On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… host Celeste Headlee introduces Slate’s newest podcast with a question: what if we could argue with each other without hating the results? 

Hugh Breakey, writer and moral philosopher, thinks it’s possible. He and Celeste discuss the case for arguing with each other on difficult topics, and giving up the idea that every argument needs a winner. It’s not just a good idea, according to Breakey — it’s a moral imperative.

Podcast production by Maura Currie

You can skip all the ads in Hear Me Out by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/plus for just $15 for your first three months.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hear Me Out: We Need to Argue With Each Other

Slate’s political and discussion podcast, Hear Me Out, launches March 21. Join host Celeste Headlee and a guest each week for a smart, fair debate on issues that matter. 
In a nation where many of us have forgotten how to talk to each other, veteran journalist Celeste Headlee has devoted years to reinvigorating the art of civil conversation and debate. Each week on Hear Me Out, she'll invite a thoughtful guest to discuss their controversial perspective on a current issue, and engage in a tough, good-faith dialogue about the merits and drawbacks of their argument. The objective is to challenge conventional wisdom, and serve the intellectually curious new ideas and perspectives without partisan cliches.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hear Me Out: Coming March 21

On today’s episode of Spectacular Vernacular, Nicole and Ben take a trip down memory lane and put their knowledge of past guests to the test. They also interview the founder and CEO of Planet Word, Ann Friedman. And finally, we’re taking our final virtual trip, this time to Northern Ireland, for some cinematic wordplay. Thanks for listening and playing along with us! 
Produced by Jasmine Ellis. 
Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
Planet Word 
Information on Planet Word’s new wordplay adventure, Lexicon Lane 
Ann Friedman, “From the Founder: Disputes on the Language Front” 
Subscribe to Slate Plus. It’s only $1 for the first month. To learn more, go to slate.com/spectacularplus.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Taking a Trip Down Language Lane

On today’s episode of Spectacular Vernacular, Nicole and Ben talk about the difference between a dialect and a language as they revisit a prior conversation about Ukraine. They also interview Will Shortz, crossword puzzle editor at the New York Times, about how he got into the world of puzzles. And finally, our hosts are in the hot seat for a wordplay quiz set by the puzzle master himself. You don’t want to miss this! You could win a year’s membership to Slate Plus.
Do you have any language questions or fun facts to share? Email us at spectacular@slate.com.  
Produced by Jasmine Ellis. 
Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
Cambridge Language Surveys, “The Slavic Languages” (including Russian, Ukrainian, Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian) 
Phillip M. Carter, “Long before shots were fired, a linguistic power struggle was playing out in Ukraine”
Information on the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (April 1-3) 
Register here for the ACPT’s non-competitive virtual event  
Ben’s article on how Stephen Sondheim popularized cryptic crosswords in the U.S. 
Ben, Nicole, and Will compete in Webster’s War of the Words, a fundraiser for the Noah Webster House
Subscribe to Slate Plus. It’s only $1 for the first month. To learn more, go to slate.com/spectacularplus.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dialects vs. Languages

On today’s episode of Spectacular Vernacular, Nicole and Ben talk about the new Siri voices. They also interview Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne, hosts of Lingthusiasm, a podcast that's enthusiastic about linguistics. And finally, they put a listener’s anagram skills to the test. You don’t want to miss this! You could win a year’s membership to Slate Plus.
Do you have any language questions or fun facts to share? Email us at spectacular@slate.com.  
Produced by Jasmine Ellis and June Thomas. 
Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
Consumer Reports, “Hey Siri, Is That You? Apple’s New Voices Resonate With Some Black iPhone Users” 
Spectacular Vernacular interview with VocalID founder Rupal Patel on “choosing your voice” 
Axios, “Apple gives Siri a less gendered voice”
Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne’s podcast, Lingthusiasm 
Lingthusiasm on Patreon 
Subscribe to Slate Plus. It’s only $1 for the first month. To learn more, go to slate.com/spectacularplus.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Siri. Who’s This?

On today’s episode of Spectacular Vernacular, Nicole and Ben talk about the connection between football chants and language. They also interview Everdeen Mason, editorial director for games at the New York Times about her exciting role. And finally, our hosts are in the hot seat for this week’s wordplay. You don’t want to miss this! You could win a year’s membership to Slate Plus.
Do you have any language questions or fun facts to share? Email us at spectacular@slate.com.  
Produced by Jasmine Ellis and Asha Saluja. 

