Why was language created? Why are so many millennials obsessed with a giant history book? And what the heck even IS money? J & V contemplate these questions and more during their discussion of international bestseller Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari with special guest Varun Bhoopalam.

Julia and Victoria host an introvert support group with their friend Sherilyn Koshy, over the book Quiet by Susan Cain, as they examine their experiences as sensitive people in a chaotic and extroverted culture.

Julia, Victoria, and guest Hayoung Roh learn more about autism this week with Naoki Higashida’s debut book The Reason I Jump about his experience as a nonverbal autistic boy growing up in Japan. Julia is autistic, Hayoung has a brother with autism, and Victoria is their friend who’s trying to learn as much as humanly possible to be supportive; so whether you’ve done tons of research on autism or have no idea what’s going on, you’re in good company! With Naoki Higashida’s help, we’ll work together to unlearn our biases and try to find actionable ways to make the world a better place.

Julia and Victoria return once again to the story of Marjane Satrapi in Persepolis 2 as young Marji navigates the perils of living on her own in a foreign country, particularly one where her race and heritage are viewed as a political statement, and the difficulty of deciding the direction of her future adult life. Satrapi’s story blows open our culture’s generalizations about “The Middle East” with nuance and humor and heartbreak. This book also makes it abundantly clear that no one will ever be as cool as Satrapi - absolutely no competition.

Julia and Victoria have not stopped talking this book since it came out in April, so they decided to put their ongoing conversation on tape. In You’re a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass), science expert, empathetic public speaker, and hard-core nerd Mike McHargue (known professionally as Science Mike) dives into the core of what it means to be a human in the twenty-first century. Starting with the essential question, “Why do I do things I don’t want to do?,” this book covers everything from the ways technology and pizza are shaping social justice movements, to how an understanding of brain structure and core emotions can lead us into radical self-love and acceptance. An essential read for any human being who feels feelings and thinks thoughts. Let’s get into it!

During a period of political upheaval and war in her country, Marjane Satrapi read comic books about Karl Marx, and listened to Iron Maiden, and stood up for her beliefs at political rallies or at school. She’s so punk, it’s incredible. So dive into Persepolis with us to learn more about the history of Persia and to spend some time with a young Marjane, the heroine the world desperately needs.

This episode, we’re joined by the only person legally allowed to be in our home during this time of shelter in place: our dear roommate Natasha. We are so excited to discuss this book together and share our stories of self-discovery as we learn how to trust our experiences and make informed decisions about our own bodies. Highly recommend this book to anyone who knows anyone who takes birth control… so, everyone!

After Nobel-Prize-winning author Patrick Modiano found a personal ad about a missing Jewish girl in a Parisian newspaper from 1945, he was shocked to discover how much their lives might have intersected, and he became determined to uncover as much about her life as he could. Dora Bruder chronicles his eight-year pursuit of her story, the hidden history of Paris, and the painful memories that his project brings up from his own life. Join us as we discuss this short but powerful book about the importance of remembering.

Few books have the ability to make Julia cry, but this one definitely did. Lisa Gungor’s 2018 memoir The Most Beautiful Thing I’ve Seen discusses the themes of motherhood and the divine feminine, and follows the ups and downs of being a Christian celebrity who loses her faith. Join us as we discuss how these themes intersect with our lives, and whether or not spaghetti is a good visual metaphor for evolving belief systems.

Who knew that some of the most personally transformative non-fiction of our time would come from a shame researcher? And yet, here we are, crying over Brené Brown’s Daring Greatly as she covers the walls we put in place to protect ourselves from vulnerability, the dominant shame messages we receive based on gender scripts, and the terrifying but essential tools we need to knock them all down.

Scary Close is a memoir by Donald Miller that covers one of the scariest topics in the world: Vulnerability. (No! Please! Anything by vulnerability! I’m too young to die!) Follow the compelling journey of a man (and his trusted sidekick, Lucy the labrador) as he learns to be his authentic self, create healthy boundaries, and show up for the most important relationships in his life. Then follow him on instagram for pictures of his dog.

Victoria and her mom dive into an important discussion of how body image gets passed down through generations of women and what the pair of them did to break the cycle. Read the book, call your mom, and then join us for a lovely, deep discussion on body positivity.

It’s not a comic, or a graphic novel; it’s a graphic memoir. And apparently, graphic memoirs can be truly incredible works of art with gripping stories, that also last about as long as a single installment of Lord of the Rings. So if you feel overwhelmed by the pressure of always trying to be a “good reader,” whatever that means, join us as we rest our burnt out souls and engage with this truly incredible, visual text about family and identity after the Vietnam War by Thi Bui.

Why was prominent feminist author and advocate affectionately known as RHE doing truly wild things like sitting on her roof, camping on her front lawn during her period, and the most horrifying of them all, waking up before dawn? To dismantle the Christian patriarchy, obviously! Join us as we dig into the book that taught us small-town, religious girls how to be feminists.

A 3 and a 5 have a chat about what we have learned from Chris Heuertz’s The Sacred Enneagram and why we sometimes don’t understand each other’s intelligence centers. If that sounds like complete nonsense, we’ll try our best to explain. 

Victoria is officially back from her travels and ready to learn new things! Julia and Victoria discuss the difficulty of balancing forgiveness and self-advocacy, ponder the validity of essential oils, and get schooled on the importance of education. Take back your power and join us as we dissect this important book.

Any men out there wanna ‘splain this podcast episode for us? Well too bad, because we brought in our mysterious third roommate and resident sustainability expert Rebecca to give us a hand with these two small but mighty feminist texts.

A neurodivergent friend and a neurotypical friend walk into a podcast… and then discover too late how much important information is in this very long book. If the 500+ page-length scares you, feel free to listen to this ‘Spark Notes’ version. (Content Warning: ABA, shock therapy, eugenics)