Happy To Be Here

This week, City Cast Chicago host Jacoby Cochran and WBEZ metro reporter Adora Namigadde stop in to talk about Burning Man, a truly horrific accident on a plane, and whether there’s hope for salvaging New Year’s resolutions 9 months into the year. Plus, when should we start masking in public again? How long should we isolate for if we get COVID? What’s the deal with a new booster? Is it safe to get married this fall?!? University of Chicago infectious disease specialist Emily Landon answers your questions about COVID.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our selection this month is Angie Kim’s sophomore novel, 'Happiness Falls.' It’s narrated by Mia, a whip smart college student who moves back under her parents’ roof during the early days of COVID. This isn’t a pandemic novel, though, as much as lockdown is used as a device to bring everyone together and move the plot forward.One day, Mia’s younger brother Eugene, a teenager with autism who doesn’t speak, shows up at home after a walk without his dad, Adam. No one knows where Adam went, and no one can believe he’d desert his family. As the family investigates, they learn Adam was keeping a number of secrets, some of which have astounding repercussions for everyone. We talk to the author about writing a propulsive plot that also deals with big ideas, like disability, ableism, and the immigrant experience. Read along with us and send a voice memo with your thoughts to NerdettePodcast@gmail.com! We’ll be back the last Tuesday of the month for a spoiler-filled conversation with two guest readers.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’re starting off the weekend with two excellent panelists: Anne Helen Petersen, 'Work Appropriate' podcast host and writer of the newsletter “Culture Study,” and Nick Quah, Vulture’s podcast critic. We discuss the late night hosts turned daytime podcasters, the gender reveal of cocktail glasses, and Meg Ryan’s return to the romcom. Then, we talk about a brewing reckoning in reality television. Real Housewives of New York alum Bethenny Frankel called out Bravo this month for exploitation of its reality show cast members and a lawsuit may be in the works. Lawyer and pop culture writer Claudia Rosenbaum fills us in.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our selection this month is Andrew Leland’s memoir ‘The Country of the Blind.’ It’s about Andrew’s constantly shifting world as his vision deteriorates, and it explores the mythology that blindness is a binary. It’s also about how seeing-culture perceives blindness, and the history of blindness in the US. The wide-ranging discussion includes M. Leona Godin, a self-described “blind punk” who wrote the 2021 book ‘There Plant Eyes: A Personal and Cultural History of Blindness,’ and Chloe Cooper Jones, the author of the memoir ‘Easy Beauty,’ which came out last year.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Araceli Gomez-Aldana and Traci Thomas talk about finding back-to-school vibes in hot weather, Zoomers collecting CDs, and the biggest search for the Loch Ness Monster. Joey Guerra updates on music news from allegations against Lizzo to ticket prices. Kristen Kurtis shares tracks you may not have heard before. They discuss the decline of CDs, the high cost of concert tickets, and the creative process of making music.

This week’s guest is one of Greta’s favorite authors! Ann Patchett is out with her ninth novel, ‘Tom Lake.’ It’s about a family that’s brought together to their northern Michigan cherry orchard during the quarantine days of the pandemic. As the parents and three daughters spend their days picking cherries, the mother tells a story. At first glance, it’s about the play ‘Our Town,’ and acting, and making it in Hollywood. But on the other hand, it’s about magical summers and passion and art and finding beauty in unexpected places.Greta talks to Ann about how she convinced Meryl Streep to narrate the audiobook, never fully knowing one’s parents, and the titles she’s most excited about this year.What’s your song of the summer? Tell us in a voice memo for next week’s episode! You can reach us at NerdettePodcast@gmail.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Dylan Marron, host of the podcast The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks, and Jo Firestone, comedian and host of the podcast Dr. Gameshow, stop by to play one of our favorite games, “Burden or delight.” They evaluate the number of spiders we eat in our sleep and the best time of day to eat dinner.Then, we check in on what the heck is going on in Hollywood. The writers’ strike hit the 100 day mark this week with no end in sight. Given the huge disruptions in the industry, Variety’s TV business reporter Jennifer Maas says that peak TV has peaked. Streaming platforms must cut down on their original series. She tells us why. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Daily Fail hosts Maura Currie and Kristen Meinzer join us to unwind from a particularly steamy week! We swap tricks for staying cool, talk about the joy of eating in front of the TV, and debunk sexist myths about hunter gatherers. Plus, in another installment of our ongoing Nerdy Jobs series, we meet Jennifer Mundt. She is a sleep psychologist at Northwestern Medicine, where she directs the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Lab and Training Program. She takes us on a trip to the lab and explains why we should accept night owls for who they are. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nerdette Book Club’s August selection is Andrew Leland’s memoir The Country of the Blind. Andrew is gradually losing his sight due to a rare degenerative eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, which he was diagnosed with as a teen.In this vulnerable, funny conversation, host Greta Johnsen shares her own experience with a degenerative eye disease. The two dig into how blind people have advocated for themselves throughout American history, the intersectionality of blindness, and the importance of getting lost. We’ll be back with two guest readers on the last Tuesday of the month for an in-depth discussion of the book. You’re invited to read along with us and join the conversation! Record a voice memo on your smartphone and email the file to NerdettePodcast@gmail.com to contribute to the discussion. We can’t wait to hear what you think! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, our panelists are the host of the NHPR podcast ‘The 13th Step,’ Lauren Chooljian, and Jonquilyn Hill, who hosts the Vox podcast ‘The Weeds.’ We talk about whether we indulged in Barbenheimer, then recommend some stuff to read, do, and listen to this summer. You can find a list of their recommendations here, at our website. Then, Aomawa Shields tells us about her circuitous trajectory from acting to astrophysics! Her new book is called ‘Life on Other Planets.’See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.