Chatter rolls (fast) into 2026.   Torie, Claude, and COB’s favorite Mayor Jud Ashman catch up and look ahead to the Gaithersburg Book Festival in May.  Elaine Katzenberger of City Lights Booksellers and Publishers introduces Rae Alexandra, first nominee for “The Pitch,” the writing contest in which independent book stores nominate an author from their region with a new book out in 2026.   Rae’s is “Unsung Heroines: 35 Women Who Changed the Bay Area,” untold stories of ground breaking women in every walk of life that shaped California.  Professor and world renowned cartographer William Rankin zooms in to share “Radical Cartography: How Changing Our Maps Can Change Our World.”  A fascinating and beautiful look at how maps can — and should — shape our perceptions of the world around us.  You’ll never look at a map the same again.