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
Ben’s Wall Street Journal column, “’Who Dey?’: A Chant With Roots in Black History” 
New York Times profile of Everdeen Mason 
How to apply to the New York Times Diverse Crossword Constructor Fellowship 
Washington Post article on “the latest reckoning over language in the puzzle world” 
New York Times article on the acquisition of Wordle 
Peter Gordon’s Fireball Crosswords 
Subscribe to Slate Plus. It’s only $1 for the first month. To learn more, go to slate.com/spectacularplus.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Who Dey” vs. “Who Dat”

On today’s episode of Spectacular Vernacular, Nicole and Ben talk about how the capital of Ukraine has become a linguistic hot take. They also interview Jessi Grieser, a professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville about her new book, The Black Side of the River: Race, Language, and Belonging in Washington D.C. And finally, we bring on a listener for some wordplay. We hope you’re good at figuring out analogies. You could win a year’s membership to Slate Plus.
Do you have any language questions or fun facts to share? Email us at spectacular@slate.com.  
Produced by Jasmine Ellis and Asha Saluja

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
New York Times: “How Do You Say Kyiv? It Can Be Hard for English Speakers” 
NPR “Kyiv or Kiev? Why people disagree about how to pronounce the Ukrainian capital’s name” 
Jessi Grieser: The Black Side of the River: Race, Language, and Belonging in Washington, D.C. 
“Bad Analogies” on Twitter 
Subscribe to Slate Plus. It’s only $1 for the first month. To learn more, go to slate.com/spectacularplus.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Capital Language From Kyiv to Washington, D.C.

On today’s episode of Spectacular Vernacular, Nicole and Ben interview Brooklyn-based software engineer Josh Wardle, the creator of the viral online word game Wordle. They also recap their participation in the American Dialect Society’s annual Word of the Year vote, over which Ben presided. And Nicole’s shares some on-the-ground interviews from the Linguistic Society of America conference, at which she presented some of her own research. And finally, we bring on a listener for some wordplay. Can you solve our final wordplay clue? You could win a year’s membership to Slate Plus.
Do you have any language questions or fun facts to share? Email us at spectacular@slate.com.  

Subscribe to Slate Plus. It’s only $1 for the first month. To learn more, go to slate.com/spectacularplus.

Produced by Jasmine Ellis and Kevin Bendis
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Making of Wordle

On today’s episode of Spectacular Vernacular, Nicole and Ben pay tribute to the late pioneer in linguistics and cognitive science, Lila Gleitman. They also interview Peter Sokolowski of Merriam-Webster and Fiona McPherson of the Oxford English Dictionary about the keywords of 2021. And finally, we bring on a listener for some wordplay. We hope you’re familiar with the diversity of English dialects. You could win a year’s membership to Slate Plus.
Do you have any language questions or fun facts to share? Email us at spectacular@slate.com.  
Produced by Jasmine Ellis and Asha Saluja. 
Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
Lila Gleitman’s obituary in the New York Times 
Lila Gleitman’s interview at the 2017 Association for Psychological Science conference 
Oxford Languages Word of the Year 
Merriam-Webster Word of the Year 
American Dialect Society Word of the Year 
American Dialect Society’s 2021 Word of the Year livestream — register to join the virtual voting session! 
Subscribe to Slate Plus. It’s only $1 for the first month. To learn more, go to slate.com/spectacularplus.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Year of the “Vaxx”

On today’s episode of Spectacular Vernacular, Nicole and Ben discuss Creole languages. They also interview Rupal Patel, professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Computer Science at Northeastern University and the founder of VocaliD. And finally, Josh Levin and Joel Anderson, co-hosts of Slate’s sports podcast Hang Up and Listen join us for some wordplay. We hope you’re good at playing the basketball game of Horse. You could win a year’s membership to Slate Plus.
Do you have any language questions or fun facts to share? Email us at spectacular@slate.com.  
Produced by Jasmine Ellis and Asha Saluja. 
Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
BBC Pidgin 
ThoughtCo., “What You Should Know About Creole Language” 
Jamaican Creole at York College, “An Introduction to Jamaican Creole (also called Patwa or Patois)” 
Omniglot, “Haitian Creole (Kreyòl ayisyen)” 
Rupal Patel’s 2013 TED Talk, “Synthetic Voices, as Unique as Fingerprints” 
VocaliD, the company founded by Rupal Patel 
VocaliD’s Parrot Studio 
“One Year: 1995,” hosted by Josh Levin 
“Slow Burn: The L.A. Riots,” hoted by Joel Anderson 
“Hang Up and Listen,” hosted by Josh Levin, Joel Anderson, and Stefan Fatsis 
Josh’s Slate piece on the history of the “air ball” chant 
Joel Anderson’s special episode of “Hang Up and Listen” on Michael Jordan and the Washington Wizards
Subscribe to Slate Plus. It’s only $1 for the first month. To learn more, go to slate.com/spectacularplus.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Choosing Your Voice

