‘One To Watch’ Corrects A Reality TV Blind Spot

Nerdette

WBEZ

Tv & Film, Self, Nerd, Books, Technology, Tv, Improvement, Culture, Wbez, Society & Culture, Pop, Nerdette, Nerds

4.7 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 14 July 2020

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kate Stayman-London loves reality TV. But even though shows like The Bachelorette and Love Island bring her joy, “we should also hold those things accountable to our values,” she said.

Stayman-London’s debut novel, One To Watch, puts a plus-size woman as the star of a Bachelorette-style reality TV show. It’s both a lovely summer read and also a critical assessment of reality TV tropes.

Greta talks with Kate about the impetus for the novel, what it means to see stories about large women, and whether or not any reality TV shows might take her lead.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This fall, W bez invites you to our upcoming live events.
0:05.0	Join us in person for smart discussions, heartfelt storytelling, and more.
0:09.0	Check out the full calendar now at W be easy.org slash events.
0:15.6	From W be easy Chicago this is Nurdette I'm Greta Johnson and today I am so excited to introduce you to the debut author responsible
0:26.1	for a fantastic summer read that I love.
0:31.8	Her name is Kate Staman London, and she was actually a guest on
0:35.7	Nurdette approximately one million years ago. She's an author and a screenwriter
0:40.5	and a former writer for Hillary Clinton's 2016 digital campaign.
0:45.4	Her book is called One to Watch.
0:48.8	It's about a plus-sized fashion blogger named B shoemaker, and one day, B writes this like Twitter
0:54.8	takedown of a bachelorette style reality TV show.
0:58.6	And then in a delightful twist, B herself is invited to be the next contestant on this show.
1:06.0	I don't want to spoil the story any more than that, but this is one of those just like
1:10.5	delicious, plotty, prop propulsive addictive books and that's not just because full
1:17.2	disclosure it does have an oblique reference to nerd ad in it I feel like I should just drop the mic and
1:24.6	walk away right there. It's very oblique. The people in this anyway just you
1:29.6	just you just got to read it to believe it. So I'm going to talk with Kate about the book
1:33.8	and about what it means to see stories
1:36.2	about women of size and about whether or not
1:39.3	the real Bachelorette TV show might follow
1:42.4	in this book's footsteps.
1:44.1	Kate, welcome to Nurdette.
	...

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