Nerdette

Oh gosh, let’s see. COVID cases are rising again. The boat is no longer obstructing the Suez Canal. Derek Chauvin is on trial for the murder of George Floyd. And Lil Nas X is winning the internet! Jacoby Cochran, host of the City Cast Chicago podcast, and Jill Hopkins, host of Jill Afternoons on Vocalo, help us unpack the week that was...

It’s time for our March Book Club panel! This month we are discussing ‘Piranesi,’ Susanna Clarke’s long-awaited second novel. It’s a strange and compelling tale that will keep you wondering even after it ends. Joining us to unpack it are V.E. Schwab, author of (among many other things) ‘The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue,’ and Madeline Miller, author of ‘Circe’ and ‘Song of Achilles.’ Listen now!

Amazingly, we have made it through another week. This one was all about women’s basketball, girl bosses, and the USPS… and the canceled shrimp guy, but we won’t get into that here. Niala Boodhoo, host of the Axios Today podcast, and Lauren Chooljian, who makes podcasts for New Hampshire Public Radio, join to unpack the week that was. Then, we talk to wellness writer Virginia Sole-Smith about what’s really going on with BMI...

It’s been a rough week. WBEZ’s Race, Class & Communities reporters Natalie Moore and Esther Yoon-Ji Kang join us to unpack it. Plus, a spring book preview with Liberty Hardy and cast iron tips from the TikTok famous expert: Matt Bright.

Authors Micaiah Johnson ('The Space Between Worlds') and Carmen Maria Machado ('In the Dream House', 'Her Body and Other Parties') join Nerdette host Greta Johnsen to discuss the Oscar-nominated film ‘Promising Young Woman.’ ‘Promising Young Woman’ is a genre-busting rape revenge tale starring Carey Mulligan as a flinty avenger on the hunt for so-called "nice guys." It has been nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress...

Vaccine FOMO, royal drama, and our own personal Grammys. We unpack the week that was with author Saeed Jones and host of NPR’s Embedded podcast Kelly McEvers. Then, Devon Price, a social psychologist and professor at Loyola University, debunks the lies we tell ourselves about laziness. (Spoiler alert: Laziness Does Not Exist.) Plus, Katie Heaney joins us from The Cut to talk about her recent article “I Forgot How To Hang Out.”

Texas and Mississippi are reopening. Cancel culture IS a thing. Also, have you ever imagined Helen Mirren smoking weed? We unpack the week that was with Leigh Bardugo and Emily Graslie. Plus, Anna Malaika Tubbs joins us to talk about the mothers of three civil rights icons. AND Sherry Turkle stops by to discuss her new memoir.

People are hitting a “pandemic wall.” Presidents are making podcasts. And teenagers are kidnapping themselves to get out of work. We unpack the week that was with rapper Dessa and Snap Judgment host Glynn Washington.

Book critic Bethanne Patrick and Professor Lisa Page, director of creative writing at George Washington University, join us to discuss this month’s book club pick: Leave The World Behind by Rumaan Alam. Alam’s third novel is a witty and unnerving take on the apocalypse genre that is already being turned into a Netflix film starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington.

Joss Whedon is not the feminist showrunner we thought he was, but is that a surprise? Plus, remembering the complicated legacies of two of America’s first female doctors. Then, a cat expert offers some advice to owners whose cats don’t love their home-based lifestyles.