Happy To Be Here

In today’s MSCL rewatch episode, Greta Johnsen and Kristen Meinzer discuss My So-Called Life episodes 17 and 18 -- “Betrayal” and “Weekend”  -- with Soraya Roberts , a culture writer and contributing writer at Defector who wrote the the book In My Humble Opinion: My So-Called Life . They talk about THE BEYRAYAL, whether Jordan actually loved Angela, and what Brian’s deal is. SHOW CREDITS Crea...

Greta Johnsen and Kristen Meinzer discuss My So-Called Life episodes 15 and 16 -- “So-Called Angels” and “Resolutions”  -- with Jenn White , the host of the NPR show 1A . They talk about the ups and downs of what Jenn (somewhat facetiously) calls “a very special episode of My So-Called Life ,” the devastation and sweetness of Ricky’s story, and the fact that Sharon is “just a nice, middle-cla...

Host Greta Johnsen talks to Tayari Jones . Her novel Kin is the GRETAGRAM book club selection for March. It’s about two girls grow up in the 50’s in Alabama. They each lost their mothers in different ways, and those absences shape the trajectories of both of their lives.  Tayari and Greta talk about the power of deep, abiding friendship, the importance of asking for help, and how Tayari stumb...

Host Greta Johnsen and co-gost Kristen Meinzer discuss My So-Called Life episodes 13 and 14 -- “Pressure” and “On the Wagon”  -- with culture writer and podcaster Margaret H. Willison .  They talk about the show’s many different depictions of teenage desire, the fate of the Frozen Embryos, and Patty’s “congenital inability to chill,” as Margaret so skillfully puts it. SHOW CREDITS Creato...

Host Greta Johnsen and co-host Kristen Meinzer discuss My So-Called Life episodes 11 and 12 --”Picture Perfect” and “Self Esteem” -- with Christina Tucker !!!!  She’s a podcaster and writer who co-hosts the podcast Wait, Is This A Date? .  They talk about school dance drama, wallpaper as an analogy for sex, and the fact that Delia Fisher is a f*****g QUEEN. . SHOW CREDITS: Creator and ho...

Greta and Kristen discuss My So-Called Life episodes 9 and 10 --”Halloween” and “Other Peoples’ Mothers” -- with Patrick Hinds ! He co-hosted his own MSCL deep-dive podcawst, My So-Called Podcast , in 2018. They talk about whether Angela ACTUALLY time travels, how terrible it is to add oregano to a curry, and how Patrick thinks about Patty differently now that he’s a parent.  SHOW CREDITS Cre...

The GRETAGRAM book club is officially in podcast form! Host Greta Johnsen talks to Nina McConigley , the author of How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder . Her novel is the GRETAGRAM book club selection for February. It’s about two teenage sisters who decide they must kill their uncle.  While this book is intense it’s also funny and strange -- or, as Nina puts it, cheeky!  Nina talks about...

On this week’s podcast, Greta Johnsen and Kristen Meinzer discuss My So-Called Life episodes 7 and 8 --”Why Jordan Can’t Read” and “Strangers in the House” -- with Joanna Robinson and Kristin Russo . They’re the perfect guests to talk about MSCL because they hosted their own rewatch podcast, The Boiler Room ! The group chats about Angela’s amazing detective skills, the crumbs of Jordan’s pers...

Greta Johnsen and Kristen Meinzer discuss My So-Called Life episodes 5 and 6 --”The Zit” and “The Substitute” -- with Anna Sale ! They talk about the messiness of teenage desire and objectification, self-esteem and insecurity, and whether Anna Sale is Patty-ing her children.  SHOW CREDITS Creator and host: Greta Johnsen Co-host: Kristen Meinzer Senior Producer: Ben Goldberg Composer: Andrew M...

The  My So-Called Life  rewatch continues!  Greta Johnsen  and  Kristin Meinzer  discuss episodes 3 and 4 with  Jason Concepcion.  They talk about the devastating quaintness of a school gun violence episode from the ‘90s, whether Graham is a good dad, and Sharon and Rayanne’s burgeoning … friendship? Plus, Jason calls for MORE JORDAN CATALANO, Greta becomes...

The My So-Called Life rewatch begins! Greta Johnsen and Kristin Meinzer discuss episodes 1 and 2 with Ronald Young, Jr. They talk about the nostalgic power of the series, how the pilot holds up as a pilot, and the extreme angst of it all.  SHOW CREDITS Creator and host: Greta Johnsen Co-host: Kristen Meinzer Senior Producer: Ben Goldberg Composer: Andrew M. Edwards Tile art: Lou Lovisek See P...

