Greta Johnsen

Host

Greta hosts and produces WBEZ’s Nerdette podcast and is a fill-in anchor on WBEZ. Prior to joining WBEZ in 2014. Greta hosted Morning Edition at WCQS in Asheville, North Carolina and at KUAC in Fairbanks, Alaska. Greta has a BA in English from Saint Olaf College and a MS in Journalism from Northwestern University. She enjoys waking up early, reading, knitting, and walking her corgi.

Stories by Greta Johnsen

- Nerdette
- Culture & The Arts
When The Pressure’s Just Too Much

On this week’s episode, we talk about hitting your limit and what to do next.
Sept. 10 read more
- Nerdette
- Culture & The Arts
Queens Of Pop And Vampire Slayers

We talk music news with Jasmine Garsd (NPR) and Jill Hopkins (Vocalo), check in with actor Harvey Guillén (‘What We Do in the Shadows’), and walk through an American Medical Association report that could make life a lot easier for trans and intersex folks.
Sept. 3 read more
- Nerdette
- Culture & The Arts
Nerdette Book Club: ‘Klara And The Sun’

It’s our long-awaited episode on ‘Klara and the Sun’! We dive into Kazuo Ishiguro’s latest with ‘Divergent’ author Veronica Roth and writer Anita Felicelli.
Aug. 31 read more
- Nerdette
- Culture & The Arts
Is Anything Even Good Anymore?

WTTW anchor Brandis Friedman and WBEZ reporter Araceli Gómez-Aldana talk to us about Lil Nas X’s new gig with Taco Bell, if anything we watch is “good” in the age of armchair critics, and why the baby from the cover of Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ isn’t smiling anymore. Then, TV critic Kathryn VanArendonk christens a new genre we can get behind (White Man As Obstacle) and author Jess Zimmerman takes a feminist spin on Greek myths.
Aug. 27 read more
- Nerdette
- Culture & The Arts
#RushTok 101

We’re back with a panel! This week, we talk COVID, Jeopardy!, and #RushTok with WBEZ daily newsletter writer Hunter Clauss and New York Times TV critic Margaret Lyons. Then, Eve Ewing tells us about ‘Maya and the Robot,’ her lovely new book for middle grade readers.
Aug. 20 read more
- Nerdette
- Culture & The Arts
Is the New Nicolas Cage Movie … Actually Good?

This week, it’s all about summer movies. First, we check in with TIME’s Eliana Dockterman about what’s been good, what to avoid, and what the deal is with that whole ScarJo/Disney lawsuit situation. Then, we ask film critic Robert Daniels about his favorite movies of 2021 so far.
Aug. 13 read more
- Nerdette
- Culture & The Arts
All Hail the Slacker Picnic

This week, two of our favorite eaters — Bon Appetit senior staff writer Alex Beggs and New York Times restaurant critic Tejal Rao — tell us why the best picnics might just be the least photogenic ones. They’re all about tiny swimsuits, big sandwiches, cold wine in insulated water bottles, and minimal, minimal effort.
Aug. 6 read more
- Nerdette
- Culture & The Arts
Nerdette Book Club: The Best Books Of 2021 So Far

Two excellent readers join Greta to discuss some of the best books of the year so far.
Aug. 3 read more
- Nerdette
- Culture & The Arts
Adam Driver *Is* Hot And, Yes, Also A Centaur

We unpack the week that was with Jacoby Cochran and Mariah Woelfel! Plus, why do people fall for scams?
July 30 read more
- Nerdette
- Culture & The Arts
Nerdette Book Club: ‘Version Zero’

We unpack the twists and turns of David Yoon’s latest novel with Sameer Pandya and Elise Hu.
July 27 read more