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The evolution of the English language is more often thought of as a devolution, particularly with the infiltration of texting abbreviations and jargon into our everyday use. John McWhorter, linguist and associate professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University, pushes back against this assumption. He’ll guide us through the evolution of the English language and invite us to laugh about, marvel at, and celebrate its vitality.
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Arts

In a time of heightened distrust, how can media outlets reclaim the public’s confidence? We hear from a longtime journalist.





The idea of unity is a compassionate, hopeful aspiration for a country ravaged by a global pandemic, racial injustice, economic downturn and mob violence.



Two weeks before the first woman of color became Vice President, an angry mob that included members of the white supremacist group Proud Boys, stormed the US Capitol. As Ibram...

Biden believes deeply that actions like the January 6th violence at the Capitol are not who we want to be as a country, says Evan Osnos, author of a Biden biography.





As the nation reels from the attack on the Capitol, we look for ideas that will move us forward.

Peggy Clark asks Dan Glickman to reflect on this past year and to share what he expects from our country under President-elect Joe Biden’s leadership.



A look back at what we've read, watched, and listened this year.

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Music and dance are humanity’s hallmarks, a shared ritual of communities the world over. Over the millennia, we’ve created some highly specialized forms, but at its root, musi...





NPR's Tamara Keith and Dan Glickman discuss what a Biden agenda might look like.