Heather in Fairbanks, Alaska, asks why historians and documentary narrators sometimes describe past events in the present tense. This use of the historical present is a storytelling convention that creates immediacy. The historical present can be...
In Charlotte, North Carolina, there’s a Street Avenue. In Fairbanks, Alaska, there’s a Yellowsnow Road. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Goodbye, Yellowsnow Road” Here are a couple of more street names. In...
What do you call a long sandwich filled with lots of ingredients? Whether you call it a sub, a hoagie, a grinder, or something else entirely depends on where you’re from. And: Martha’s visit to an Alaskan reindeer ranch reveals why you...
A listener in Fairbanks, Alaska, says her husband has long referred to her as a whippersnapper, insisting it’s a playful term of endearment. Whippersnapper goes back to the 17th century, when boys who didn’t own horses would strut around...
What common English word can mean “reddish,” “whitish,” or “bluish”? Answer: livid. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “The Many Colors of Livid” We heard from Dan O’Neill in...
Eva in Fairbanks, Alaska, wonders why her grandmother used to say raise the window down when she wanted someone to open that window. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Raise the Window Down” Hello, you have A Way with...