A listener in Southampton, New York, puzzles over the language at the end of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, in which the narrator assures that the story will continue so long as children are “gay and innocent and heartless.” What does...
Publishers use the term up lit to describe contemporary novels with an upbeat message focusing on kindness and empathy. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “The Word for Upbeat Literature” So this seems to be the season for...
A podcast listener in Buenos Aires, Argentina, wonders about the differences between the words compassion, sympathy, and empathy. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “The Differences Between Compassion, Empathy, and...
A favorite quotation from highly quotable Terry Pratchett: “Fantasy is an exercise bicycle for the mind. It might not take you anywhere, but it tones up the muscles that can. Of course, I could be wrong.” This is part of a complete...
A married couple has invented a lovely word to mean “I sympathize” that doesn’t sound quite so stilted. They simply say, salma. It’s an example of the private language couples develop. This is part of a complete episode...
We talked about passed away versus died on a previous episode, and got a lot of responses on our Facebook page saying that phrases like “I’m sorry for your loss” don’t do justice to the reality of what happened. This is part...