splurge n.— «Tom Brokaw asked Hank Paulson on Meet The Press…what rules should be put in place for the splurge (that’s my new favorite term for the wall street bailout).» —“Rules For The Splurge” by Fred...
A listener in Brazil challenges Martha’s pronunciation of the odd English word antipodes. Their email exchange leads Martha to muse about a favorite collection of poems, where she first encountered this word.
bear n.— «My favorite cycling food is small, salted and boiled red potatoes, which this year were served at the rest area just before the three bears, three climbs that form a classic patch of cycling territory in the rolling hills east...
stand-up historian n.— «The Great Squirrel Stampede of 1826 is one of David Heighway’s favorite tales. Caused by an overpopulation of squirrels that lost their food supply for natural reasons across the Midwest, it’s on the local...
mis lit n.— «Nowadays, there is a mania for memoirs, and in fact there are so many of them that they have come to be called in some quarters “mis lit” (misery literature).» —“Larry McMurtry on Cormac, Heaven’s Gate, and...
Have you ever eaten a Benedictine sandwich? Or savored a juicy pork steak? What’s a favorite dish you grew up with that may be mystifying to someone from another part of the country? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...