This episode features Meenakshi’s interview with Ev who studies the neuroscience of language.

Dr. Ev Fedorenko grew up in a time of transition in Russia, at the end of the Soviet Union. Despite financial challenges and the rapid political changes in the region, her parents worked diligently to provide a stable environment in which Ev could prioritize her education. In this environment, Ev found a passion for languages. While she studied, her mother mandated that everyone else in the house walk on tiptoes to preserve Ev’s focus. This love for languages has persisted ever since; Ev is now an associate professor of neuroscience in the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department at MIT, where she studies the neuroscience of language.