Nerdette

WBEZ

Hosted by Greta Johnsen

  • 58 minutes 20 seconds
    MSCL TV Club: High School is a Battlefield!!!! (Episodess 1 and 2)

    The My So-Called Life rewatch begins! Greta Johnsen and Kristin Meinzer discuss episodes 1 and 2 with Ronald Young, Jr. They talk about the nostalgic power of the series, how the pilot holds up as a pilot, and the extreme angst of it all. 

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    23 January 2026, 9:00 am
  • 51 minutes 55 seconds
    TV Club: Let’s watch My So-Called Life!

    In a very special miniseries, Greta joins forces with podcast host Kristen Meinzer to unpack every single episode of the 1994 ABC teen drama My So-Called Life. In this episode, before they begin their rewatch, Kristen and Greta discuss the cultural impact of the show with New Yorker TV critic Emily Nussbaum. Then, Greta talks to her best friend Marty, who binged the show with her when they were in high school. 

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    16 January 2026, 9:00 am
  • 27 minutes 8 seconds
    The 87% Club

    Consider this episode a friendly nudge to stop giving everything 100% all the time. It's the 87% Club, and you're invited! Greta talks to two dear friends about perfectionism, trying too hard, and embracing rest. Guests are art activist and author Shannon Downey, aka Badass Cross Stitch, and Ellen Wessel, Greta's laziness accountability coach.

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    9 January 2026, 9:00 am
  • 24 minutes 55 seconds
    New year, new TBR: What to read in 2026!!!

    Book Riot’s Liberty Hardy and NPR’s Andrew Limbong share some of the books they’re most excited to read this year. (Here's the full list of books, along with about 20 others!)

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    2 January 2026, 6:00 pm
  • 25 minutes 41 seconds
    No burden, all delight: Good news from 2025

    This week, City Cast Chicago host Jacoby Cochran and pop culture writer Margaret H. Willison share their favorite news stories of the year. From real-life magicians to ficiton demon hunters, and museum detectives to Da Pope, there's plenty of good news to go around.

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    26 December 2025, 8:30 am
  • 31 minutes 40 seconds
    Bake Until Done

    This week, professional pastry chef Faith Fedash stops by host Greta Johnsen's kitchen to make pumpkin pie cookies. (Find the full recipe for the cookies here!)

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    19 December 2025, 9:00 am
  • 1 minute 24 seconds
    Introducing Happy To Be Here!

    Welcome to Happy To Be Here, the show for the perpetually curious!

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    6 November 2025, 10:30 pm
  • 35 minutes 7 seconds
    Goodbye for now!

    As y’all probably know, we’re calling this the “goodbye for now” episode of Nerdette because it’s our last episode while we’re employees at WBEZ. So, we thought it was the perfect time to call up Nerdette co-creator Tricia Bobeda and Nerdette Recaps co-host Peter Sagal to play our favorite game, Burden or Delight.


    Then, we hear from YOU about what Nerdette has meant to you for the past 11 years.


    We ultimately hope to find a new home for Nerdette! You can keep in touch with the team by joining our Facebook group, following Anna (@annabaumanation) and Greta (@gretamjohnsen) on Instagram, and subscribing to Greta’s newsletter.


    Thank you for 11 amazing years. We love you!

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    28 May 2024, 8:00 am
  • 20 minutes 18 seconds
    Nerdette Book Club: More with Amor Towles, LIVE!

    May’s Book Club selection is the fabulous short story collection ‘Table for Two’ by Amor Towles. It was amazing to get to talk to Amor in front of a LIVE audience in Chicago a few weeks ago. Since we were only able to share about half of that conversation in the podcast feed, we decided to bring you more from our chat and dive even deeper into the book!


    A programming note – this is our second to last episode as a production at WBEZ. We are ultimately looking for a new home for the show. But until we figure that out, we’ll have one more episode on Tuesday.

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    24 May 2024, 8:00 am
  • 20 minutes 47 seconds
    All the books to read this summer!!!

    This week, we ask voracious reader Liberty Hardy to rave about the best books coming out this summer. Liberty is the host of the Book Riot podcast ‘All the Books!’ She and Greta trade their top picks.


    Here are the titles in the order that they’re mentioned in the episode:

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    17 May 2024, 8:00 am
  • 38 minutes
    A kitchen therapy session with Tamar Adler

    This week, cookbook author and leftovers lover Tamar Adler joins us to answer YOUR questions on cooking, hosting and eating. Tamar is the author of 'The Everlasting Meal' and 'The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A-Z.' She also writes the newsletter “The Kitchen Shrink,” where she regularly gives out culinary advice.

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    10 May 2024, 8:00 am
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