Intro Language is impossibly complicated. And yet, nearly everyone uses it with ease. Where does it come from? In this episode we look for clues to answer this question in the story of the world’s newest language, how it arose, and what it tells us about what it means to be human. I’m Ben Lord. …
Nicaraguan Sign: How Schoolchildren Invented the World’s Newest Language Read More »
Tourists are obnoxious…unless you’re one of them. We all want adventure, but every adventure happens in someone else’s backyard. Hawai’i knows this better than anyplace. This episode is part two (of a two-part series) about what I learned from my travels in Hawai’i. In it, I ponder, “How can we visit paradise without paving it?” …
Death by Aloha: Travel, Tourism, and The Hawaiian Islands (Part 2) Read More »
Tourists are obnoxious…unless you’re one of them. We all want adventure, but every adventure happens in someone else’s backyard. Hawai’i knows this better than anyplace. In this episode what I learned from my travels in Hawai’i about “How can we visit paradise without paving it?” and “What do we owe the places we visit?”
References Ali Maow Maalin. (2025). Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Maow_Maalin BBC. (2008, March 25). War-torn Somalia eradicates polio. Bbc.co.uk; BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7312603.stm Berche, P. (2022). Life and Death of Smallpox. La Presse Médicale, 51(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lpm.2022.104117 Breman, J. (2017). Donald Ainslie (D. A.) Henderson, MD, MPH (1928–2016) smallpox eradication: Leadership and legacy. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 215(5), …
Smallpox Eradication: That Time We Decided to Save Everyone Read More »
Today I’m delighted to talk to poet and artist, Bianca Stone. Stone is the author of a number of poetry collections including She is also a poetry comic artist who uses illustration to illuminate her own poetry and the poetry of others. Stone is
Poems are just arrangements of sounds, marks on a page. But the right one can change history, outlast civilizations, and turn a respectable men into wandering vagabonds. In this episode: poetry, why we need it, and how a 13th century love affair changed it forever. Ten Life-changing Poems (For People Who Don’t Read Poetry)
What makes a successful life? Whether we think about it or not, every day, we live out our answer to that question. Our choices become a story about what we value. Together, they make us who we are. In today’s episode, one poet’s iconoclastic answer to that question, and what you and I might learn …
What can we possibly do to defend democracy when such powerful people are acting with such impunity? In this episode … three things you could do today, an honest look at whether they’ll make a difference, and some thoughts on dedication from someone who’s been there before. Check out these leaders mobilizing people across the …
It is Resilient. Doubt Norman Rockwell: My Naive Fairy Tale of Democracy There is an old Norman Rockwell painting of a young man standing to speak in a crowded New England meeting house. He stands tall with a confident expression, his face upturned. Given the context he is probably addressing a selectboard, but with his …
