53: The Sears Catalog (ft. Aparna Nancherla)

" It spawned the term 'bathroom reading'" There was something magical about cracking open a gigantic Sears Catalog and imagining a life filled with hundreds of pages of things you never knew you needed. It was Amazon before Amazon. In today's episode, David takes us shopping, vintage style. We talk about the origins of the Sears Catalog, and how it played an important role during the Jim Crow era. We also learned about its eventual home in the outhouse, and where the term "bathroom reading" originated. Writer, actress, and comedian Aparna Nancherla joins us today to talk about puzzle streak addictions, imposter syndrome, and comedy. She's the author of Unreliable Narrator: Me, Myself, and Impostor Syndrome. Check out her comedy special on Dropout called Hopeful Potato, or catch her voicing Dr. Nisha in Pixar's latest movie, Hoppers. Our game today is called Initial Here Please, where every answer is a two-word phrase starting with S and C.   Full Show Notes   Production Credits Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law Produced by Theresa Piazza Supported by Lisa Spira Edited by Peih-Gee Law Music by Matt Farthing Logo by Theresa Wagner