Nerdette show

Nerdette

Summary: Nerdette is a weekly interview show that helps you unwind with fun conversations, inspiring ideas, and delightful recommendations. And join us on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month for the Nerdette Bookclub!

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  • Artist: Greta Johnsen
  • Copyright: Copyright 2015 Chicago Public Media

Podcasts:

 Book Club: A Spoiler-Free Conversation About ‘Last Tang Standing’ With Author Lauren Ho | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:15:25

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 novel, Lauren herself was a Chinese-Malaysian lawyer living in Singapore. So ahead of our panel discussion later this month, we talked with Lauren about the reasons behind her huge career change, where the similarities between her and Andrea begin and end, and how Andrea was born “from the ashes of a comedy set where I bombed. Badly.”

 ‘One To Watch’ Corrects A Reality TV Blind Spot | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:22:38

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 talks with Kate about the impetus for the novel, what it means to see stories about large women, and whether or not any reality TV shows might take her lead.

 Isolation Insights From Sheyna Gifford, Who Spent A Year In A Mars Simulation | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:16:40

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 — originally aired on Nerdette back in 2017, but it also has a few interesting parallels to our collective situation during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Plus, Sheyna assigns us some truly excellent homework, about why you should think very carefully about who and what you want on your spaceship.

 A Tribute To The Nerdiest Of Instruments | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:31:51

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 bassoon than you knew you needed. This episode originally aired on August 11, 2017.

 From Spacewalker To Deep Sea Diver | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:15:45

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.

 Therapeutic Advice From An Infectious Disease Expert | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:27:34

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 University of Chicago, has spent a lot of time thinking about global pandemics, and COVID-19 in particular. She talks with Greta about navigating the world, making personal risk assessments and whether or not you should hug your friends. 

 Book Club: ‘The Vanishing Half’ | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 01:13:23

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 stories of both sisters and their daughters as they live with the repercussions of the choices they’ve made. Listen along as Nerdette host Greta Johnsen discusses the book with Abby West, an editor for Audible, and Kiley Reid, author of Such a Fun Age. And then get ready for next month’s pick: Last Tang Standing, Lauren Ho’s debut novel. The publisher calls it a cross between Bridget Jones’ Diary and Crazy Rich Asians.

 Why You Should Build Literally Anything | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:25:40

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.

 It's Tidy Time | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:17:03

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.

 Got Plants? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:15:51

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 simple grow.

 Brit Bennett On Transgressing Racial Identity In ‘The Vanishing Half’ | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:28:21

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 abusive relationship with her dark-skinned husband while Stella chooses to pass as a white woman. Hear from Brit and then come back later this month for our Nerdette Book Club panel discussion. And remember, we want to hear from you too! Send us a voice memo about your thoughts on the book before Wednesday, June 24

 What Can I Do? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:26:31

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.

 Books To Read Right Now | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:25:52

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.

 Take A Minute | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:17:58

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.

 Book Club: ‘The City We Became’ | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:58:39

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 next month’s Book Club pick: The Vanishing Half, a new novel by Brit Bennett.

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