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The $5 milkshake. Once a shocking, exorbitant example of the scourge of inflation. Now, a hot bargain that shouldn’t be missed! Welcome back to Nerdette Recaps with Peter Sagal ! It’s the podcast where we rewatch movies of the ‘90s and dissect them like the intense nerds we are. Episode 5 is all about 1994’s Pulp Fiction, starring John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis. Lis...

Of course it's not too early to talk about fall books! We got ahold of NPR books editor Barrie Hardymon to get recommendations for some great autumn reads. Find the full list of recommendations at www.wbez.org/nerdette. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Does Dazed and Confused have a plot? Barely! Does that matter? To some people, yes! This week's recap is all about 1993’s Dazed and Confused , starring young versions of Matthew McConaughey, Parker Posey, Ben Affleck and Anthony Rapp. It’s also an early film from director Richard Linklater, who went on to make critically-acclaimed movies like Before Sunset, Boyhood and A Scanner Darkly . Listen to...

When considering some of the milestone moments in feminist history, you might think about the Seneca Falls Conference of 1848, the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920 or the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But the 1990s? “This was actually one of the most pivotal decades, I believe, for feminist history.”  We talk with Lisa Levenstein, the Director of the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program...

Welcome to the Nerdette Book Club! Each month, we read a book and chat about it with a rotating group of panelists. This month’s pick is Sameer Pandya’s debut novel Members Only . It takes place over the course of one very intense week in the life of Raj, a middle-aged Indian-American anthropology professor. When he’s asked to help his tennis club interview potential new members, he’s thrilled by...

We didn’t ask him, but I think we can say it with certainty: Peter Sagal definitely cannot dunk. Episode 3 of Nerdette Recaps  features our very first sportsball movie: 1992’s White Men Can’t Jump, starring Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson and Rosie Perez. It’s director Ron Shelton’s followup to Bull Durham and the script might just contain more obscenities than non-obscenities. Listen to this conve...

Argonne National Laboratory is a massive research facility outside of Chicago that’s run by the U.S. Department of Energy. And this week, Nerdette hosts Tricia Bobeda and Greta Johnsen take you behind the curtain to learn about some of the innovative stuff happening there. Stuff like superbatteries, supercomputers, and questions that may never get answers This episode originally aired on August 10...

The optimism of one woman’s 20s meets the disappointment of her 30s in I Used To Go Here , a new film from Chicago filmmaker Kris Rey. We talked to Rey about the inspiration for the film, her recent name change from Swanberg to Rey, and what she tells young filmmakers. “Go for it,” she said. “The stakes are not that high. You can always start over.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy...

If you’re a former fighter pilot and the world is facing annihilation at the hands of an alien species whose only motivation is permanently ending the human race, well then, who cares if you’re the president? You belong in the air, baby! Welcome back to Nerdette Recaps with Peter Sagal , the podcast where we rewatch movies of the ‘90s and dissect them like the intense nerds we are. Today is all ab...

The 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified exactly 100 years ago Tuesday, the culmination of decades of activism that finally gave women the right to vote. Finish the Fight!  is a new children’s book that chronicles the stories of some of the lesser-known suffragettes that made the 19th Amendment possible.  Greta talks with author Veronica Chambers about 100 years of women’s suffrage and...

We’re all human, but who has the right to make mistakes? That’s a question at the heart of Members Only , the debut novel from author Sameer Pandya. In it, Raj Bhatt's life falls apart after he makes a racist remark to an African-American couple at a posh tennis club. In this Nerdette Book Club author interview, host Greta Johnsen talks with Pandya about the weaponization of the term “cancel cultu...

Some of you may already be familiar with Nerdette Recaps with Peter Sagal, the podcast where Greta Johnsen and Nerdette cohost-emeritus Tricia Bobeda recapped Game of Thrones with Peter Sagal, host of NPR's Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!   Well we are very happy to announce that we’re BACK, and this time, we’re doing '90s movies! So here is our very first episode! It’s a recap of 1995's 'Clueless,'...

Welcome back to Nerdette Recaps with Peter Sagal!  the podcast where we rewatch movies of the ‘90s and talk about them like the intense nerds we are. Our first selection is Clueless , the 1995 Emma adaptation filled with ridiculous footwear, Paul Rudd putting mayo on cold cuts and also Friedrich Nietzsche for some reason. Listen to our conversation, then join us next week for a discussion of Indep...

We talk with New York Magazine advice columnist Heather Havrilesky about quarantine madness, cinnamon rolls and making friends during a pandemic. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

What better way to remember a simpler decade than by watching some of the biggest films from 30 years ago? Join Greta Johnsen, Tricia Bobeda and Peter Sagal of NPR’s Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me! as they dissect movies from the ‘90s. (And yes, we’re totally gonna do Dazed and Confused.) Listen to this new trailer, then come back here on Wednesday, August 12 for fresh recap  all about a classic film f...

More women are running for political office this year than ever before, but men still disproportionally represent the American populace. We talk with Erin Vilardi, the founder of VoteRunLead, an organization that encourages and trains women to run for office -- and win.  Are YOU considering a run for office? Vilardi explains why women are well-suited for leadership and why you should take the plun...

Welcome to the Nerdette Book Club! Each month, we read a book and chat about it with a rotating group of panelists. This month’s pick is Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho. It tells the story of Andrea Tang, a thirtysomething Malaysian woman who lives and works in Singapore. Her love life is a mess and she’s vying for partner at her law firm, all while drinking a lot and somehow spending many hours p...

As you'll soon find out, Emily Graslie has a contagious enthusiasm for science and discovery. She holds the very real title of “Chief Curiosity Correspondent” at the Field Museum here in Chicago. She hosts a YouTube series called The Brain Scoop . And she’s also the host of a series on PBS called Prehistoric Road Trip , where she travels across the western United States to examine the history of o...

When you hit a rough spot with a good friend, what do you do about it? Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman are longtime friends and business partners. Their fans also know them as the hosts and creators of 'Call Your Girlfriend,' a podcast “for long-distance besties everywhere.” When they recently hit a rough patch, the pair took what might be considered an unusual step to save a friendship: they went t...

This is a weird year for [insert almost anything] and also summer blockbusters. But even though the theaters remain (mostly) closed, there's still plenty of great new movies to stream from the comfort of your own home. We talk with Eliana Dockterman, staff writer at  Time , about the uncertain future for new movies, a few great films you can watch right now, and a few more that you'll have to wait...

It’s the Nerdette Book Club! And today we're talking with Lauren Ho, the author of this month’s selection, Last Tang Standing . It's a wonderful summer romance that follows the story of Andrea Tang, a 33-year-old Chinese-Malaysian lawyer, as she tries to make partner at her Singaporean law firm while fending off the unhealthy interest her relatives have in her love life. Before she wrote this nove...

Kate Stayman-London loves reality TV. But even though shows like The Bachelorette and Love Island bring her joy, “we should also hold those things accountable to our values,” she said. Stayman-London’s debut novel, One To Watch , puts a plus-size woman as the star of a Bachelorette -style reality TV show. It’s both a lovely summer read and also a critical assessment of reality TV tropes. Greta tal...

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 —...

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 ba...

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. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and C...