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.

Poetry! Love! Education! Mattress shopping? The ex-planet Pluto? Julia is skeptical of one of Victoria’s favorite books of poetry by Taylor Mali, but they still find themselves in a deep conversation about the nature and purpose of poetry. So buckle up because it’s serious-poetry-nerd time!

Welcome to Cook Club! In honor of Thanksgiving, we’re making recipes from the mind of corgi lover, Queer Eye star, and Prince of Avocado Antoni Porowski. Join us as we talk about veganism with our first returning guest Rebecca Gesme, eat some veggies, and remember how food and family have shaped our lives.

Julia and her childhood best friend, Reidleigh, remember the books they read as kids, the fictional characters they had crushes on, their identities as book nerds, and the stories that made them into who they are today.

We thought we understood what this book is about, and then we really, really didn’t. There are apocalyptic viruses and sci-fi-esque body-altering surgeries; people turning invisible and reading minds. There’s even SVU fan fiction. Prepare to be shook as we get into this truly remarkable, genre-bending, heart-wrenching book of short stories by rising author Carmen Maria Machado. 

This is one of those rare books that both tells profound truths and can be consumed in a single 24-hour period. This episode begins with Victoria claiming there is little to say about this book besides the fact that it is laugh-out-loud funny, and it ends on a serious discussion of the nature of high art versus low art, so clearly this book has range. Join us as we follow “Funny Girl” Sophie Straw and her band of misfits through the perils of making a television show in the 1960s.

This old wrinkly vampire is a far cry from the ageless, sparkly teen version we’ve come to know and… tolerate. But the history of these creatures is so much deeper than their empty veins. Read the book, or watch one of your favorite vampire flicks, and join us for a good, old-fashioned, Victorian-era spook.

Our multi-talented graphic designer, Gaby Febland, joins us for a delightful discussion on the meaning of art, book-to-film adaptation, and unreliable narrators in The Goldfinch. Watch the movie first, try to make a dent in this 900+ page novel, give up a few times, then join us for some quality banter about one of the most popular books of the last two years.

Why do we say “Ye Olde Taverne” when we’re trying to sound old and British? Why did an Irish poet create a competition to build a better alphabet on his deathbed? And what the hell is an ampersand? This week in Book Club: Minisodes, Victoria goes deep into the history of the English language and alphabet. It’s gonna be a wild ride, so let’s get into it!

Victoria is a fervent believer in the importance of intelligent and inclusive children’s literature, and Julia likes to say wheee while she rides a robot bird into a magical land where stories are born. Join us as we laugh and cry and remember why we fell in love with books in the first place.

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. 

Our special guest and published poet Ola Faleti guides us through Queen’s seminal work about personal power and the male gaze, and we all learn new things. Buy the book! Support working poets! You’ll be glad to have this beauty on your shelf.

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.

A lively discourse in which Miss Clausen exhibits her ‘encyclopedic knowledge of Jane Austen’ and Miss Bruick is amused. Have some tea, look at pictures of young Colin Firth, journal in the third person about who has 10,000 a year, and then join the party for our discussion of Emma and Persuasion.

When did we start separating stories into truth and fiction? And what does that have to do with women's liberation? This week, we're taking a break from our regularly scheduled programming to delve into one of Julia's favorite subjects: The History of the Novel. Get ready, it's Nerd Time!

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)

Read the book. Cry. Question whether you have a soul. Watch the movie. Cry again. Then listen to the podcast.

The Earth is a Libra, God is a woman, Aziraphale and Crowley are in love, and the world is ending. What a time to be alive! Go read the book and watch the Amazon series and then come back for a chat with us about this quirky tale.