More than just a great name and a great idea, the Chicago Nerd Social Club is an active, welcoming group that does some seriously cool stuff. Upcoming events include a field trip to Fermilab and a tour of tall ships. They have a book club, their own blog — all sorts of good stuff. I was fortunate enough to be invited to a recent author panel that they hosted in conjunction with Open Books and Just Write Chicago, which was well attended and full of great conversation about writing and publishing.
CNSC also has its own podcast, which started recently. Jeff Smith, co-founder of CNSC and host of the podcast, invited me to do an interview about Upload, some of its themes, and the writing process. Check it out: CNSC Podcast Episode 8: Upload Your Consciousness.