We are unpacking the week that was with Amory Sivertson, host of the WBUR podcasts Beyond All Repair and Endless Thread, and Kristina Lopez, producer of Glamorous Trash. We discuss the reasons why women need more sleep than men, age gap relationships and “Stick Nation.” Then, Vulture film critic Alison Wilmore tells us about why women in action movies all seem to be doing the same particular stunt. She dubs it “killer gams.”

Our April selection is Marie-Helene Bertino’s gorgeous and entrancing novel 'Beautyland.' It’s about Adina, who realizes she is actually an alien disguised as a young girl living in Philadelphia. Her task is to send reports on humanity back to her home planet via fax machine. The novel is tender, full of heart and weird in the best possible way.Listen to this spoiler-free interview with the author and read along with us! We’ll be back with a spoiler-filled panel discussion on the last Tuesday of the month. You can join the conversation by sending a voice memo to nerdettepodcast@gmail.com.

We're on Spring Break this week so we're bringing you a podcast that we think you'll love from our friends at The Culture Study Podcast. Get ready for a deep conversation into the world of A Court of Thorns and Roses, and the 'romantasy' genre as a whole!

Our March book club pick is Kaveh Akbar’s debut novel ‘Martyr!’ It’s about Cyrus, who was born in Iran and moved to the midwest as a child after his mom died. She was one of the victims of the real-life event where the United States Navy shot an Iranian passenger-plane out of the sky reportedly by accident. The book picks up when Cyrus is in his 20s in Indiana and he’s struggling in more ways than one. He finds himself thinking a lot about the idea of martyrdom and what makes life truly worth living. When he learns of an artist in New York whose work explores similar topics, he has to meet her.We are joined by two expert readers: New York Times Book Review editor MJ Franklin and host of The Stacks podcast Traci Thomas. We discuss the book in detail, including spoilers! So if you have not read the book yet, go back and listen to our spoiler-free chat with author Kaveh Akbar in the feed first.

This week, two of our favorite guests, City Cast Chicago host Jacoby Cochran and Not Sorry Productions faculty member Margaret Willison, stop by to play a game of Burden or Delight. We discuss wide-legged jeans, sourdough starters and a few other unhinged topics. Plus, we are super excited to introduce an upcoming segment with chef and cookbook writer Tamar Adler! She is bringing her expertise to Nerdette to solve all of your culinary quandaries. Tamar is the author of ‘An Everlasting Meal’ and ‘The Everlasting Meal Cookbook.’ She is now writing ‘The Kitchen Shrink’ column, where she gives advice to home cooks. We’re asking you to send us your cooking questions and mysteries. Then, we’ll get you an answer in an upcoming episode. Send us a voice memo, an email, a DM, whichever method you prefer. We’re at NerdettePodcast@gmail.com.

This week, senior correspondent at Vox Alex Abad-Santos and Bridget Todd, host of the podcasts ‘City Cast DC’ and ‘There Are No Girls on the Internet,’ spill the tea on Kate Middleton’s photoshop debacle, a proposed TikTok ban and the World Banana Forum. Plus, Noel Fielding stars in the new Apple TV+ comedy series ‘The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin.’ You may know Noel as the sweet, eccentric host of ‘The Great British Bake Off,’ or from the deeply strange sketch show ‘The Mighty Boosh.’ Noel plays Dick Turpin, a historical figure from the 18th century who robbed carriages. In this retelling, however, he trades violence for sparkly blue spandex and faces magical threats. We talk to Noel and executive producer Kenton Allen about comedy, being a middle-aged parent and knitting.

We unpack the week with Ronald Young Jr., host of ‘Weight For It,’ and Arionne Nettles, head of Northwestern’s audio journalism program and author of the upcoming book ‘We Are the Culture: Black Chicago's Influence on Everything.’ We chat about the fallacy of airplane mode, tweens at Sephora and the popularity of owl ring bearers. Plus, author Xochitl Gonzalez tells us about her new book ‘Anita de Monte Laughs Last.’ Xochitl imbued the characters with aspects of her own life story, making it “a nightmare to write.” She tells us why it was also worth it.

Nerdette Book Club’s March selection is ‘Martyr!,’ the first novel from poet Kaveh Akbar. Our team chose it because it is vibrant, incisive and the perfect combination of devastating and funny. Listen to this spoiler-free conversation and read along with us! Then, send us a voice memo with your thoughts on the book. We’ll be back on the last Tuesday of the month with a spoiler-filled discussion. You can reach us at NerdettePodcast@gmail.com.

This week, we are diving into the world of boarding school, wrongful conviction and true crime podcasts. Yes, we are talking about the book I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai. It was a Nerdette Book Club pick after it came out in March of last year, and it just came out in paperback.

Nerdette Book Club is keeping things moving in 2024 with Kiley Reid’s sophomore novel, ‘Come and Get It.’ It’s a juicy, messy novel that takes place on a college campus and explores issues around class, ambition and constantly-shifting power dynamics. Our readers this month are the hosts of WBEZ’s ‘The Rundown’ podcast, Erin Allen and Adora Namigadde. We do get into spoilers in the conversation! If you’re not ready to find out what happens yet, listen to our spoiler-free conversation with author Kiley Reid in the feed first. And in case you want to read ahead, we have the next three months of books chosen! Here they are: March: Martyr! by Kaveh AkbarApril: Beautyland by Marie-Helene BertinoMay: A Table for Two by Amor TowlesIt’s never too early to send us a voice memo with your thoughts on these books! Reach us at NerdettePodcast@gmail.com