Episodes
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This week, senior correspondent at Vox Alex Abad-Santos and Bridget Todd, host of the podcasts ‘City Cast DC’ and ‘There Are No Girls on the Internet,’ spill the tea on Kate Middleton’s photoshop debacle, a proposed TikTok ban and the World Banana Forum.
Plus, Noel Fielding stars in the new Apple TV+ comedy series ‘The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin.’ You may know Noel as the sweet, eccentric host of ‘The Great British Bake Off,’ or from the deeply strange sketch show ‘The Mighty Boosh.’ Noel plays Dick Turpin, a historical figure from the 18th century who robbed carriages. In this retelling, however, he trades violence for sparkly blue spandex and faces magical threats. We talk to Noel and executive producer Kenton Allen about comedy, being a middle-aged parent and knitting.
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We unpack the week with Ronald Young Jr., host of ‘Weight For It,’ and Arionne Nettles, head of Northwestern’s audio journalism program and author of the upcoming book ‘We Are the Culture: Black Chicago's Influence on Everything.’ We chat about the fallacy of airplane mode, tweens at Sephora and the popularity of owl ring bearers.
Plus, author Xochitl Gonzalez tells us about her new book ‘Anita de Monte Laughs Last.’ Xochitl imbued the characters with aspects of her own life story, making it “a nightmare to write.” She tells us why it was also worth it.
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Missing episodes?
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Nerdette Book Club’s March selection is ‘Martyr!,’ the first novel from poet Kaveh Akbar. Our team chose it because it is vibrant, incisive and the perfect combination of devastating and funny.
Listen to this spoiler-free conversation and read along with us! Then, send us a voice memo with your thoughts on the book. We’ll be back on the last Tuesday of the month with a spoiler-filled discussion. You can reach us at [email protected].
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This week, we are diving into the world of boarding school, wrongful conviction and true crime podcasts. Yes, we are talking about the book I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai. It was a Nerdette Book Club pick after it came out in March of last year, and it just came out in paperback.
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Nerdette Book Club is keeping things moving in 2024 with Kiley Reid’s sophomore novel, ‘Come and Get It.’ It’s a juicy, messy novel that takes place on a college campus and explores issues around class, ambition and constantly-shifting power dynamics.
Our readers this month are the hosts of WBEZ’s ‘The Rundown’ podcast, Erin Allen and Adora Namigadde.
We do get into spoilers in the conversation! If you’re not ready to find out what happens yet, listen to our spoiler-free conversation with author Kiley Reid in the feed first.
And in case you want to read ahead, we have the next three months of books chosen! Here they are:
March: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
April: Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
May: A Table for Two by Amor Towles
It’s never too early to send us a voice memo with your thoughts on these books! Reach us at [email protected]
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This week, comedian and Fake the Nation host Negin Farsad and Ted Talks Daily host Elise Hu join us to discuss a week’s worth of litigious news. We learn about the guy who’s suing Powerball for posting the incorrect numbers, the dating app users who say the platforms are too addictive, and the proposed “right to disconnect” law protecting workers in Australia.
Plus, how many exclamation points are too many?!! In her substack newsletter ‘Culture Study,’ Anne Helen Petersen recently unpacked why so many women have been told to use fewer exclamation points in the workplace, while others have been told to use more. At its heart, Anne says, it’s all about “policing women's speech!”
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This week, Niala Boodhoo, host and editor of the Axios podcast 1 big thing, and Aubrey Gordon, subject of the upcoming documentary 'Your Fat Friend' and co-host of Maintenance Phase, stop by to chat about retailers cracking down on frequent returns and the new dating app for people with good credit scores.
Then, MacArthur “Genius Grant” fellow and Pulitzer finalist Kelly Link joins us to talk about her magical and tender first novel, 'The Book of Love.' She is also the author of a number of short story collections, including 'Get In Trouble,' 'Magic for Beginners' and 'White Cat, Black Dog.'
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This week, Rhaina Cohen, author of 'The Other Significant Others,' and The Stacks host Traci Thomas stop by to talk about the sports game happening this Sunday, whether aging Millennials are becoming culturally obsolete, and why algorithm recommendations might feel kind of … off.
Plus, we take a listen to audio Valentines from Nerdette listeners to their friends! You are refurbishing Coach bags and finding tampons on sunrise hikes and making cups of tea and vetting leftovers for each other, and it’s beautiful!!!!!!
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Our February selection is Come and Get It by Kiley Reid! Reid’s debut novel, ‘Such a Fun Age,’ was a salacious, fizzy novel about the messy power dynamics of work and life, and her second book is no different. Set on the campus of the University of Arkansas, the multi-perspective book revolves around Millie, a fifth-year senior saving up to buy a house in town. As an RA on campus, she oversees students in their shared living spaces, and she becomes particularly entangled with the three students living in the rooms right next to her. Speaking of entanglements, there’s also Agatha, a visiting professor who’s come to campus to write a book about students and money. That’s all we’ll say for now because this is a spoiler-free interview!
