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.
176
Do Cats Have Language?
Animals bark, sing, purr and even gesture, all fascinating but a far cry from human communication.
58 min
177
Sergeant, Corporal, Colonel!
Peculiar linguistic tales of America's soldiers.
36 min
178
To Reason Why
There's more than one way to ask why. How come? What for?
34 min
179
When Talking to Your Mother-In-Law Is a Minefield
From baby talk to formal varieties, languages around the world offer—or even require—different ways of speaking for different situations.
40 min
180
The Incredible Story of the Traveling Creole
Enslaved people developed a hybrid language that sailed from Africa to the Caribbean and—unbelievably—back again.
59 min
181
This Am a Minstrel Stereotype, Right?
A longstanding mystery of Black English may finally be solved.
52 min
182
When Jews Adapted Spanish
Languages of the Ottoman Empire, inspired by historian Alan Mikhail's new book God's Shadow.
44 min
183
Does English Have a Future?
49 min
184
Defund Karen
On the insults, acronyms and sloganeering of America's racial reckoning.
39 min
185
Beyond the Five Ws
The curious grammar of questions in languages around the world.
49 min
186
Tweety Bird and Toddlerspeak
Language acquisition is like magic—how do children do it?!
44 min
187
Coronavirus: Isolation and Aspiration
41 min
188
Our Indigenous Languages
A luxuriance of long words, baroque case endings and irregular everything—the Native American tongues!
58 min
189
I Just Can't!
Host John McWhorter shares some of his longstanding language peeves—yes, linguists have them too!
43 min
190
The Many Meanings of Too
Host John McWhorter finds linguistic inspiration in an 80-year-old musical performance of Rubber Dolly.
39 min
191
Sicko, Whacko, Weirdo
The -o suffix traces back to old comic strip characters with names like Knocko and Groucho. Neato!
40 min
192
Chinese Has No Grammar, Right? Wrong!
Mandarin might not have gender or case endings but there's more to grammar than conjugations.
47 min
193
From Uptalk to Vocal Fry, Women Are Prolific La...
Want to hear what English will sound like in the future? Talk to a woman.
46 min
194
In What Order Did Languages Arrive in Europe?
DNA analysis is revealing which speakers traveled where and when.
41 min
195
Digging Up the Past
Let's talk about how we talk about that which already occurred.
38 min
196
Verbs on the Move
Coming and going in languages around the world.
38 min
197
Does PROCESSES Rhyme with KNEES?
How our idea of formality can affect the way we say certain words.
44 min
198
A Bisl Yiddish
Add to German a large helping of Hebrew and a dollop of Slavic. Stir. Let marinate. Enjoy!
44 min
199
Private Parts
What does a rooster have to do with male genitalia anyway?
37 min
200
The Soft Power of Like
Terms such as "like" and "sort of" are ways for English speakers to sound more polite.
42 min