Last night, I was talking with someone who is in their early 20s about the troubles developing around the use of the word "tranny," and they got very passionate, saying, "I HATE GENDER! Fuck gender!" ...

The George Saunders story “Escape From Spiderhead,” included in his much praised new book Tenth of December, is not for the squeamish or the faint of heart. The sprawling, futuristic tale delves into ...

The study of word origins (that is, etymology) is every bit the serious academic discipline you might expect it to be — except when it's not. As it turns out, people have a propensity to make false ...

This story was first published March 20, 2011. It was updated on June 12, 2011. From the moment it was published in 1885, Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" caused controversy. It ...

Did you know that kids growing up in poverty hear 30 million fewer words by age 3? Chances are, if you're the type of person who reads a newspaperor listens to NPR, you've heardthat statistic before.