Happy To Be Here

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.

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Today’s episode starts with our friends Araceli Gomez-Aldana of WBEZ and Traci Thomas, host of The Stacks podcast. We chat about finding back-to-school vibes in scorching hot weather, why Zoomers are collecting CDs, and the biggest search for the Loch Ness Monster in over 50 years.

Then, Houston Chronicle critic Joey Guerra catches us up on some of the biggest stories in the music world, from the allegations against Lizzo to ticket prices.

Plus, we dance it out to the songs of the summer! WXPN’s Kristen Kurtis shares some tracks with us that you may not have heard before. We also hear YOUR songs of the summer! Find all of the music mentioned in today’s episode and more in our Spotify playlist.

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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 [email protected]

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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.

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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.

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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 [email protected] to contribute to the discussion. We can’t wait to hear what you think!

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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.’

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Nerdette Book Club is back to discuss our July selection, Tania James’ book Loot. It’s historical fiction, but the story centers around a real artifact: a life-sized, wooden automaton of a tiger devouring an English soldier known as Tipu’s Tiger. It was built in the late 1700s in Mysore, India, and it resides in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.

Our protagonist is Abbas, a young and talented woodworker who’s summoned to the Sultan’s palace to help build that tiger. But the perspective shifts to others who impact the artifact and its trajectory, from the French clockmaker who mentored Abbas to the wealthy English widow who takes the tiger into her antiquities collection.

Our panelists are the authors of two former Nerdette Book Club selections: Rebecca Makkai, author of I Have Some Questions For You, and Sameer Pandya, who wrote Members Only. (This conversation includes spoilers! If you have not read the book yet, you can find our spoiler-free interview with Tania James in our feed.)

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This week, we share some of the best things to watch and eat this summer! Our guests are Shilpa Uskokovic, food editor at Bon Appetit, and Shirley Li, staff writer at The Atlantic covering the entertainment industry.

What to watch:

‘How to With John Wilson’ season 3 (July 28)

‘Problemista’ (August 4)

‘Bottoms’ (August 25)

What to eat:

Grilled Corn Tiger Salad

Lemony Zucchini with Sour Cream and Dill

Free Form Kebabs

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It’s summer blockbuster season! Northwestern University’s Arionne Nettles and Chalkbeat Chicago’s Becky Vevea stop by to get excited about the opening week of both ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer.’ We also chat about this year’s Emmy nominations and what in the world “girl dinner” is.

Then, Simon Pegg reflects on an extremely nerdy career, his role in the latest ‘Mission Impossible’ movie, and whether he’s jealous of Tom Cruise’s absolutely deranged stunt skills.

Plus, we have a book club announcement! August’s Book Club pick is ‘The Country of the Blind’ by Andrew Leland. It’s a memoir about the author’s transition from sightedness to blindness. You can send us a voice memo about it or July’s book ‘Loot’ at [email protected].

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