The Wide World of Language Diversity
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 Al...
28 Sep 202127min
Double Dutch
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...
14 Sep 202138min
How the Grid Kid Became King of the Online Spelling Bee
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 edit...
31 Aug 202132min
Sponsored: How Can We Improve Our Communication Skills to Strengthen Our Relationships?
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 co...
25 Aug 202130min
TikTok Language Rabbit Hole
On today’s episode of Spectacular Vernacular, Nicole Holliday shows Ben Zimmer an entertaining TikTok video that does some fascinating things with language. They also interview Norma Mendoza-Denton, p...
17 Aug 202130min
Taking Home the Gold in Language
On today’s episode of Spectacular Vernacular, hosts Ben Zimmer and Nicole Holliday chat about language at the Olympics in Tokyo. They also chat with linguist Arika Okrent about her new book, Highly Ir...
3 Aug 202128min
They Might Be Linguists
Welcome to Spectacular Vernacular, Slate’s new podcast about language! In our inaugural episode, hosts Ben Zimmer and Nicole Holliday marvel at Zaila Avant-garde’s historic win at Scripps National Spe...
20 Jul 202130min
Russian Is My Mt. Everest
A grueling, painful, lifelong joy of studying Russian was sparked by Anna Karenina. Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on Lexicon Valley each week, and no ads. Sign up now to listen and support ou...
6 Jul 202139min
