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.
251
Mining Graffiti for Slang
John McWhorter talks to Ben Zimmer about the Vietnam Graffiti Project and other slangy topics.
28 min
252
That's Not a Word, Is It?
John McWhorter discusses the near-futile impulse to determine what is, and what is not, a word.
27 min
253
The Language of Female Friendships
John McWhorter discusses communication styles with linguist Deborah Tannen, author of You're the Only One I Can Tell: Inside the Language of Women's Friendships.
32 min
254
The Euphemism Treadmill
John McWhorter on the evolution from "crippled" to "handicapped" to "differently abled" and why no such term is likely to stick around long.
25 min
255
Heyo, Let's Talk About Hamilton
John McWhorter talks to linguist Neal Whitman about the mash-up of "hey" and "yo."
27 min
256
Earlier American English—More Profane, Parochia...
John McWhorter time travels to 1930 and eavesdrops on American English.
29 min
257
Like, Why Do We Use Like So Much?
John McWhorter talks to sociolinguist Alexandra D'Arcy about the spike in our use of like.
32 min
258
What Had Happened Was Storytelling
John McWhorter discusses the subject of his new book, Talking Back, Talking Black: Truths About America's Lingua Franca.
30 min
259
Why We Stopped Teaching Children How to Read
Mark Seidenberg, author of Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can’t, and What Can Be Done About It, discusses the fallout from the so-called reading wars.
29 min
260
Away in a Penthouse, the Little Lord Jesus
When "hath" gave way to "has," the original meaning of "merry," and other insights from popular Christmas carols.
25 min
261
What "The Wizard of Oz" Can Tell Us About "Arri...
In "Arrival," Amy Adams plays a linguist who discovers that language can radically alter one's perception of reality. But is that true?
27 min
262
Black Like Us
Are the slang, sounds, and syntax of Black English a kind of lingua franca for America's youth?
30 min
263
Language Lessons of Past Presidents
What can we learn about English from Bill Clinton, the two Bushes, and other leaders of the free world?
29 min
264
Whither Didst Thou Go?
How our rich and complex system of second person pronouns got whittled down to just "you."
33 min
265
Why Do People Talk Like That in Old Movies?
What Bette Davis, FDR, and Ralph Kramden have in common when it comes to speech.
31 min
266
Billy and Me Went to the Store. Deal With It.
John McWhorter on what the intricacies of the future tense tell us about the unwritten rules of pronouns.
24 min
267
What Is a Dictionary, Really?
John Simpson, former editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, talks about life as a lexicographer.
22 min
268
The Invisible Language of Nursery Rhymes
What does "Hickory Dickory Dock" really mean? John McWhorter makes linguistic sense of seemingly arbitrary children's verse.
22 min
269
Word Sex
How Words Hook Up and Make New Ones
34 min
270
Should Shakespeare Get a Modern English Update?
John McWhorter talks with author Jack Lynch about the sacrilege of modified Shakespeare.
43 min
271
Are Emoji a Language?
Gretchen McCulloch talks to John McWhorter about the big meaning behind our favorite little pictograms.
37 min
272
Finding Life in a Dead Language
Ann Patty, author of "Living With a Dead Language: My Romance With Latin," talks about her transformative experience of learning Latin.
25 min
273
Rules Are Made to Be Spoken
Rules Are Made to Be Spoken
28 min
274
The Tragedy of English Spelling
Etymologist and poet Anatoly Liberman says that English is one of the most difficult languages to spell. But we can change that.
25 min
275
Your Brain on Profanity
Benjamin K. Bergen, author of the upcoming What the F: What Swearing Reveals About Our Language, Our Brains, and Ourselves, discusses the science of cursing.
31 min