Nerdette Book Club is kicking off a new year of reading with Molly McGhee’s debut novel Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind . Our protagonist, Jonathan Abernathy, is completely subsumed by debt. So, he takes a job editing the bad dreams of middle class workers. It’s a searing critique of late-stage capitalism that also manages to be funny and tender. Read along with us! The book club will be back on the last Tuesday of the month with a spoilery discussion of the book and two fun guest readers. You c...
Jan 02, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Despite two historic writers’ and actors’ strikes, there was a lot of TV to watch this year. We turned to two TV critics to weigh in on their favorites: The New Yorker’s Inkoo Kang and Vulture’s Kathryn VanArendonk For links, pics and more details, head to our website ! Beef (Netflix) Reservation Dogs (Hulu) Succession (Max) Fellow Travelers (Showtime) The Bear (Hulu) Wrestlers (Netflix) For All Mankind (Apple TV +) I'm A Virgo on (Prime VIdeo) Starstruck (Max) Scavengers Reign (Max) Deadloch (P...
Dec 29, 2023•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast To find the best podcasts of the year, we talked to two veritable experts in the form: Leah-Simone Bowen, host of ‘Podcast Playlist’ from the CBC, and Nick Quah, podcast critic for Vulture. In order to make it on their lists this year, both Leah and Nick said shows had to really push the envelope in format or reporting. From heavy investigations to a show that Nick calls “cotton candy sprinkled with more cotton candy,” here are the best podcasts of 2023. For links, pics and more info, check out ...
Dec 22, 2023•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast We are reflecting on a year of reading by tallying up the books that we just can’t stop thinking about. Two professional readers – Miwa Messer, host of Barnes & Noble’s book podcast Poured Over , and Andrew Limbong, host of NPR’s Book of the Day podcast – join us to share their best of the year lists. Here are the books mentioned in the episode. For pictures, links and more details, head to our website ! Andrew’s picks: ‘Landscapes’ by Christine Lai ‘Poverty by America’ by Matthew Desmond ‘R...
Dec 15, 2023•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s that time of year where we sit back, relax and reflect on some of the best stuff that came out this year! First up, we asked Alex Beggs — freelance food writer, former staffer at ‘ Bon Appetit’ and all-around friend of the show — to tell us about her favorite cookbooks of 2023. Here’s Alex’s list. You can find pictures, links and more details at our website ! - ‘ More is More’ by Molly Baz - ‘ Make It Japanese’ by Rie McClenny - ‘ More Than Cake’ by Natasha Picowicz - ‘ Sweet enough’ by Ali...
Dec 12, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we're sharing a podcast from our public radio friends KUOW in Seattle. It's called "Text Me Back" and it's all about friendship and making your favorite people laugh, even when this dumpster fire of a world gets you down. Bestselling writer Lindy West and democracy policy expert Meagan Hatcher-Mays are two award-winning best friends from high school. Each week, Lindy and Meagan will hilariously digest what’s going on in the news, their lives and their text threads with their singular ...
Dec 08, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we are asking the important questions about 2024. Like, what plant will we fall in love with? And what body part will be in style? Those are some of the ponderings included in a recent story on next year’s trends in T: The New York Times Style Magazine . We put the co-hosts of ‘ Fanti ,’ Tre’vell Anderson and Jarrett Hill, to the test. They are also the co-authors of ‘ Historically Black Phrases .’ Tre’vell’s recent book is titled ‘ We See Each Other .’ Then, Omkari Williams tells us ...
Dec 01, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nerdette Book Club is back to discuss our November selection, ‘ Land of Milk and Honey ’ by C Pam Zhang! It’s a novel about survival, privilege, and seeking pleasure at the end of the world. Our readers this month are Aliza Abarbanel, co-founder and co-editor of ‘ Cake Zine ,’ an independent print publication exploring society through sweets, and co-host of the podcast ‘ This is TASTE ,’ and Miriam Kramer, news editor at WPLN in Nashville. We do get into spoilers in the conversation! If you’re n...
Nov 28, 2023•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Academy Award winning writer, actor, and director Emerald Fennell tells us about her intoxicating new movie ‘ Saltburn ,’ which is out this week. It’s a British country house thriller about obsession, excess, and desire. ]]>...
Nov 24, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Thanksgiving is almost upon us, so it’s time to get cooking! First, we ask chef Tanya Holland to share some fun, fresh ideas for the big meal. Tanya is the author of three cookbooks, including most recently the gorgeous ‘ California Soul .’ You can find the recipes for her stuffed sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts salad at our website ! Since one of the best parts of Thanksgiving is the leftovers, we also talk to Tamar Adler about her cookbook ‘ The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A to Z ...
