This week, comedian and Fake the Nation host Negin Farsad and Ted Talks Daily host Elise Hu join us to discuss a week’s worth of litigious news. We learn about the guy who’s suing Powerball for posting the incorrect numbers, the dating app users who say the platforms are too addictive, and the proposed “right to disconnect” law protecting workers in Australia.

Plus, how many exclamation points are too many?!! In her substack newsletter ‘Culture Study,’ Anne Helen Petersen recently unpacked why so many women have been told to use fewer exclamation points in the workplace, while others have been told to use more. At its heart, Anne says, it’s all about “policing women's speech!”

This week, Niala Boodhoo, host and editor of the Axios podcast 1 big thing, and Aubrey Gordon, subject of the upcoming documentary 'Your Fat Friend' and co-host of Maintenance Phase, stop by to chat about retailers cracking down on frequent returns and the new dating app for people with good credit scores.

Then, MacArthur “Genius Grant” fellow and Pulitzer finalist Kelly Link joins us to talk about her magical and tender first novel, 'The Book of Love.' She is also the author of a number of short story collections, including 'Get In Trouble,' 'Magic for Beginners' and 'White Cat, Black Dog.'

This week, Rhaina Cohen, author of 'The Other Significant Others,' and The Stacks host Traci Thomas stop by to talk about the sports game happening this Sunday, whether aging Millennials are becoming culturally obsolete, and why algorithm recommendations might feel kind of … off.

Plus, we take a listen to audio Valentines from Nerdette listeners to their friends! You are refurbishing Coach bags and finding tampons on sunrise hikes and making cups of tea and vetting leftovers for each other, and it’s beautiful!!!!!!

Our February selection is Come and Get It by Kiley Reid! Reid’s debut novel, ‘Such a Fun Age,’ was a salacious, fizzy novel about the messy power dynamics of work and life, and her second book is no different. Set on the campus of the University of Arkansas, the multi-perspective book revolves around Millie, a fifth-year senior saving up to buy a house in town. As an RA on campus, she oversees students in their shared living spaces, and she becomes particularly entangled with the three students living in the rooms right next to her. Speaking of entanglements, there’s also Agatha, a visiting professor who’s come to campus to write a book about students and money. That’s all we’ll say for now because this is a spoiler-free interview!

Read along with us! The book club will be back on the last Tuesday of the month with a spoilery discussion of the book and two fun guest readers. You can get in on the conversation by recording your thoughts on the book in a voice memo and sending the file to [email protected] by Friday, March 23. Happy reading!

This week, we are beating the winter blahs and leaning into coziness. First, we talk to City Cast Chicago host Jacoby Cochran and WBEZ’s Araceli Gómez-Aldana about ads upending streaming services, a $3,000 train trip and cozy rituals.

Then, Bon Appétit food editor Shilpa Uskokovic shares some of her favorite cold weather recipes. Here they are…

• Dark and Stormy Braised Pot Roast
• No-Knead Fougasse
• Frizzled-Onion Cabbage Salad
• Cheesy Spinach and Corn Piroshki

Nerdette Book Club is off to an excellent start with our first selection of 2024, ‘Jonathan Abernathy You are Kind’ by Molly McGhee! It’s a deeply strange novel that dabbles in dreamscapes while also being a very real critique of capitalism.

Our readers this month are Maya Lau, the host of the personal finance podcast ‘Other Peoples’ Pockets’ and Nick Quah, podcast critic for ‘Vulture.’

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 Molly McGhee in the feed first.

And in case you want to read ahead, we have the next three months of books chosen! Here they are:

February: Come and Get It by Kiley Reid

March: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

April: Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

It’s never too early to send us a voice memo with your thoughts on these books! Reach us at [email protected]

This week, co-hosts of the Just Between Us podcast, Gabe Dunn and Allison Raskin, stop in to play Burden or Delight. This week’s topics: double dipping, the snow salt chococcino, and gummy vitamins!

Then, Greta and Book Riot’s Liberty Hardy rave about some of the buzziest titles coming out this year. For a full list of the books mentioned in the episode, head to our website!

This week, we are distracting ourselves from the freezing cold weather with a game of Burden or Delight. Our panelists are Adora Namigadde, WBEZ metro reporter and host of the morning episodes of the WBEZ podcast The Rundown, and Erin Allen, host of The Rundown in the afternoons. We discuss the end of certain comedic road signs and the ethics of a husband’s hidden trust fund.

Then, we head to a basement bar in Chicago for a Silent Book Club! One Sunday a month, the lesbian bar Dorothy fills up with book lovers reading alone together. We hear from attendees about what makes Silent Book Club nights so special.

We’re back with our first pop culture panel of 2024! In that spirit, we are talking all about New Year's resolutions and the myth of fresh starts. Our guests are the host of Vox’s The Weeds podcast Jonquilyn Hill and the host of New Hampshire Public Radio’s The 13th Step podcast Lauren Chooljian. We also get into two recent trends: the rise of closed captioning and the extra trendy, extra large Stanley tumblers.

This week we're sharing an episode we think you'll enjoy. It's from the podcast Missing Pages and it is the first part of their two-part series on book banning. Host and acclaimed literary critic Bethanne Patrick explores America’s history of banning books.

Missing Pages is produced by The Podglomerate. Listen to more episodes of Missing Pages here: https://link.chtbl.com/M8oj-eXh?sid=NerdetteFeedDrop