Rivermouth ...
May 05, 2023•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our May book club pick is ‘Take What You Need’ by Idra Novey. The story opens with Leah, who has just learned that her estranged stepmother Jean died falling off a ladder while making a giant, metal sculpture. The book alternates points of view between Leah in the novel’s present day, and Jean before she died. It explores messy familial relationships, creativity, and the changing American cultural landscape. Idra joined us for this spoiler-free conversation. Book club will be back the last Tuesd...
May 02, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Niala Boodhoo, host of the podcast Axios Today, and Inkoo Kang, TV critic for The New Yorker, recommend the best things to read, watch, and listen to right now. Then, director Kelly Fremon Craig shares her experience adapting Judy Blume’s seminal 1970 novel ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’ for the screen. You can find the complete list of recommendations at our website: https://trib.al/NFBwbMU
Apr 28, 2023•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Book club is back to discuss ‘Better the Blood’ by Michael Bennett! It’s about Hana Westerman, a Māori police detective who is hunting down a serial killer in Auckland, New Zealand. Angeline Boulley, author of the YA novel ‘The Firekeeper’s Daughter,’ and Steph Matuku, a New Zealand author who writes YA books centered on Māori characters, join us. We discuss the parallels to the history of colonialism in the U.S. and the complexities of the serial killer’s mission. Warning, there are spoilers in...
Apr 25, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Atlantic’s Shirley Li and ‘Articles of Interest’ host Avery Trufelman stop by to chat about the end of an era for Netflix’s DVDs, the popularity of voice notes, and the woman who spent 500 days in a cave. Then, writer, actor, comedian, and musician Lane Moore joins us to discuss her new book ‘You Will Find Your People: How to Make Meaningful Friendships as an Adult.’ Plus, in this week’s installment of our Nerdy Jobs series, Micah Morton explains how food stylists make edible art.
Apr 21, 2023•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Margaret Willison, communications director and faculty for Not Sorry Productions, and Christina Tucker, host of the podcast ‘Wait, Is This a Date?,’ return to discuss the ethics of TV spoilers, NPR’s decision to leave the Twitter-sphere, and why HBO thinks Max is a good idea. Then, one of our favorite chefs, Abra Berens, chats about her new book ‘Pulp: A Practical Guide to Cooking with Fruit.’ Plus, we share another rendition of our Nerdy Jobs series, where we take a peek into a person’s very sp...
Apr 14, 2023•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast We are bringing you a collection of stories from our Nerdy Job series! These profiles are a chance to learn about how a person ended up doing something super cool, surprising, and maybe even a little random. We talk to board game designer Elizabeth Hargrave, professional Netflix binge-watcher Sherrie Gulmahamad, and knitting pattern designers Andrea Mowry, Jennifer Berg, and Safiyyah Talley. Do you have a nerdy job? Do you know someone who does? Email us at NerdettePodcast at gmail!
Apr 07, 2023•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our April book club pick is ‘Better the Blood’ by Michael Bennett. It is both a page-turning detective novel and a deep exploration of the lasting scars of colonialism. Hana Westerman, a Māori detective in Auckland, New Zealand, discovers that a series of murders are connected to the execution of a Māori chief by British colonial soldiers more than 150 years earlier. In pursuing the serial killer, Hana must confront her loyalties to both the police and her roots. In this spoiler-free interview, ...
Apr 04, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Justin Richmond, host of the new podcast ‘Started From the Bottom,’ and Bridget Todd, host of the podcasts ‘There Are No Girls on the Internet’ and ‘City Cast DC,’ stop by to talk about an AI-generated image of the pope, a party that only people named Ryan can attend, and the return of Succession for its final season. Then, food writer and chef Tamar Adler tells us about ‘The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A to Z.’ In it, she argues that repurposing leftovers is not just about b...
Mar 31, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
