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 Nerd Ed. I'm Greta Johnson. We did it. We made it to another weekend, and we have a great show this week to help you unwind. We will hear from author Lauren Groff about whether her new book about nuns in the Middle Ages is actually kind of magical and escapist. I kept joking with my friends that I wanted to create a lesbian separatist utopia on some

island somewhere.

Plus, Wendy Suzuki invites us to figure out how to make the best of our anxiety.

This is the moment to start talking about it and to find ways to bring it back into the role that anxiety was meant to play in our lives.

But first, it's our panel on the week that was. This week, we have two excellent guests with us.

First up is WB Easy Education reporter Susie on. Susie, hey.

Hey, Greta. Thanks for coming. We also have the host of the Axios Today podcast, Naila Boodoo, Naila. Welcome back. Thank you, Greta. So it is a week. This weekend marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Actor Michael K. Williams, who played Omar on the Wire, died earlier this week. And the fraud trial against Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes started.

I think we should just dive in and start with sports this week.

The U.S. Open ends this weekend.

And a couple of days ago, Naomi Osaka rocked the tennis world with the news that she is

considering stepping away from tennis again

for mental health reasons. The player Naomi lost two in the tournament is Lela Fernandez. She's

19. She's one of a handful of super young players who's just dominating in the tournament under

enormous pressure, which does feel a little like history repeating itself. Naila, you're following this, right?

I am a huge tennis fan. I actually, full disclosure, I'm in New York for reporting reasons, but came to New York last week to go to the U.S. Open.

Wow. Nice.

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