This week, Ryan and Brian's interview studio is graced by the great Ben Zimmer! Known to much of world as a renowned linguist, lexicographer, and language columnist for the Wall Street Journal (among other places), he is known on this program as "The Barnacle," and regularly delivers expertise on word origin and history. Our Contest of Still Going On is still going on (download it here), and we invite you to our Twitch stream for cryptic crosswords (Wed @ 7:00pm Eastern).

Today's hot links:

• benzimmer.com • Ben on Twitter • beyondwordplay.com • Wall Street Journal • The Atlantic
• Amanda Rafkin's blog
• P&A Magazine (get the Puzzle Runway issue and solve with us on Saturdays!)

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