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.
301
Tears of Joy, Identity, and a Prism of Isms
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to editors at Oxford, Merriam-Webster, and Dictionary.com about their picks for Word of the Year.
32 min
302
Sleeping Hobos in a Tent, Rush 'Em!
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the early 20th-century origins of a bizarre food-industry code with lexicographer Ben Zimmer.
29 min
303
Snoozefest
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the energetic history of the word sleep.
28 min
304
Woody Guthrie's Folk Etymology
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a word that was popularized during the 1940s folk movement with lexicographer Ben Zimmer.
27 min
305
A Cat, a Coward, and Female Genitalia
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the etymological quirkiness of the word "pussy."
32 min
306
A Drone, a Bell, and a Suffix
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a piece of old American slang with lexicographer Ben Zimmer.
28 min
307
Seven Centuries of F--ks
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to Jesse Sheidlower, author of The F-Word, about a recent discovery in the history of one our most enduring expletives.
31 min
308
An Ambitious Enterprise, Quixotic and Unavailing
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer.
30 min
309
How New York Became the Big Apple
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the true story behind the most famous municipal nickname.
22 min
310
Why Do Latin Americans Call English Speakers Gr...
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the origin of a Spanish-language pejorative with lexicographer Ben Zimmer.
33 min
311
What Do You Mean What Is It Like?
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss "A literary history of the strange expression 'what is it like?'"—an article by lexicographer Anne Seaton.
29 min
312
LinguaFile XIV | Heebie Jeebies
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer.
37 min
313
What's the Deal with Translating Seinfeld?
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to journalist Jennifer Keishin Armstrong about the classic American sitcom Seinfeld and why it falls flat in other cultures and languages.
41 min
314
LinguaFile XIII | Bozo
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer.
24 min
315
The Pollyanna Hypothesis
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss what it means that language has a "positivity bias."
46 min
316
LinguaFile XII | Kibitz
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer.
37 min
317
M'athchomaroon, Zhey Lajak Vezhven!
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to conlanger David J. Peterson about the art and craft of creating languages for Game of Thrones.
41 min
318
LinguaFile XI | Seersucker
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the origin of the word "seersucker" with lexicographer Ben Zimmer.
32 min
319
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo don't know nuthin' about the double negative.
37 min
320
LinguaFile X | Pumpernickel
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the origin of the word "pumpernickel" with lexicographer Ben Zimmer.
35 min
321
And Infinitum
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss whether "try and" is an acceptable substitute for "try to."
36 min
322
LinguaFile IX | Carnival
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the origin of the word "carnival" with lexicographer Ben Zimmer.
26 min
323
Sex Workers
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the authoress, the usherette, and the editrix with Anne Curzan, the lady professor.
32 min
324
LinguaFile VIII | Quiz
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer.
24 min
325
The Many Lives of Anna Karenina
Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to journalist and author Masha Gessen about translating Tolstoy.
36 min