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 WB EZ 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, I'm Greta Johnson, and this is the Nerd Out Book Club.

It's just like a regular book club, except you don't have to share your snacks.

It is the month of September, and our selection this month is Angie Kim's novel,

Happiness Falls.

It is told from the point of view of Mia, a college student who goes home during the lockdown era of COVID. She moves back in with

her twin John, her working mom, Hannah, and her dad, Adam, who stays at home to take care of their

younger brother, Eugene, who is a teenager who's got autism and doesn't talk. One day, Adam and

Eugene leave to go on a walk, but only Eugene comes back. He's got blood under his fingernails and he's

unable to tell anyone what happened. And the more the family looks for Adam, the more secrets they

uncover. That is all I am going to say for now because this is your spoiler warning. If you have not read

the book and you don't want to know what happens, you should go listen to our spoiler-free author interview with Angie Kim, which is in the feed. If you have read the book or you are just

like a spoiler fiend, welcome. We are glad to have you. I am so excited to introduce you to this

month's guests with us. We have NPR host, Elise, Hugh, Elise. Hello. Hello. It's so great to be back. Yay. Also here is the head of the

audio program for Northwestern's journalism program, Ari on Nettles. Ari, hello. Hi, Greta. Okay, so I would

love to dive in and talk about and start with the COVID of it all because I don't know about y'all, but

like over the last several years, of course, I've read a variety of novels now that have had

...