Nov 17, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Vocalo host Nudia Hernandez and host of WBEZ’s ‘ The Rundown ’ Erin Allen join us to unwind from the week that was. We chat about Barbra Streisand’s extremely long memoir, The Simpsons’ attempts to keep up with the times, and how to cope with shorter days. Then, we talk to two of the showrunners on the Apple TV+ show ‘ For All Mankind ,’ Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi . The series supposes what might have happened if the Soviet Union had won the race to the moon. As a result, we end up m...
Nov 10, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast It is the month of November and our Book Club selection is C Pam Zhang’s Land of Milk and Honey . It takes place in an alarmingly conceivable future where the world is on the brink of ecological collapse. A smog is enveloping the earth, making it difficult for crops to grow. Our narrator is a chef who is straddled with inherited debt and locked out of the United States. She takes a mysterious job cooking for an elite research community in the Italian Alps that is able to grow the food she loves ...
Nov 07, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we chat about long movie intermissions, the business of Taylor Swift, and the delight of keeping oddball rituals. Our panelists are Lauren Chooljian, senior reporter, producer and host of the NHPR podcast The 13th Step , and Anisa Khalifa, producer and host of the WUNC podcast The Broadside and the indie podcasts Dramas Over Flowers and Muslim in Plain Sight . Then, we talk to one of our favorite chefs, Sohla El-Waylly, about her debut cookbook Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a ...
Nov 03, 2023•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nerdette Book Club is back to discuss our October selection, Lauren Groff’s ‘ The Vaster Wilds .’ It’s about a girl in early American colonial history who runs away from the Jamestown settlement during a period of starvation. She then struggles to survive in the woods during freezing cold days and nights, armed with only a pewter cup and leather gloves. We asked long-distance dogsledder Blair Braverman , the author of the novel ‘ Small Game ,’ and MJ Franklin , an editor for the New York Times B...
Oct 31, 2023•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast We are leaning into Halloween this week! Taylor Lorenz, Washington Post columnist and author of Extremely Online , and Margaret Willison, culture writer and faculty at Not Sorry Productions, dared to join us to discuss the very tall, very viral Halloween decorations named Skelly and Lewis, along with more Halloween nonsense. Then, comedian Sam Reece tells us about her new book S****y Craft Club: A Club for Gluing Beads to Trash, Talking about Our Feelings, and Making Silly Things . You can find ...
Oct 27, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we talk about Netflix’s reinvention of the video store , the right way to board a plane , and the art of advice-giving with Chicago Sun Times ’ new advice columnist Ismael Perez and Brandon Pope, who hosts WBEZ’s Making podcast and On the Block from Block Club Chicago and WCIU. Then, author V.E. Schwab talks about the latest installment in her “Shades of Magic” fantasy series, The Fragile Threads of Power . This will be her fourth time on Nerdette, because her books are just that good...
Oct 20, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this cursed October day, we’re talking about Croc’s new cowboy boots and other outrageous stories from the week. Our panelists are Patrick Hinds, co-host of the True Crime Obsessed podcast and author of the new book Failure Is Not Not An Option , and Kristen Meinzer, the co-host of the Daily Fail podcast. Then, author Chuck Wendig tells us about his apple-filled horror novel Black River Orchard . Chuck is also the author of Wanderers, The Book of Accidents, and more. ]]>...
Oct 13, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we discuss Barbies, bedbugs, and centenarian skydivers with comedian and host of the podcasts ' In The Cards ' and ' Dead Eyes ' Connor Ratliff and Bridget Todd, host of ' City Cast DC ' and ' There are No Girls on the Internet .' Then, comedian Aparna Nancherla opens up about her struggles with imposter syndrome in her new essay collection ' Unreliable Narrator .' ]]>...
Oct 06, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast It is the month of October and Nerdette Book Club’s selection is ‘ The Vaster Wilds ’ by three-time National Book Award finalist Lauren Groff. This historical novel is about a servant girl who is on the run from her corrupt, smallpox-riddled colonial settlement. She struggles to survive in the unforgiving wilderness. In this spoiler-free interview with the author, we talk about changing the narrative of the American frontier by putting a young girl at its center. We invite you to read along and ...
Oct 03, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, R. Eric Thomas, TV writer and author of Congratulations, The Best Is Over! , and Alex Abad-Santos , senior correspondent for Vox, joined us to reflect on the end of the writers’ strike and the 20th anniversary of the pumpkin spice latte. Then, we revel in the best new books coming out this fall! We called up some of our favorite readers and writers to find out what they’re most excited to read. Here are the titles in order of when they were mentioned in the episode. For links and full...
