Do Colleges Really Need Safe Spaces?

September 18, 2019 Culture, Current Events, Education, Language, Politics, Race/Identity

Michael S. Roth, president of Wesleyan University, joins us to talk about his approach to civil discourse and toning down heated rhetoric to get to the heart of important issues

Who Am I Without My Mother Tongue?

September 9, 2019 Culture, Language, Race/Identity

Journalist Melissa Hung joins us to talk about reconciling the loss of a generational language in the face of her mother’s mortality.

Assimilation Is A Two-Way Street

August 27, 2019 Culture, Current Events, History, Language, Race/Identity

Stanford University associate professor Tomás Jiménez joins us to take on the idea of assimilation, the history behind it, and what’s lost when immigrants are encouraged to change who they are.

To Win An Argument, You Need More Than Facts

June 13, 2019 Culture, Language

Former New York Times op-ed editor Trish Hall joins us to explain the core principles of persuasive writing and how that enhances your argument.

Why Talking With Your Hands Helps You Think

June 10, 2019 Culture, Language

Psychologist Barbara Tversky joins us to make the case that our brains are actually filled with pictures and ideas that revolve around spatial cognition.

The Purpose Of Silence

May 30, 2019 Culture, Health, Language, Race/Identity

Harriet Shawcross joins us to talk about how traumatic experiences can interrupt our ability to communicate.

Why Your Grandma Says That

December 14, 2018 Language

Martha Barnett and Grant Barrett, the hosts of “A Way With Words,” join us to talk about what they’ve learned about how we talk.

Throwing Shade — The Shakespearean Way

November 8, 2018 Culture, History, Language

Historian Ruth Goodman joins us for a rollicking trip back to a low-brow time.

Who Or Whom? Who Cares.

February 5, 2018 Language, Literature

Lane Greene joins us to talk about how language evolves despite laws of grammar.

Best Of Think: The Power Of Profanity

December 27, 2017 Best of Think, Language

This hour, we’ll talk about the complex set of rules that guide our usage of taboo words – and about why some words get declared off limits.

What Words Mean

October 9, 2017 Best of Think, Language

Former chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary John Simpson joins us to talk about how words evolve and about the effect technology has on how we speak.

Should Hate Speech Be Banned On Campus?

September 21, 2017 Language

Shetal Vohra-Gupta and Naomi Reed of UT’s Institute of Urban Policy Research and Analysis join us to talk about the need for schools to develop anti-hate speech guidelines.