The Gist

How We Speak Internet

Time spent scrolling and typing has shaped our vocabulary. And emoji are just the start.

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Episode Notes

On The Gist, Mike Pence and Boris Johnson.

In the interview, it’s internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch on how the language we use has been shaped by the information superhighway—and for starters, people never say “information superhighway” anymore. They also write more (everyone’s a writer on the internet) and less formally, though without shedding whatever regional dialect they may have. McCulloch is the author of Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language.

In the Spiel, the climate change debate.

Email us at thegist@slate.com

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Pierre Bienaimé.

See The Gist live!

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About the Show

A daily afternoon show about news, culture, and whatever else you’ll be discussing with friends and family tonight. All episodes

Host

  • Mike Pesca hosted Slate’s daily podcast The Gist from 2014 - 2021.

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