This year, we did what we set out to do. First, we made great radio. Second, we drew big crowds to support a literacy nonprofit in Dallas. We did it again to support community college scholarships in San Diego. Third, we read thousands of emails...
Gifts for book lovers: Martha recommends one for lovers of libraries and another for students of Spanish. Grant suggests some enchanting novels for young readers. When it comes to books, though, you can’t always judge them by their original...
The book Martha most recently gave as a gift is Breaking Out of Beginner’s Spanish by Joseph Keenan. She says it’ll help bump your Spanish up to the next level, even if you speak just a tiny bit. This is part of a complete episode.
Why do words that begin with sn—sneer, snarl, snot, snide, snake, snooty—all have negative connotations? Phonaesthesia, a phenomenon whereby we associate certain sounds with particular meanings, may hold the answer. Linguist and cognitive scientist...
Before William Golding named his novel Lord of the Flies, based on a reference to Beelzebub, the book’s working title was Strangers From Within. This is part of a complete episode.
A caller from East Tennessee swears that he’s heard ducks imitating the sounds of some nearby geese, and he’s probably right. Animals do indeed have the ability to mimic the sounds and behaviors of other species, but that doesn’t...