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 Nerdat.

I'm Greta Johnson sitting on a bed in an Airbnb in Montreal because I completely forgot to record this last week when I was still in the office.

So last month, we gathered a bunch of Nerdat listeners on Zoom for a very special craft night.

My friend Shannon Downey, also known as badass cross-stitch,

zoomed in from her RV in New Mexico to chat about how her work combines crafting and activism. It was so much fun to see hundreds of people join in with their crafts from Chicago

and Seattle and as far away as Australia. We were all knitting and needle-felting and

embroidering and doing basically all of the

things. And while I talked with Shannon, everyone chimed in on the Zoom chat talking about where

they were from and somewhat inexplicably whether or not they were wearing bras, which I have to say

was not a topic I introduced, but I was completely delighted to go there. You don't have to disclose Shannon.

I mean, look, it's cut off like right here.

Why would I put one on?

So great.

And the conversation was so much fun that we thought we would play some of it in today's

podcast.

So here I am chatting with Shannon Downey, also known as badass cross

...