Valerie Fridland (on linguistics)

David Sussillo (Emergence: A Memoir of Boyhood, Computation, and the Mysteries of Mind) is a technologist, neuroscientist, and professor at Stanford University. David joins the Armchair Expert to discuss growing up with two parents that were addicts, experiencing extreme poverty ...  Show more

Nate Bargatze (The Breadwinner, Hello World, Your Friend) is a standup comedian, writer, and actor. Nate joins the Armchair Expert to discuss growing up with a father who was a preacher/clown/teacher/magician/motivational speaker, working as a water meter reader before finding hi ...  Show more

Annoyed by all those likes and so’s and you knows, not mention ahs and ums? In her delightfully titled book Like, Literally, Dude, Valerie Fridland argues that we should stop grumping about language tics and recognize that they are inevitable – and ...

Most of the time, there's nothing about an adjective that makes it refer only to any gender. And yet, there are some words that get subconsciously used by English speakers in very specific ways. Let's take a look at some of the surprising habits the language might not even know i ...  Show more

1004. This week, Karen Yin, author of "The Conscious Style Guide," discusses the concept of conscious language and its importance in promoting equity and respect. We explore the differences between conscious language and political correctness, the evolution of the singular "they, ...  Show more

Language not only defines humans as a species, placing us head and shoulders above even the most proficient animal communicators, but it also beguiles us with its endless mysteries. How did different languages come to be? Why isn't there just a single language? How does a languag ...  Show more