logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2022
49m 45s

Watch Your Mouth

Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam
About this episode
If you're bilingual or multilingual, you may have noticed that different languages make you stretch in different ways. This week, we revisit a favorite 2018 conversation with cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky. She studies how the structure of the languages we speak can change the way we see the world. Then, a 2017 conversation with linguist and author John ... Show More
Up next
Apr 13
How to Change the World
Does power truly flow from the barrel of a gun? Pop culture and conventional history often teach us that violence is the most effective way to produce change. But is that common assumption actually true? Political scientist Erica Chenoweth, who has studied more than 100 years of ... Show More
1h 30m
Apr 6
The Debt Trap
We like to think that good financial decisions come down to discipline and basic math. But the psychology of money turns out to be deeply complicated. Researcher John Dinsmore explains the hidden mental biases that shape how we think about spending, borrowing, and the future. We ... Show More
1h 40m
Mar 30
When It's Okay to Lie
Should you tell a harsh truth if it will only cause pain? Or is it sometimes kinder to keep someone in the dark? Psychologist Emma Levine explores the unwritten rules that guide when people feel it’s acceptable to lie — and what those choices reveal about trust, harm, and our dee ... Show More
51m 48s
Recommended Episodes
May 2020
Linguistic Relativity | The Story of Language | Episode 4
Welcome to The Story of Language: an original podcast series about language, linguistics, cognition, and culture. In this episode we talk about linguistic relativity: the idea that the language we speak can change the way we think. 
1h 20m
Sep 2017
#019 Is English Changing You?
tail spinning
13m 50s
Mar 2022
N. J. Enfield, "Language Vs. Reality: Why Language Is Good for Lawyers and Bad for Scientists" (MIT Press, 2022)
Nick Enfield’s book, Language vs. Reality: Why Language is Good for Lawyers and Bad for Scientists (MIT Press, 2022), argues that language is primarily for social coordination, not precisely transferring thoughts from one person to another. Drawing on empirical research, Enfield ... Show More
1h 6m
Aug 2023
83: How kids learn Q’anjob’al and other Mayan languages - Interview with Pedro Mateo Pedro
Young kids growing up in Guatemala often learn Q’anjob’al, Kaq’chikel, or another Mayan language from their families and communities. But they don’t live next to the kinds of major research universities that do most of the academic studies about how kids learn languages. Figuring ... Show More
41m 6s
Mar 2021
54: How linguists figure out the grammar of a language
If you go to the linguistics section of a big library, you may find some shelves containing thick, dusty grammars of various languages. But grammars, like dictionaries, don’t just appear out of nowhere -- they’re made by people, and those people bring their own interests and prio ... Show More
41m 16s
Jun 2020
The Best Way to Learn English (or any language)
<p>A language learning expert changed the way many people (including me) study languages and in this episode I wanted to tell you about him.</p> 
11m 15s
Jul 2018
How Language Affects How You Think & The Fascinating Way Emotions Determine Your Success
Not drinking enough water is a big problem. And while being a little dehydrated won’t kill you, dehydration does have a lot of significant and negative effects on your physical and mental wellness. This episode starts with a look at some surprising findings. http://www.shape.com/ ... Show More
44m 10s
Nov 2020
SYSK Choice: How Language Shapes Our Thinking & How Emotions Work
How much water do you drink in a day? Not drinking enough water is a big problem. And while being a little dehydrated won’t kill you, dehydration does have a lot of significant and negative effects on your physical and mental wellness. This episode starts with a look at some surp ... Show More
45m 13s
Dec 2020
#149 Is your personality different in English?
tail spinning
14m 12s