On today’s episode of Spectacular Vernacular, Nicole and Ben discuss the pronunciation of the name of the latest COVID variant. They also interview Alex Bellos, puzzle columnist for The Guardian and author of The Language Lover’s Puzzle Book. And finally, Amanda Ripley, host of Slate’s podcast How To! joins us for some wordplay. We hope you’re ready to take your investigation skills to the next level. You could win a year’s membership to Slate Plus.
Do you have any language questions or fun facts to share? Email us at spectacular@slate.com.  
Produced by Jasmine Ellis. 
Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
Ben’s Wall Street Journal column on “Omicron” as the name of the new Covid variant
Ben’s 2020 Atlantic piece on how geographic labels for diseases can encourage xenophobia 
Ben’s Slate piece on the puzzling legacy of Stephen Sondheim
New US edition of The Language Lover’s Puzzle Book by Alex Bellos 
Amanda Ripley’s podcast, “How To!” 
Subscribe to Slate Plus. It’s only $1 for the first month. To learn more, go to slate.com/spectacularplus.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cracking the Omicron Code

On today’s episode of Spectacular Vernacular, Nicole and Ben discuss Ben’s case against an accusation of anachronistic language use in the new version of her song “All Too Well.” They also interview Michael Adams, Provost Professor and Chair of the English Department at Indiana University about the late Madeline Kripke. And finally, Stefan Fatsis, co-host of Slate’s sports podcast Hang Up and Listen joins us for some wordplay. We hope you’re up-to-date on your sports and dictionary knowledge. You could win a year’s membership to Slate Plus.

Do you have any language questions or fun facts to share? Email us at spectacular@slate.com.  

Produced by Jasmine Ellis. 

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
Could Taylor Swift Have Written “F— the Patriarchy” a Decade Ago? By Ben Zimmer for Slate
Lyric video for Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)”
Gawker, “Taylor Swift is Lying About ’All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)’”
Narratively, “The Dame of Dictionaries”
New York Times obituary of Madeline Kripke
Announcement of Indiana University’s acquisition of the Kripke Collection
“Hang Up and Listen,” co-hosted by Stefan Fatsis
Stefan’s 2014 piece, “These Sports Terms Should Be Playable in Scrabble”
Episode of “Hang Up and Listen” where Stefan discusses defining “posterize”

Subscribe to Slate Plus. It’s only $1 for the first month. To learn more, go to slate.com/spectacularplus.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Taylor Swift’s “F— the Patriarchy”

On today’s episode of Spectacular Vernacular, hosts Nicole Holliday and Ben Zimmer recap the recent New Ways of Analyzing Variation conference for sociolinguistics. They also interview Deborah Tannen, a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University and best-selling author about conversational style. And finally, Barry Lam, host of Slate’s philosophy podcast Hi-Phi Nation stops by for some wordplay. We hope you paid attention in your philosophy classes for this next quiz! You could win a year’s membership to Slate Plus.
Do you have any language questions or fun facts to share? Email us at spectacular@slate.com.  
Produced by Jasmine Ellis. 
Subscribe to Slate Plus. It’s only $1 for the first month. To learn more, go to slate.com/spectacularplus.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
NWAV 49 (the 49th annual meeting of New Ways of Analyzing Variation) 
Tweet by Cindy Noir (@Ebonie_QT) that inspired people to record Memojis code-switching between “home voices” and “work voices” 
Ben’s 2011 New York Times essay, “Twitterology: A New Science?” 
Twitter’s new Academic Research track 
Deborah Tannen’s recent New York Times essay on cooperative overlapping, “In Real Life, Not All Interruptions Are Rude” 
Sari Rachel discussing cooperative overlapping on TikTok 
Deborah Tannen’s 2005 book, Conversational Style 
Barry Lam’s philosophy podcast, Hi-Phi Nation 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Interrupting to Show We Care

On today’s episode of Spectacular Vernacular, hosts Nicole Holliday and Ben Zimmer talk about Anthony Fauci’s old-school Brooklyn accent. They also interview Sylvia Sierra about her new book Millennials Talking Media: Creating Intertextual Identities in Everyday Conversation. And finally, Rachelle Hampton and Madison Malone Kircher, the hosts of ICYMI, Slate’s podcast on internet culture, stop by for some world wide web wordplay. We hope you’re ready! You could win a year’s membership to Slate Plus.
Do you have any language questions or fun facts to share? Email us at spectacular@slate.com.  
Produced by Jasmine Ellis. 
Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
Anthony Fauci on ABC’s This Week
Trailer for the National Geographic documentary Fauci
Nautilus, “Why Working-Class New Yorkers Drop Their ‘Rs’ ” 
Sylvia Sierra’s new book Millennials Talking Media: Creating Intertextual Identities in Everyday Conversation 
The ICYMI back catalog
Subscribe to Slate Plus. It’s only $1 for the first month. To learn more, go to slate.com/spectacularplus.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Millennial Language Cheat Code

On today’s episode of Spectacular Vernacular, hosts Nicole Holliday and Ben Zimmer chat about Netflix’s latest hit, Squid Game. They also interview award-winning staff writer at The New Yorker, John Colapinto, about his book This is the Voice. And finally, we bring on chart analyst, pop critic, and host of the Slate podcast “Hit Parade,” Chris Molanphy for a fun music quiz. We hope you’re ready! You could win a year’s membership to Slate Plus.

