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.

WBEZ is supported by Chicago Humanities, presenting its spring festival on April 27th in Lakeview

with historians Heather Cox Richardson and Timothy Snyder,

Jonathan Blitzer on Immigration,

University of Chicago professor Agnes Collard on Socrates,

and documentaries Unblocked Englewood by Chicago's Tanika Lewis Johnson,

and Beyond Closure on the 2013 Chicago Public School closures. Tickets and more conversations on arts,

culture, and current affairs at Chicago Humanities.org.

From WBEZ Chicago, I'm Greta Johnson, and this is the Nerdat Book Club. It's just like a regular

book club, except you don't have to share your snacks. It is the month of June, and our selection

is Shannon Chakraborty's The Adventures of Amina Al-Sarrafi, a historical fantasy pirate novel,

my four favorite words together. Our protagonist in this book is Amina Alsarafi.

She's a former pirate who settled down to live a quiet life with her mother and daughter.

But when a wealthy, older woman makes Amina an offer, she cannot refuse.

She finds herself right back on the treacherous seas.

She rallies her old crew and embarks on the treasure hunt of a lifetime,

encountering all kinds of creatures and devious characters along the way. That's all I'm going

to say for now, but this is your spoiler warning. We are going to talk about all the spoilers.

...