Happy To Be Here

Host Greta Johnsen talks with Roxana Jullapat, head baker and co-owner at the Los Angeles restaurant Friends & Family. Her new cookbook is Morning Baker: Recipes and Rituals for Breakfast and Beyond.

In 2019, she wrote Mother Grains: Recipes for the Grain Revolution, a thorough compendium of heritage grains and everything they have to offer. 

Roxana says the new cookbook is just as devoted to whole grains, but it’s ...

Host Greta Johnsen talks to author Rufi Thrope, whose novel Margo’s Got Money Troubles was just adapted into a series on Apple TV+.

The show’s cast is stacked -- it stars Elle Fanning as Margo, a young woman who becomes pregnant after an affair with her college professor. She decides to keep the baby, much to the chagrin of her own single mom Shyanne, played by Michelle Pfeiffer. Margo’s absentee former pro wrestler dad, Ji...

Greta’s guest today will be familiar to longtime Nerdette listeners -- her name is Kate Schatz, and she’s an activist and author. She co-wrote Do the Work: An Antiracist Activity Book with W Kamau Bell, and she’s the author of Rad American Women A-Z and Rad Women Worldwide.

Now, she’s back with her first novel for adults! Where the Girls Were takes place in the Bay Area in 1968. It’s about Baker, a teenager whose future is ...

For this deep-dive discussion of Tayari Jones’ novel Kin, host Greta Johnsen talks with Traci Thomas, who hosts The Stacks podcast. 

They talk about the exquisite pleasure of reading a book that does exactly what it sets out to do, the beauty of female friendship, and the different ways the main characters are mothered despite the absence of their actual mothers. 

Warning: this is a spoilery conversation! If you ha...

Greta Johnsen and Kristen Meinzer discuss the finale of My So-Called Life -- “In Dreams Begin Responsibilities”  -- with Pop Culture Happy Hour host Linda Holmes and Ronald Young, Jr., who hosts Weight for It. 

They talk about the centrality of Angela and Rayanne’s friendship, the power of Patty’s nostalgia trip, and how the episode works as both a season and series finale. 

Plus, Greta and Kristen talk to Win...

In today’s MSCL rewatch episode, Greta Johnsen and Kristen Meinzer discuss My So-Called Life episodes 17 and 18 -- “Betrayal” and “Weekend”  -- with Soraya Roberts, a culture writer and contributing writer at Defector who wrote the the book In My Humble Opinion: My So-Called Life.

They talk about THE BEYRAYAL, whether Jordan actually loved Angela, and what Brian’s deal is.

SHOW CREDITS

Creator and host: Greta ...

Greta Johnsen and Kristen Meinzer discuss My So-Called Life episodes 15 and 16 -- “So-Called Angels” and “Resolutions”  -- with Jenn White, the host of the NPR show 1A.

They talk about the ups and downs of what Jenn (somewhat facetiously) calls “a very special episode of My So-Called Life,” the devastation and sweetness of Ricky’s story, and the fact that Sharon is “just a nice, middle-class suburban girl who’s horny,”...

Host Greta Johnsen talks to Tayari Jones. Her novel Kin is the GRETAGRAM book club selection for March. It’s about two girls grow up in the 50’s in Alabama. They each lost their mothers in different ways, and those absences shape the trajectories of both of their lives. 

Tayari and Greta talk about the power of deep, abiding friendship, the importance of asking for help, and how Tayari stumbled upon writing historical ...

Host Greta Johnsen and co-gost Kristen Meinzer discuss My So-Called Life episodes 13 and 14 -- “Pressure” and “On the Wagon”  -- with culture writer and podcaster Margaret H. Willison. 

They talk about the show’s many different depictions of teenage desire, the fate of the Frozen Embryos, and Patty’s “congenital inability to chill,” as Margaret so skillfully puts it.

SHOW CREDITS

Creator and host: Greta Johnsen

C...

Host Greta Johnsen and co-host Kristen Meinzer discuss My So-Called Life episodes 11 and 12 --”Picture Perfect” and “Self Esteem” -- with Christina Tucker!!!!  She’s a podcaster and writer who co-hosts the podcast Wait, Is This A Date?. 

They talk about school dance drama, wallpaper as an analogy for sex, and the fact that Delia Fisher is a f*****g QUEEN. .

SHOW CREDITS:

Creator and host: Greta Johnsen

Co-host: K...

Greta and Kristen discuss My So-Called Life episodes 9 and 10 --”Halloween” and “Other Peoples’ Mothers” -- with Patrick Hinds!

He co-hosted his own MSCL deep-dive podcawst, My So-Called Podcast, in 2018.

They talk about whether Angela ACTUALLY time travels, how terrible it is to add oregano to a curry, and how Patrick thinks about Patty differently now that he’s a parent. 

SHOW CREDITS

Creator and host: Greta Johnsen

...

The GRETAGRAM book club is officially in podcast form! Host Greta Johnsen talks to Nina McConigley, the author of How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder. Her novel is the GRETAGRAM book club selection for February. It’s about two teenage sisters who decide they must kill their uncle. 

While this book is intense it’s also funny and strange -- or, as Nina puts it, cheeky! 

Nina talks about the weirdness of growing up in...

On this week’s podcast, Greta Johnsen and Kristen Meinzer discuss My So-Called Life episodes 7 and 8 --”Why Jordan Can’t Read” and “Strangers in the House” -- with Joanna Robinson and Kristin Russo. They’re the perfect guests to talk about MSCL because they hosted their own rewatch podcast, The Boiler Room!

The group chats about Angela’s amazing detective skills, the crumbs of Jordan’s personality we are all subsisting...

Greta Johnsen and Kristen Meinzerdiscuss My So-Called Life episodes 5 and 6 --”The Zit” and “The Substitute” -- with Anna Sale!

They talk about the messiness of teenage desire and objectification, self-esteem and insecurity, and whether Anna Sale is Patty-ing her children. 

SHOW CREDITS

Creator and host: Greta Johnsen

Co-host: Kristen Meinzer

Senior Producer: Ben Goldberg

Composer: Andrew M. Edwards

Tile art: Lou ...

The My So-Called Life rewatch continues! Greta Johnsen and Kristin Meinzer discuss episodes 3 and 4 with Jason Concepcion. They talk about the devastating quaintness of a school gun violence episode from the ‘90s, whether Graham is a good dad, and Sharon and Rayanne’s burgeoning … friendship? Plus, Jason calls for MORE JORDAN CATALANO, Greta becomes an accidental Graham apologist, an...

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. 

SHOW CREDITS

Creator and host: Greta Johnsen

Co-host: Kristen Meinzer

Senior Producer: Ben Goldberg

Composer: Andrew M. Edwards

Tile art: Lou Lovisek

See Privacy Policy at https...

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. 

...