Wheel of Time with Audrey Kearns

03/17/25 • 64 min

Wheel of Time—a sprawling, epic fantasy series filled with magic, palace intrigue, and, apparently, an unlimited budget for breathtaking visuals and absurdly attractive people. This week, Mandy welcomes back Audrey Kearns, aka the Geek Girl Authority herself, to painstakingly explain what the hell is going on in this Amazon Prime behemoth.

We start with Mandy, who thought Wheel of Time was a fitness tracker before being thrown into a world of Trollocs, Aes Sedai, and, oh yes, an alarming number of dismembered animal carcasses. Audrey, meanwhile, is here to reassure us that, yes, this is all normal, and no, we should not be alarmed by the sudden disappearance and recasting of a major character. It happens. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Together, they navigate the show's Game of Thrones-esque political machinations, Lord of the Rings-style reluctant heroes, and an inexplicable hot tub scene that Mandy found deeply relatable. Also, there’s a villainous peddler, a terrifying Björk-esque sorceress, and a lot of people who seem very angry for reasons that remain somewhat unclear.

Come for the nerdy deep dive. Stay for Mandy and Audrey debating which Aes Sedai faction they’d belong to in an alternate universe. (Spoiler: It's probably not the evil one. Probably.)

Links & Notes

Geek Girl Authority – geekgirlauthority.com
Follow Mandy on Instagram: @mandy_kaplan_klavens
Support the Show for Bonus Content – makemeanerd.com/join

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Learn more about supporting this podcast by becoming a member. It's just $5/month or $55/year. Visit our website to learn more.

Come for the nerdy deep dive. Stay for Mandy and Audrey debating which Aes Sedai faction they’d belong to in an alternate universe. (Spoiler: It's probably not the evil one. Probably.)

Links & Notes

Geek Girl Authority – geekgirlauthority.com
Follow Mandy on Instagram: @mandy_kaplan_klavens
Support the Show for Bonus Content – makemeanerd.com/join

---
Learn more about supporting this podcast by becoming a member. It's just $5/month or $55/year. Visit our website to learn more.

Previous Episode

Survivor with Patrick Gomez

This week on Make Me A Nerd, Mandy marches barefoot into the unwashed, coconut-scented, betrayal-laden world of Survivor. And who better to guide her through this mosquito-infested fever dream than Patrick Gomez, Editor-in-Chief of Entertainment Weekly and a man who has spent an alarming amount of time thinking about reality television strategy.

Yes, Mandy—who typically prefers her entertainment with a side of not starving to death—has watched an entire season of Survivor, specifically Heroes vs. Villains (because nothing says “survival” like arbitrarily labeling people based on past television appearances). She emerges with questions—about alliances, injuries, the baffling lack of toothbrushes, and, most importantly, where and how these people poop. Yes, poop. Because if you’re living on a beach for over a month, that is a logistical nightmare .

Patrick, a man who has personally interviewed the Survivor gods and lives to tell the tale, spills the behind-the-scenes tea: the scheming, the suffering, the completely unnecessary levels of shirtlessness, and the fact that Jeff Probst might actually be immortal. Also, did you know Survivor once had a season that was essentially race wars? Because that happened. And CBS aired it. In the 21st century.

Mandy and Patrick also discuss:

Boston Rob and his accent, which sounds like an actor badly pretending to be from Boston.
Sandra, the queen of “As long as it ain’t me,” and why she is the best player of all time.
Russell, a man who exudes the chaotic energy of someone who has definitely tried to start a cult in a Walmart parking lot.
Parvati, whose flirty villainy makes Mandy want to punch a wall.
The time a contestant faked his grandmother’s death to win a challenge.
And, of course, why the pizza rewards look like something that was legally ruled “not food” by the FDA.

Plus, if you become a Make Me A Nerd member, you’ll get access to an Oscars special where Patrick spills behind-the-scenes secrets from Hollywood’s biggest night. Because if there’s anything more cutthroat than Survivor, it’s awards season.

So, grab some wine, drop your buffs, and prepare for an episode so packed with drama, you’ll want to vote someone off your couch just to process it all.

Links & Notes

Become a Make Me A Nerd member for ad-free episodes & bonus content: makemeanerd.com/join
Follow Mandy on Instagram: @mandy_kaplan_klavens
Follow Patrick on social: @PatrickGomezLA
Read Patrick’s work on Entertainment Weekly: EW.com

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Learn more about supporting this podcast by becoming a member. It's just $5/month or $55/year. Visit our website to learn more.

Next Episode

Everything Everywhere All At Once with Lester Ryan Clark & Kynan Dias

Everything Everywhere All at Once. It’s the film that took home a million Oscars, melted a billion brains, and somehow made hot dog fingers emotionally resonant. This week, Mandy sits down with Exorcist Minute co-hosts Lester Ryan Clark and Kynan Dias, two men who decided that watching Everything Everywhere like normal people just wasn’t enough, so they’ve chosen to break it down minute-by-minute, which is either a brilliant act of cinematic devotion or a slow descent into madness. Probably both.

Together, they wade through the absurdity, the heartbreak, the nihilism, and yes, the butt plug fight scene. Along the way, they discuss the film’s mind-bending multiversal logic, the Daniels’ love of absurdism, Jamie Lee Curtis’s transformation into the IRS agent of your nightmares, and why Michelle Yeoh is basically the multiversal queen of everything.

Also on the docket:

The history of butt plugs (yes, really).
The actual existence of a 2017 Everything Everywhere script written for Jackie Chan.
The moment Mandy considered abandoning the movie entirely—only to be emotionally wrecked by the final act.
And, most importantly, what the hell is up with those raccoons?

So strap in, grab your fanny pack, and prepare for a cinematic discussion that will leave you questioning existence itself—while also wondering why you suddenly desperately need a bagel. And if you’re listening on Apple, leave a five-star review, or Mandy will personally send Jamie Lee Curtis to audit your taxes.

Links & Notes