In a very special miniseries, Greta joins forces with podcast host Kristen Meinzer to unpack every single episode of the 1994 ABC teen drama My So-Called Life . In this episode, before they begin their rewatch, Kristen and Greta discuss the cultural impact of the show with New Yorker TV critic Emily Nussbaum . Then, Greta talks to her best friend Marty , who binged the show with her when they were...

Consider this episode a friendly nudge to stop giving everything 100% all the time. It's the 87% Club, and you're invited! Greta talks to two dear friends about perfectionism, trying too hard, and embracing rest. Guests are art activist and author Shannon Downey , aka Badass Cross Stitch , and Ellen Wessel, Greta's laziness accountability coach . SHOW CREDITS Creator and host: Greta Johnsen Senior...

Book Riot ’s Liberty Hardy and NPR’s Andrew Limbong share some of the books they’re most excited to read this year. (Here's the full list of books , along with about 20 others!) SHOW CREDITS Creator and host: Greta Johnsen Senior Producer: Ben Goldberg Composers: Ross Bellenoit and Jeremy Thal Show art: Mac Maclean See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice...

This week, City Cast Chicago host Jacoby Cochran and pop culture writer Margaret H. Willison share their favorite news stories of the year. From real-life magicians to ficiton demon hunters, and museum detectives to Da Pope, there's plenty of good news to go around. SHOW CREDITS Creator and host: Greta Johnsen Senior Producer: Ben Goldberg Composers: Ross Bellenoit and Jeremy Thal Show art: Mac Ma...

This week, professional pastry chef Faith Fedash stops by host Greta Johnsen's kitchen to make pumpkin pie cookies. (Find the full recipe for the cookies here !) SHOW CREDITS Creator and host: Greta Johnsen Senior Producer: Ben Goldberg Composers: Ross Bellenoit and Jeremy Thal Show art: Mac Maclean See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/...

Welcome to Happy To Be Here, the show for the perpetually curious! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

As y’all probably know, we’re calling this the “goodbye for now” episode of Nerdette because it’s our last episode while we’re employees at WBEZ. So, we thought it was the perfect time to call up Nerdette co-creator Tricia Bobeda and Nerdette Recaps co-host Peter Sagal to play our favorite game, Burden or Delight. Then, we hear from YOU about what Nerdette has meant to you for the past 11 years. W...

May’s Book Club selection is the fabulous short story collection ‘Table for Two’ by Amor Towles. It was amazing to get to talk to Amor in front of a LIVE audience in Chicago a few weeks ago. Since we were only able to share about half of that conversation in the podcast feed, we decided to bring you more from our chat and dive even deeper into the book! A programming note – this is our second to l...

This week, we ask voracious reader Liberty Hardy to rave about the best books coming out this summer. Liberty is the host of the Book Riot podcast ‘ All the Books! ’ She and Greta trade their top picks. Here are the titles in the order that they’re mentioned in the episode: ‘ Fire Exit ’ by Morgan Talty (6/3) ‘ The Ministry of Time ’ by Kaliane Bradley (5/7) ‘ The Stardust Grail ’ by Yume Kitasei...

This week, cookbook author and leftovers lover Tamar Adler joins us to answer YOUR questions on cooking, hosting and eating. Tamar is the author of ' The Everlasting Meal ' and ' The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A-Z .' She also writes the newsletter “ The Kitchen Shrink ,” where she regularly gives out culinary advice. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy...

This week, we are bringing you a special LIVE edition of Nerdette Book Club!!! The great Amor Towles, author of ' A Gentleman in Moscow' and ' The Lincoln Highway ,' joined us in front of a live audience at the Athenaeum Theater in Chicago to discuss our May Book Club selection, his most recent book ' Table for Two !' It’s a collection of six different short stories set in New York City and a nove...

This week, we’re sharing some of the best new music out this summer! Our friend Kristen Kurtis is the assistant music director and Morning Show host at WXPN in Philadelphia. We asked her to bring us some fun and maybe even a little angry songs to rock out to this summer. You can find this collection of “joyfully defiant” songs below or listen along on our Spotify playlist . Want to add to the play...

Our April Book Club pick is Marie-Helene Bertino’s second novel ' Beautyland .' It tells the story of Adina, a girl born in Philadelphia in 1977, just as the Voyager I spacecraft launches from Earth in search of extraterrestrial life. As a child, Adina learns she herself is an alien, and her mission is to send her observations about humanity to her supervisors via fax machine (it is the ‘80s, afte...

This week, we are taking some time to reflect on the past *11 years* of Nerdette by listening to two of our all-time favorite interviews. First, Greta and Stephen King (yes, that Stephen King) bond over their shared love of corgis. Then, poet Ross Gay tells us about ' The Book of Delights ,' a collection of essays about finding delight everyday. We also want to let you know that Nerdette’s last ep...