Slate Debates
A feed from the Slate podcast network featuring episodes with enlightening conversations, opposing views, and plenty of healthy disputes. You'll get a curated selection of episodes from programs like What Next, The Waves, and the Political Gabfest, with deep discussions that go beyond point-counterpoint and shed light on the issues that matter most.
276
Number Theory
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo ask the question: How did we go from "four and twenty" to "twenty four"?
27 min
277
LinguaFile IV | Snark
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer.
41 min
278
Man on the Street
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to Jonathon Green, author of The Vulgar Tongue and Green's Dictionary of Slang, a 6,000-page, three-volume reference more than 20 years in the making.
38 min
279
LinguaFile III | Orange
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer.
28 min
280
Demonstratively Speaking
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss Sarah Palin's use of demonstrative pronouns.
30 min
281
LinguaFile II | Lagniappe
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer.
23 min
282
The Manic Pixie and the Magical Negro
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to arts critic Nathan Rabin and journalist Christopher John Farley about the phrases they coined to identify two of Hollywood's most pernicious tropes.
30 min
283
LinguaFile I | Discombobulate
Mike Vuolo and Bob Garfield discuss a mystery word or phrase with Vocabulary.com executive producer Ben Zimmer.
18 min
284
Lexicon Valley No. 38: Fisherman's Whorf
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to Columbia University professor John McWhorter about his new book, The Language Hoax.
34 min
285
Lexicon Valley No. 37: Legislating Language
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss four legal cases in which the dictionary played a crucial part.
31 min
286
Lexicon Valley No. 36: The Dude Abides
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the early history of the word "dude."
35 min
287
Lexicon Valley No. 35: Learning to Say No
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the many meanings of a child's "no."
25 min
288
Lexicon Valley No. 34: Ask Not Who Wrote "Ask Not"
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss JFK's Inaugural Address with Richard Tofel, author of Sounding the Trumpet.
29 min
289
Lexicon Valley No. 33: The End of Ambiguity
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to linguist Arika Okrent about the most logical language ever invented.
24 min
290
Lexicon Valley: Special Announcement
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo announce the return of Lexicon Valley. Yay!
0 min
291
Lexicon Valley No. 32: The Burden of Being Right
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the irresistible pull of language pedantry.
34 min
292
Lexicon Valley No. 31: Name That Tone
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the relationship between tonal languages and musical acuity.
27 min
293
Lexicon Valley No. 30: Eject at High Altitude
Mike Vuolo talks with an anthropological linguist about the influence geography might have on speech.
19 min
294
Lexicon Valley #29: 30 Million By Four
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the importance of talking to your child.
28 min
295
Lexicon Valley #28: A Brief History of Swearing
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss curse words old and new with author Melissa Mohr.
24 min
296
Lexicon Valley #27: Accentuate the Positive
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the seemingly paradoxical phrase "yeah-no."
25 min
297
Special Announcement
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo announce a new run of Lexicon Valley episodes.
0 min
298
Special Announcement
Lexicon Valley will be back with a run of all-new episodes in the spring.
1 min
299
Lexicon Valley #26: The Fawth Flaw, Part II
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss R-dropping and the New York accent.
29 min
300
Lexicon Valley #25: The Fawth Flaw
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a defining feature of the classic New York accent.
22 min