Idiot's Alphabet Soup

In this episode, Jenny and Kathrine are joined by their most slandered listener, Emily Smucker! The three of them discuss Emily's books and her thoughts on book sins, as well as what books they could all write together. Why is Kathrine fun at parties? Why doesn't Emily read books all the way through? What happened at Jenny's birthday party that caused Emily and Kathrine to become frien...

Welcome to the madness

What do you know, Jenny and Kathrine are once again talking about what it means to be human. In this episode, they discuss the book Klara and the Su n by Kazuo Ishiguro. The book has some odd themes in it, and Jenny and Kathrine explore them to death. Could Jenny be friends with a meat-suit robot version of Kathrine? Are robots capable of emotion? Is the sun robot Jesus? What does it really mean t...

Jenny and Kathrine are joined in this episode by their friend Chelsea, who adds her voice to a discussion on how to spend time on hobbies like reading when you live a busy life, among other things. What animals are we terrified of right now? Why are turtles always the good guys? What happens if BeReal goes off while you're recording the poddy? Listen to find out! If you have comments or questi...

In this episode, Jenny and Kathrine are full of complaints. First, it's the tall people at concerts, then as they discuss the book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari they point out all of the little things that bother them. What animal gets the closest to being human? How do Jenny and Kathrine convince themselves to get up in the morning? What makes humans humans? Liste...

Jenny and Kathrine spend the first half of this episode updating you about what's happening in their exciting lives that are so much better than yours. Then, they discuss what are considered to be the essential parts of stories, and whether or not they can develop a story that subverts this. Which mathematician did Jenny watch walk into a wall? What is the purpose of the mysterious wire in the...

A podcast episode about a book about books! What could be better? In this episode, Jenny and Kathrine review "The Cat Who Saved Books" by Sosuke Natsukawa. In the process, they discuss the mistreatment of books and whether they actually love books or not. Why does Kathrine always dog-ear pages? What did Jenny and Kathrine (sort of) fight about in this episode? Listen to find out. If you...

Well, this episode didn’t go to plan! After ditching their initial attempt at a podcast idea, Jenny and Kathrine discuss what’s been keeping them busy lately, Jenny’s big birthday weekend, and what they’ve been reading recently. Why does Kathrine feel guilty reading a book about octopus? How are Jenny and Kathrine still adding to their TBR? Why are there Polaroids everywhere, but they’re never use...

In this episode, Jenny and Kathrine bring in Dorcas Smucker to talk about her new book Coming Home to Roost. They discuss the personality types of chickens, how to raise children well in a changing world, and the lady priest who didn’t know what Easter was all about. Who is Dorcas Smucker’s favorite child? Why the chicken theme? What does Jenny even study? Listen to find out! Also, you can buy her...

In this shorter episode, Jenny and Kathrine lament the fact that they can’t review Dorcas Smucker’s book, Coming Home to Roost this episode. Instead, they discuss their favorite topic: themselves! Who are Jenny and Kathrine outside of math? What do they even do when they’re together? Why do they try to do so much? Listen to find out! If you have comments or questions for us, DM us on Instagram! (@...

We may be in the presence of two great up-and-coming authors! In this episode, Jenny and Kathrine pass around ideas for the plots of books they could write together. With little-to-no plan for how the episode is going to go, they embark on an adventure of figuring out what happens in the “sock dimension” and the ethical dubiousness of sending a 12-year-old to space. How can an author make a book t...

Jenny and Kathrine are borderline disrespectful of their elders as they discuss the book Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. How does culture change the way we treat old people? What is the ideal aging experience? How can two best friends rule the nursing home when they are elderly? Listen to find out. If you have any comments or questions, DM us on Instagram! (@idiots.aphabet.soup)

Battling through weird audio issues (in the first half of the episode), and an absurd number of uses of the word "like" (on Jenny's part especially), Jenny and Kathrine discuss the books that raised them. Or at least, the books they were obsessed with in their childhood. Why were the boxcar children solving mysteries? When is the right age for a kid to start reading? Listen to hear these topics ha...

In their first actual book review, Jenny and Kathrine discuss Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. They give a summary of the book, discuss the themes and big ideas, and also pontificate about whether or not aliens could have a moral code (or be religious). Do the SciFi pieces of the book seem plausible? Does MaFi (Math Fiction) exist? Tune in to find out. If you have comments or questions for us, DM u...

Jenny and Kathrine introduce themselves, talk about what they look for in books, and go on a little rant about the media's portrayal of mathematics.