The Vocal Fries

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Carrie and Megan talk with Dr Hiram L. Smith about his book Wassup, My Nigga: The Hidden History of a Controversial Word and why linguists - particularly Black linguists -  should be involved in any conversation about the n-word. 

• Matt Walsh (sorry about the Twitter link)
• Mark Critch

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Carrie and Megan talk with Dr Lee Moore about his book, China’s Backstory: The History Beijing Doesn’t Want You to Read, about the history of Taiwan and the current linguistic landscape.

• Grok inventing anti-English bigotry

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Carrie and Megan talk with Dr Michael Erard about his newest e-book, The Language Beat: Essays and Reporting on Language and Life. 

• AI Indigenous correspondents

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Carrie and Megan talk with Dr Danny Bate about his book, Why Q Needs U. Check out his podcast, A Language I Love Is...

• BTS vs the Grammys
• BTS and Chris Brown

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The Fries are 9!

Carrie and Megan talk with Erik Singer, dialect coach to the stars, to celebrate 9 years of the Fries!

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Carrie and Megan talk with Kelly Gaumont, host of the podcast Canuck is a Slur, about his podcast, French Canadians in Alberta, and all things language in Canada.

• Spanish at the World Cup

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Carrie and Megan talk with Dr Chad M Topaz, professor of complex systems at Williams College and cofounder of the QSIDE Institute, about his book Unlocking Justice: The Power of Data to Confront Inequity and Create Change.

• Yoda and BSL

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Carrie and Megan talk with Dr Valerie Fridland about her newest book, Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents.

• Maine Monitor interview with Platner
• Platner's apology

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Carrie and Megan talk with Drs Lynnette Arnold and Anna I. Corwin about their new co-edited book (with Jennifer R Guzmán and Emily Avera), Language and Health in Action (ebook), along with two authors in the same volume, Drs Stephanie Keeney Parks and Abby Mack about their chapters "Autism Diagnostics as White Public Space in US Clinics" and "In the Spirit, in the Flesh: Performative Language, Embodiment, and Sustaining Recovery in Appalachia".

• Code Switch episode on Trump's culty language

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Carrie and Megan talk with Kory Stamper, about her newest book, True Color: The Strange and Spectacular Quest to Define Color from Azure to Zinc Pink. Out March 31, 2026!

• Chatbots and bias

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Thanks for listening and keep calm and fry on