Sep 29, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nerdette Book Club is back to dig into our September pick, Angie Kim’s novel ' Happiness Falls .' During the lockdown era of COVID, college student Mia is stuck at home with her parents and two brothers. Her father, Adam, stays at home to take care of the youngest son Eugene, who has autism and does not speak. One day, Adam and Eugene leave to go on a walk, but only Eugene comes back. The more the family looks for Adam, the more secrets they uncover. It’s a mystery that also grapples with ableis...
Sep 26, 2023•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, comedian and ‘ Glamorous Trash ’ host Chelsea Devantez and podcast producer Kristina Lopez stop by to chat about the Senate's extremely chill new dress code, the slow death of paper checks, and the Roman Empire. Plus, the Nerdette Book Club pick ‘ Loot ’ by Tania James is one of the top 10 contenders for this year’s National Book Award for fiction! ‘ Loot’ is historical fiction at its finest. In this spoiler-free interview with the author, we talk about writing a delightful, propulsiv...
Sep 22, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode, we play our favorite game, Burden or Delight, with Meha Ahmad, senior producer at WBEZ’s ' Reset ,' and Niala Boodhoo, host of ' Axios Today !' They decide whether a new Apple charger, a flood of wine, and extended birthday celebrations are delightful or burdensome. Then, we talk all about periods. Up until now, no one has ever published a study on menstrual products that used actual blood to test them. Dr. Bethany Samuelson Bannow , a clinician and hematologist at Oregon Hea...
Sep 15, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, City Cast Chicago host Jacoby Cochran and WBEZ metro reporter Adora Namigadde stop in to talk about Burning Man, a truly horrific accident on a plane, and whether there’s hope for salvaging New Year’s resolutions 9 months into the year. Plus, when should we start masking in public again? How long should we isolate for if we get COVID? What’s the deal with a new booster? Is it safe to get married this fall?!? University of Chicago infectious disease specialist Emily Landon answers your...
Sep 08, 2023•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our selection this month is Angie Kim’s sophomore novel, ' Happiness Falls .' It’s narrated by Mia, a whip smart college student who moves back under her parents’ roof during the early days of COVID. This isn’t a pandemic novel, though, as much as lockdown is used as a device to bring everyone together and move the plot forward. One day, Mia’s younger brother Eugene, a teenager with autism who doesn’t speak, shows up at home after a walk without his dad, Adam. No one knows where Adam went, and n...
Sep 05, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast We’re starting off the weekend with two excellent panelists: Anne Helen Petersen, ' Work Appropriate ' podcast host and writer of the newsletter “ Culture Study ,” and Nick Quah , Vulture’s podcast critic. We discuss the late night hosts turned daytime podcasters , the gender reveal of cocktail glasses , and Meg Ryan’s return to the romcom. Then, we talk about a brewing reckoning in reality television . Real Housewives of New York alum Bethenny Frankel called out Bravo this month for exploitatio...
Sep 01, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our selection this month is Andrew Leland’s memoir ‘ The Country of the Blind .’ It’s about Andrew’s constantly shifting world as his vision deteriorates, and it explores the mythology that blindness is a binary. It’s also about how seeing-culture perceives blindness, and the history of blindness in the US. The wide-ranging discussion includes M. Leona Godin, a self-described “blind punk” who wrote the 2021 book ‘ There Plant Eyes: A Personal and Cultural History of Blindness ,’ and Chloe Cooper...
Aug 29, 2023•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s episode starts with our friends Araceli Gomez-Aldana of WBEZ and Traci Thomas, host of The Stacks podcast. We chat about finding back-to-school vibes in scorching hot weather, why Zoomers are collecting CDs , and the biggest search for the Loch Ness Monster in over 50 years. Then, Houston Chronicle critic Joey Guerra catches us up on some of the biggest stories in the music world, from the allegations against Lizzo to ticket prices. Plus, we dance it out to the songs of the summer! WXPN’...
Aug 25, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week’s guest is one of Greta’s favorite authors! Ann Patchett is out with her ninth novel, ‘ Tom Lake .’ It’s about a family that’s brought together to their northern Michigan cherry orchard during the quarantine days of the pandemic. As the parents and three daughters spend their days picking cherries, the mother tells a story. At first glance, it’s about the play ‘Our Town,’ and acting, and making it in Hollywood. But on the other hand, it’s about magical summers and passion and art and f...
Aug 18, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Dylan Marron, host of the podcast The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks , and Jo Firestone, comedian and host of the podcast Dr. Gameshow , stop by to play one of our favorite games, “Burden or delight.” They evaluate the number of spiders we eat in our sleep and the best time of day to eat dinner. Then, we check in on what the heck is going on in Hollywood. The writers’ strike hit the 100 day mark this week with no end in sight. Given the huge disruptions in the industry, Variety’s TV busi...
Aug 11, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