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 can get in on the conversation by recording your thoughts on the book in a voice memo and sending the file to [email protected] by Friday, March 23. Happy reading!
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This week, we are beating the winter blahs and leaning into coziness. First, we talk to City Cast Chicago host Jacoby Cochran and WBEZ’s Araceli Gómez-Aldana about ads upending streaming services, a $3,000 train trip and cozy rituals.
Then, Bon Appétit food editor Shilpa Uskokovic shares some of her favorite cold weather recipes. Here they are…
Dark and Stormy Braised Pot RoastNo-Knead FougasseFrizzled-Onion Cabbage SaladCheesy Spinach and Corn Piroshki]]> -
Nerdette Book Club is off to an excellent start with our first selection of 2024, ‘Jonathan Abernathy You are Kind’ by Molly McGhee! It’s a deeply strange novel that dabbles in dreamscapes while also being a very real critique of capitalism.
Our readers this month are Maya Lau, the host of the personal finance podcast ‘Other Peoples’ Pockets’ and Nick Quah, podcast critic for ‘Vulture.’
We do get into spoilers in the conversation! If you’re not ready to find out what happens yet, listen to our spoiler-free conversation with author Molly McGhee in the feed first.
And in case you want to read ahead, we have the next three months of books chosen! Here they are:
February: Come and Get It by Kiley Reid
March: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
April: Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
It’s never too early to send us a voice memo with your thoughts on these books! Reach us at [email protected]
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This week, co-hosts of the Just Between Us podcast, Gabe Dunn and Allison Raskin, stop in to play Burden or Delight. This week’s topics: double dipping, the snow salt chococcino, and gummy vitamins!
Then, Greta and Book Riot’s Liberty Hardy rave about some of the buzziest titles coming out this year. For a full list of the books mentioned in the episode, head to our website!
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This week, we are distracting ourselves from the freezing cold weather with a game of Burden or Delight. Our panelists are Adora Namigadde, WBEZ metro reporter and host of the morning episodes of the WBEZ podcast The Rundown, and Erin Allen, host of The Rundown in the afternoons. We discuss the end of certain comedic road signs and the ethics of a husband’s hidden trust fund.
Then, we head to a basement bar in Chicago for a Silent Book Club! One Sunday a month, the lesbian bar Dorothy fills up with book lovers reading alone together. We hear from attendees about what makes Silent Book Club nights so special.
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We’re back with our first pop culture panel of 2024! In that spirit, we are talking all about New Year's resolutions and the myth of fresh starts. Our guests are the host of Vox’s The Weeds podcast Jonquilyn Hill and the host of New Hampshire Public Radio’s The 13th Step podcast Lauren Chooljian. We also get into two recent trends: the rise of closed captioning and the extra trendy, extra large Stanley tumblers.
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This week we're sharing an episode we think you'll enjoy. It's from the podcast Missing Pages and it is the first part of their two-part series on book banning. Host and acclaimed literary critic Bethanne Patrick explores America’s history of banning books.
Missing Pages is produced by The Podglomerate. Listen to more episodes of Missing Pages here: https://link.chtbl.com/M8oj-eXh?sid=NerdetteFeedDrop
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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 can get in on the conversation by recording your thoughts on the book in a voice memo and sending the file to [email protected] by Friday, January 26. Happy reading!
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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 (Prime Video)]]> -
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 our website!
‘The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks’‘The Retrievals’‘Slow Burn: Becoming Justice Thomas’‘If Books Could Kill’‘Everything is Alive Presents: The Animals’‘Murder on Sex Island’‘Bloodlines’‘Ghost Story’]]> -
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
‘Roaming’ by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki
‘Ringmaster’ by Abraham Josephine Riesman
Miwa’s picks:
‘Loot’ by Tania James
‘Ordinary Notes’ by Christina Sharpe
‘Open Throat’ by Henry Hoke
‘Chain Gang All-Stars’ by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Greta’s picks:
‘The Vaster Wilds’ by Lauren Groff
‘The Country of the Blind’ by Andrew Leland
‘The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi’ by Shannon Chakraborty
‘Same Bed Different Dreams’ by Ed Park
Listener picks:
‘The Fragile Threads of Power’ by V.E. Schwab
‘Shrines of Gaiety’ by Kate Atkinson
‘Land of Milk and Honey’ by C Pam Zhang
‘In the Lives of Puppets’ by TJ Klune
‘Monsters’ by Claire Dederer
‘Black River Orchard’ by Chuck Wendig
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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 Alison Roman
- ‘Snacking Bakes’ by Yossy Arefi
- ‘Pulp’ by Abra Berens
- ‘Tenderheart’ by Hetty Lui McKinnon
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