Nerdette Podcast

Two of our favorite podcast hosts and pop culture opinion-havers stop by to nerd out about their television favorites. NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour host, Linda Holmes and Jim DeRogatis of Sound Opinions join us to talk about the most under appreciated and most anticipated shows in their queues.

Luvvie Ajayi’s blog, Awesomely Luvvie, is full of well-intentioned side-eye. So is her new book, I’m Judging You. She tells Nerdette about how growing up Nigerian made her a master of metaphors, why her purse is full of lollipops, and how being judgy can be a good thing. Then, we talk to Kimberly Hebert Gregory, who plays the principal in charge of Danny McBride and Walton Goggins on HBO’s Vice Principals.

Dr. Eugenia Cheng earned her doctorate in pure mathematics, she made it her mission to spread the beauty and power of math to a wider audience. Now she’s the Scientist-in-Residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

G. Willow Wilson writes the comic Ms. Marvel, a story about an American Muslim teenage girl with superpowers. On Nerdette, she talked to Tricia Bobeda about what it’s like to write stories about outsiders, why we fear the future, and how to relate to millennials. Below is an edited excerpt of their conversation.

Victoria Schwab is a twenty-something wizard of sci-fi and fantasy. As V.E. Schwab, she’s penned the Shades of Magic series. And as Victoria, she writes for a YA audience with sophistication and tenacity. Her books are always fast-paced and fascinating -- they include the very best elements from the fantastical tradition, like coats of many colors, windows into alternate cities and pirates, and add fierce feminist protagonists. Her latest book is called This Savage Song. On Nerdette, she tells hosts Greta Johnsen and Tricia Bobeda about her Master’s in Monsters and how monsters are a reflection of human fears. Victoria discusses what it’s like to be a young author with vulnerability, anxiety and hustle. She says This Savage Song is the most personal book she’s written because it poses questions about what we can change about ourselves and what we must accept. Also in honor of the monster theme, we remember a Great Lady Nerd of History with a pop quiz. This lady nerd wrote a superb, monstrous short story, which is also your homework this week. Can you guess who it is?