Idiot's Alphabet Soup

In this episode, Jenny and Kathrine talk about one of their favorite childhood authors, Cornelia Funke. They discuss her work and the movie adaptations that came from it, as well as what they love so much about her writing style. How was Cornelia Funke instrumental in the start of Jenny and Kathrine's friendship? What fictional food would Jenny love to try? How did Kathrine get confused at the cinema? Listen to find out.

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In this episode, Jenny and Kathrine are joined by bestselling author Katherine Howe to discuss her book Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of An American Dynasty. Katherine shares what stories from the book she found most impactful and gives us an overview of the books she has coming out soon (Spoiler: they all sound pretty cool!) What should every good pirate book have? How does one actually write a book? Who wore the craziest costume to a Vanderbilt party? Listen to find out.

What happens when Jenny and Kathrine plan an episode and then completely disregard their discussion guide the whole time? This episode is what happens. In (some of) this episode, Jenny and Kathrine discuss what it means to be well read, why it’s important to them to be well read, and how they are working to read more diversely. However, the episode manages to wander all over the place. What is the weirdest food combination Kathrine has eaten? What behavior does Jenny find super pretentious? How did people in Jane Austen times manage to have so much poetry under their belts? Listen to find out.

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In this episode, Jenny and Kathrine discuss the book "The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese. There are many themes to this absolute book of a book, and they bring up as many as they can, including generational growth, motherhood, class divisions, education, and leprosy. What does Jenny do when she encounters a word she doesn't know in a book? What happens when Kathrine gets too invested in a book on the train? What would Kathrine and Jenny's generational stories look like? Listen to find out!

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 friends? Listen to find out!

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Welcome to the madness

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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!

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? Listen to find out!

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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 dolphin tank? What should happen to the shirt that never leaves the thrift store? Listen to find out!

If you have comments or questions for us, DM us on Instagram! (@idiots.alphabet.soup)