web02.fireside.fm Thu, 30 Apr 2026 01:51:15 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Tatter - Episodes Tagged with “Mitch Hedberg” https://tatter.fireside.fm/tags/mitch%20hedberg Fri, 01 Jun 2018 05:00:00 -0400 This is a podcast exploring issues in politics and policy. Each episode features conversation with at least one subject matter expert, with a goal of helping listeners better understand the topic. en-us episodic Politics and Policy Michael Sargent This is a podcast exploring issues in politics and policy. Each episode features conversation with at least one subject matter expert, with a goal of helping listeners better understand the topic. no politics, policy, law Michael Sargent profsargent@gmail.com Episode 12: Strait and Narrow https://tatter.fireside.fm/12 a84055b0-708a-48ea-acda-54841f0c4f84 Fri, 01 Jun 2018 05:00:00 -0400 Michael Sargent full Michael Sargent My conversation with my friend Conor Quinn, my favorite linguist in the whole world, as we talk about the ways that scientists use language, as well as language communities indigenous to the U.S., and a bit about the overlap between those two topics. 51:15 yes Writing is important in many areas, and the sciences are no exception. Publications such as Nature (https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/effective-writing-13815989) offer guidance on such issues as when to use past tense and when to use present tense. In these contexts, grammar is more than something for the Grammar Police to enforce. It matters substantively, as it shapes how assertions are understood by readers and listeners. These effects matter for understanding policy, because research in the sciences can potentially inform sound policy judgment, at least in my happy fantasyland where leaders actually pay attention to relevant science. In this episode, my guest (linguist Conor Quinn (http://www.conormquinn.com/professional.html)) and I explore grammar and some of its impact on how people make claims, in English, and beyond. Highlights --Conor sounds smart (because he is) --I pay a compliment to some psychologist friends of mine, but then I take it all back --I tell two Mitch Hedberg jokes (poorly) --I paint another comedian in an unfavorable light, but only gently so --I paint yet another pair of comedians in a favorable light --I probably make too many references to standup comedy (but I do love it when it's good) Special Guest: Conor Quinn. Writing is important in many areas, and the sciences are no exception. Publications such as Nature offer guidance on such issues as when to use past tense and when to use present tense. In these contexts, grammar is more than something for the Grammar Police to enforce. It matters substantively, as it shapes how assertions are understood by readers and listeners. These effects matter for understanding policy, because research in the sciences can potentially inform sound policy judgment, at least in my happy fantasyland where leaders actually pay attention to relevant science.

In this episode, my guest (linguist Conor Quinn) and I explore grammar and some of its impact on how people make claims, in English, and beyond.

Highlights

--Conor sounds smart (because he is)
--I pay a compliment to some psychologist friends of mine, but then I take it all back
--I tell two Mitch Hedberg jokes (poorly)
--I paint another comedian in an unfavorable light, but only gently so
--I paint yet another pair of comedians in a favorable light
--I probably make too many references to standup comedy (but I do love it when it's good)

Special Guest: Conor Quinn.

]]> Writing is important in many areas, and the sciences are no exception. Publications such as Nature offer guidance on such issues as when to use past tense and when to use present tense. In these contexts, grammar is more than something for the Grammar Police to enforce. It matters substantively, as it shapes how assertions are understood by readers and listeners. These effects matter for understanding policy, because research in the sciences can potentially inform sound policy judgment, at least in my happy fantasyland where leaders actually pay attention to relevant science.

In this episode, my guest (linguist Conor Quinn) and I explore grammar and some of its impact on how people make claims, in English, and beyond.

Highlights

--Conor sounds smart (because he is)
--I pay a compliment to some psychologist friends of mine, but then I take it all back
--I tell two Mitch Hedberg jokes (poorly)
--I paint another comedian in an unfavorable light, but only gently so
--I paint yet another pair of comedians in a favorable light
--I probably make too many references to standup comedy (but I do love it when it's good)

Special Guest: Conor Quinn.

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