Eels, orts, and Wordle! Sweden awarded its most prestigious literary award to a book about…eels. The Book of Eels reveals the mysterious life cycle of this sea creature and its significance for famous figures from Aristotle to Sigmund Freud. Plus...
Our conversation about the jargon of elevator design and maintenance inspired listener La Donna Ourada to write a moving poem called “Terminal Landing,” about how riding a metaphor can be a metaphor for life. This is part of a complete...
You’re in a business meeting. Is it bad manners to take out your phone to send or read a text? A new study suggests that how you feel about mid-meeting texting differs depending on your age and sex. Grant and Martha offer book recommendations...
Train conductors sometimes refer to the caboose as the crummy. The name may derive from the idea of crew workers leaving crumbs and other garbage all over the back of that last car. Gandy dancers are railroad maintenance workers whose synchronized...
bank walkaway n.— «Banks are quietly declining to take possession of properties at the end of the foreclosure process, most often because the cost of the ordeal—from legal fees to maintenance—exceeds the diminishing value of the real...
geek strap n.— «“I myself use a ‘geek strap,’” Ambelang said. “It’s good preventative maintenance for keeping your clothes intact.” A “geek strap,” as Ambelang calls it, is a lower-leg guard specifically designed to prevent shredded...