Happy To Be Here

The coronavirus pandemic is not over, but stay-at-home orders are starting to loosen up across the country. In Illinois, people can now visit hair salons, museums, restaurants and even bars. Meanwhile, other states are seeing more cases of COVID-19 than ever before.   Which means all of this is really confusing. Dr. Emily Landon, an epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist at the  Universi...

It's  Nerdette Book Club! Each month, we read a book and chat about it with a rotating group of panelists. This month’s pick is Brit Bennett’s sophomore novel, The Vanishing Half . The story starts in rural Louisiana in the late 1950s, when two light-skinned Black girls run away from home to New Orleans. When one decides to pass as white, she leaves her past behind. The book unfolds to tell the st...

We talk with Emily Pilloton, author of Girls Garage: How to Use Any Tool, Tackle Any Project, and Build the World You Want to See , about representation, being your own repair person and it's important to put power tools in the hands of young girls. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

For the last few weeks, our “Introvert’s Guide to the Good Life” series has been all about helping you find ways to enrich your perhaps-more-than-usual indoors-based life.  Today, we talk to Pooja Naik, founder of Chicago-based organizational consulting company Organizing With You . She tells us why you should make your bed and how decluttering your physical space can help with your head space. Se...

For the last few weeks, our “Introvert’s Guide to the Good Life” series has been all about helping you find ways to enrich your perhaps-more-than-usual indoors-based life. Today, we talk to plant expert Tara Heibel, who owns a garden center called  Sprout Home here in Chicago and also in Brooklyn, about why you might want to consider putting some of your anxious energy towards helping something si...

Greta talks with Brit Bennett, the author of this month’s Nerdette Book Club selection,  The Vanishing Half, which just climbed to the top of The New York Times bestselling fiction list amid nationwide conversations around racial inequality. The Vanishing Half tells the story of two light-skinned black sisters whose lives take very different directions: Desiree moves back home after escaping an ab...

It’s a question a lot of people are asking right now. So we  talk with author and activist Kate Schatz about how white people can have constructive conversations with each other about racism in America. Ever since Schatz’s friend, comedian W. Kamau Bell, made Schatz responsible for “Conan O’Brien’s whiteness,” she’s been answering white people’s questions on Instagram live. See Privacy Policy at h...

Widespread protests against police brutality have led many white people to ask how they can better understand the systems behind the disparities in our society. There are dozens of great resources out there. Nerdette host Greta Johnsen and NPR books editor Barrie Hardymon offer a few recommendations of the books they’ve found helpful. Plus a handful of summer reads, too. See Privacy Policy at http...

We think you could use some joy and calm right now. So we’re taking a moment to take some deep breaths. Then, we’ll listen back to part of our delightful 2017 interview with Tom Hanks. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

What if cities were embodied in human beings? If The Bronx were a human, what would she be like? And why is xenophobia so toxic?  Listen along as Nerdette host Greta Johnsen discusses 'The City We Became,' the new novel from Hugo-award-winning author N.K. Jemisin, along with WBEZ host Jenn White and Michi Trota, editor for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. And then get ready for...

There are so many video game options that it can be hard to know where to begin. Which is why  Nerdette  host Greta Johnsen enlisted the assistance of Samantha Nelson, who writes about video games for The A.V. Club and Polygon . From simple task-oriented games to elaborate explorations, she’s got you covered. Plus, of course, we get plenty of recommendations from YOU. See Privacy Policy at https:/...

Greta talks with grief counselor Claire Bidwell Smith about how anxiety is part of grieving and how grieving is now part of everyday life. Plus what you can do with all those anxious thoughts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Have you been exercising lately? No shame if you haven't! But ... personal trainer Sarah Gonsiorowski of  The Lunge Ladies  has some ideas to get your body moving. We also hear about some great apps and workout routines from YOU, our lovely listeners. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

How does one deal with existential horror from beyond? That’s one question at the heart of The City We Became , a new novel from Hugo Award-winning author N.K. Jemisin, in which New York City literally comes alive in order to fight off “creepy tentacle monster creatures." Nerdette's  Greta Johnsen talked to Jemisin earlier this week about the novel, how all cities have personalities, and why she d...

TV! We need it, you probably need it, and New York Times TV critic Margaret Lyons has it!   Lyons tells us about four great new TV shows — each of which fits into that “Just-feed-it-to-me-like grapes” model of show that we all so desperately crave right now. And of course, we field TV recommendations from listeners, too! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice...

When Nerdette listeners  told us  last week what they would have done with a warning before stay-at-home orders, haircuts were top of mind. But is an at-home haircut ever a good idea? Nerdette  host Greta Johnsen asked her friend (and hair stylist)  Julia Pishko  for some tips. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my...

If you had a one-week pre-stay-at-home warning, what would you have done? This episode is filled with your pre-pandemic wish lists, from spending time with loved ones to buying nail polish to dancing your face off.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

In the middle of a pandemic, dating might be the last thing on your mind. But some singles are feeling more isolated now than ever, and some of them want to do something about it. We talk with two dating experts — Bela Gandhi of  Smart Dating Academy  in Chicago and San Francisco-based dating coach  Logan Ury  — about the kinds of advice they’re giving their clients right now.  See Privacy Policy...

Are you ready for a fresh look at George Washington and his many foul diseases? You've come to the right place!  Nerdette host Greta Johnsen joins Lulu Miller, co-creator of NPR's Invisibilia podcast and author of Why Fish Don't Exist, to break down Alexis Coe’s new biography of George Washington, You Never Forget Your First . We also eat hoecakes and consider bloodletting. Plus, get ready for nex...

There’s never a bad time to expand your musical horizons, and mid-pandemic is no exception. So we got ahold of Jill Hopkins, host of The Morning AMP at Vocalo, Chicago’s urban alternative radio station, to provide us with some positive listening. Nerdette listeners supplied the rest. Enjoy! (Need a list of the songs in this week's episode? Check it out right here .) See Privacy Policy at https://a...

We’ve all heard the mythology around George Washington: He never told a lie! He had wooden teeth! There was a cherry tree that one time! But in her new biography, You Never Forget Your First , historian Alexis Coe revisits the origins of those myths and explores aspects of George Washington that may have been brushed over or misconstrued. Coe talked with Nerdette host Greta Johnsen about what surp...

We check in with podcast nerd  Nick Quah  to hear about some of the podcasts that can help you use your imagination, cook a meal and maybe even better yourself. And of course, we’ll get some pod recommendations from listeners, too! Here are the podcasts Nick mentions in this week’s episode: Home Cooking Personal Best Phoebe Reads a Mystery The Anthropocene Reviewed The Sound of Casual Violence Wal...

Imagine you’ve written a new book, your first in six years. And your last book? It was a novel about the aftermath of a deadly pandemic. That’s Emily St. John Mandel, author of the award-winning 2014 novel  Station Eleven .  Her new book — released on March 24 and titled  The Glass Hotel  — is decidedly different; she called it “a ghost story with a Ponzi scheme and container shipping.” We talk wi...

Let's all go to the lobby! But first, we check in with NPR film critic Bob Mondello about the best movies to watch right now. (Hint: he's not interested in pandemic movies like  Contagion .) And of course, we’ll get some movie recommendations from listeners, too! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Welcome to the Nerdette Book Club! Each month, we read a book and chat about it with a rotating group of panelists. It’s just like a normal book club, except you don’t have to share your industrial-sized carton of Good & Plentys. The book on tap today is Emily St. John Mandel’s The Glass Hotel . On one hand, it’s a novel about a 2008 Bernie Madoff-esque ponzi scheme. On the other hand, it’s a...