I'm Natalie Moore. I fell in love with soap operas when I was just five years old, and I still

watch them. Their television's longest scripted series and have zero reruns. Now let me tell you,

soap operas aren't just some silly art form. They are significant. In this season of making,

Stories Without End from WBEZ Chicago.

Join me as I share how the genre began, their social impact, and why these stories endure.

Listen wherever you get your podcast.

From WBEZ Chicago, this is Nerdette.

I'm Greta Johnson.

We are deep in the dog days of summer,

which means we thought it would be a great time to kick back, chill out, completely ignore what's going on in the outside world, and ask some food nerds about what makes the perfect picnic.

How much effort should we really be putting into the food that accompanies us during what is also very important lounging time?

New York Times restaurant critic, Tajel Rao, has a pretty great answer.

You don't want fishy juice on your picnic blanket.

You don't, you know, you want to be able to read a nap.

True wisdom, y'all.

We'll hear from her later in the show.

But first up with her own mind-blowing picnic advice is Alex Beggs. She's a senior staff writer at Bon Appetite. Alex, hey. Hi, thanks for having me.

How strongly do you feel about Bon Appetit versus Bon Appetit?

Oh, that's a great question. I have heard my own people call it Bon Appetit, and I always call it Bon Appetit, so I just, it feels like

how much, you know, Julia Child have you watched? Maybe, maybe you go full bone, but that's up to you.

Fair enough. Okay, so picnics. Do you consider yourself to be like a big picnic person?

Well, when you asked me about this, I was like, am I going to pretend that I actually cook things to bring to a picnic?

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