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 Tricia Bobita. And I'm Greta Johnson. This week, two women who are

reappropriating the words use against them. One of those words is bitch, which still kind of

feels weird to say in this public radio studio. And the other word is shrill. So that's your warning

that there's a little bit of saucy language, some slightly saucier even than those words

that will be in this episode. So if there are delicate ears around, you have been warned.

This week we're talking with Andy Zeisler. She runs Bitch Magazine, which is all about looking

at pop culture through a feminist lens. We'll also have some TV homework for you, but first,

our conversation with Lindy West. She's the author of the new book, Shrill, Notes from a Loud Woman, which is a really good subtitle and title.

It's a collection of essays that will, at certain points, make you laugh and cry.

For me, sometimes that happened in the span of a single page.

This book is fantastic.

I love Shill very much.

I actually listened to it, which I think was especially fun because your voice is so strong in the book anyway.

But then to literally hear your voice was just really fun.

I felt like I could hear you smiling when you were reading a lot of it, which was cool.

Aw.

My favorite line, I think, was in a certain light, feminism is just realizing the things you love actually hate you.

...