Do you have any language questions or fun facts to share? Email us at spectacular@slate.com.  
Produced by Jasmine Ellis. 

Subscribe to Slate Plus. It’s only $1 for the first month. To learn more, go to slate.com/spectacularplus. 

dgyyKiS48oA6lor0RqFt
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Squid Game in Translation

Nicole Holliday and Ben Zimmer discuss a regional grammatical construction that is most common in the Philadelphia area, though it’s also found in Canada and Vermont. Then they talk with journalist Allyson Waller about Black American Sign Language. Waller won the Linguistics Journalism award from the Linguistic Society of America for her New York Times piece “Black, Deaf, and Extremely Online.” Finally, we invite listener Ben Snitkoff to take part in some wordplay with an improv-comedy theme.
Do you have any language questions or fun facts to share? Email us at spectacular@slate.com.
Produced by Jasmine Ellis and June Thomas.
Here are some notes and references from this episode:
The Yale Grammatical Diversity Project page for the “done my homework” construction
A Facebook Live video of a conversation between Britney Trumpy and Patsy Kelly
“Black, Deaf, and Extremely Online,” by Allyson Waller for the New York Times
The Linguistics Society of America’s announcement of the 2021 Linguistics Journalism Award
Nakia Smith’s TikTok page
The documentary Signing Black in America
Science Ink: Tattoos of the Science Obsessed, by Carl Zimmer
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Wide World of Language Diversity

On today’s episode of Spectacular Vernacular, Ben Zimmer tells Nicole Holliday how he’s been brushing up his Dutch. They also interview Cindy Blanco, senior learning specialist for the online language-learning app, Duolingo. And finally, we invite a listener to play a quiz that looks at the Dutch roots of some English words. We hope you’re ready!! You could win a year’s membership to Slate Plus.
Do you have any language questions or fun facts to share? Email us at spectacular@slate.com.  
Produced by Jasmine Ellis. 
Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
Duolingo blog.
Subscribe to Slate Plus. It’s only $1 for the first month. To learn more, go to slate.com/spectacularplus.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Double Dutch

On today’s episode of Spectacular Vernacular, Nicole Holliday and Ben Zimmer share their thoughts on Pfizer’s official name for its COVID vaccine. They also interview Sam Ezersky, digital puzzles editor for the New York Times, about the popular online game the Spelling Bee. And finally, we invite a listener to play our inspired version of the Spelling Bee. We hope you’ve been practicing! You could win a year’s membership to Slate Plus.
Do you have any language questions or fun facts to share? Email us at spectacular@slate.com.  
Produced by Jasmine Ellis. 
Subscribe to Slate Plus. It’s only $1 for the first month. To learn more, go to slate.com/spectacularplus.
Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
Rewordable: https://rewordable.com/
BLABRECS: https://mkremins.github.io/blabrecs/
Lisa Davidson on Comirnaty: https://slate.com/technology/2021/08/comirnaty-pfizer-vaccine-linguistics.html
New York Times Spelling Bee: https://www.nytimes.com/puzzles/spelling-bee
Spelling Bee Forum: https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/spelling-bee-forum
Laura Lippman on her Spelling Bee obsession: https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/02/spelling-bee-new-york-times-praise.html
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How the Grid Kid Became King of the Online Spelling Bee

This episode of The Relentless is all about how to be a good communicator in an evolving, digital world. Host Kristen Meinzer talks to three guests who have valuable insights and perspectives about communication dynamics, both on and offline: Erica Dhawan, communication expert and author of Digital Body Language and Get Big Things Done, and Michael and Matthew Atwood, co-owners of Atwood Management and hosts of the Realty Brothers podcast. Their conversations explore how we can translate listening skills and body language to the digital realm, and why good communication is key to developing lasting relationships built on trust.

Guests
Erica Dhawan: Communication expert, advisor author, and speaker
Michael and Matthew Atwood: Co-owners of Atwood Management and CENTURY 21 Atwood, and hosts of the Realty Brothers podcast
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Slate Debates

Slate Debates

Get Started

Download the App