In this episode, we go behind the scenes with Reem and Adriana, the deputy editors who led the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine's special issue on Epigenetics. Our hosts Isha and Delyar discuss the editors’ experience in facing new frontiers in scientific publishing, including developing protocols to detect AI-generated content and ensuring manuscripts contribute meaningfully to the scientific consensus.

Read the “Epigenetics” issue: https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/explore-yjbms-june-2025-issue-on-epigenetics/

Read more about YJBM at:
https://medicine.yale.edu/yjbm/ 

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YJBM Epigenetics: Interview with Deputy Editors

Why is it harder to talk if we don’t move our hands? Even when we’re talking on the phone we feel the need to gesture to aid communication. A new book offers a look at the relatively new field of gesture studies. And: Ever wonder why we describe the American flag as “red, white, and blue?” Why not “blue, white, and red?” Plus, everyone should have a hellbox for tossing their discards! But where exactly would you find one? Also: a tall glass of water, since dirt was young, since King Hatchet was a hammer, since Hector was a pup, a brain teaser about multiple letters, sold down the river, an alliterative drinking game, upper-case vs. lower-case, why we say red, white, and blue and not blue, white, and red, and how to pronounce pecan. http://waywordradio.org

Tall Drink of Water (Full Episode)

Jill from Maryville, Missouri, and her 11-year-old son Ryan are wondering about the phrases I have a hankering to do something and I’m fixing to do something. Growing up in East Central Nebraska, Jill heard family and friends use them synonymously. Fixing to indicates being about to do something, while hankering has to do more with desiring to do something. http://waywordradio.org

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How do you pronounce pecan? Is it pee-KAHN or PEE-kan? And why are there different pronunciations of the name of this nut? The word pecan was borrowed into English more than once, and from numerous Native American languages. So not only were various versions of the name for this hard-shelled nut borrowed from indigenous languages, they also migrated into English in different ways--picked up by the French, for example, as well as speakers of Spanish borrowing it from the French, and the English borrowing it from the French in Louisiana. The pee-KAHN pronunciation is generally more common in the South. Elsewhere, you may hear PEE-kan or pee-Kan. Some people say that the word pecan is pronounced differently depending on whether it’s eaten raw or baked in a pie, but there’s no solid historical reason behind such variations. http://waywordradio.org

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A moving visit to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, and the nearby Freedom Monument Sculpture Park there on the banks of the Alabama River, prompts a Massachusetts woman to reflect on the history of slavery in the United States and the phrase sold down the river. Although today sold down the river may simply mean “betrayed,” the phrase first appears with reference to selling those who were enslaved and sending them down the Mississippi River to labor under even harsher conditions than farther north. The terrorizing threat of being sold down the river is referenced in such books as Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. http://waywordradio.org

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A Louisiana listener shares a favorite passage from Laurie Lee’s memoir Cider with Rosie (Bookshop|Amazon), about his boyhood in post-World-War II England. http://waywordradio.org

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The new book Gesture: A Slim Guide (Bookshop|Amazon) by linguist Lauren Gawne includes some fascinating studies about the movements that accompany spoken or signed language. In one, participants were asked to learn rules of a game, then explain those rules to someone else they were going to play the game with, either a teammate or competitor. Each time the people giving the instructions used pretty much the same words, and made about the same number of gestures. The key difference? Their gestures were smaller when explaining the rules to a potential opponent, suggesting they didn’t want to be as clear or emphatic. http://waywordradio.org

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A memorable commencement speech by author Kurt Vonnegut celebrates books and “the sweet reluctance of their pages when you turn them with your sensitive fingertips.” http://waywordradio.org

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Why is it harder to talk if we don't gesture? Why do we still move our hands if we're talking on the phone but the other person can't see us? Such questions are tackled in the new book Gesture: A Slim Guide (Bookshop|Amazon), a sort of survey course of the state of gesture studies. The author, linguist Lauren Gawne of Latrobe University in Melbourne, Australia, is also cohost, along with internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch, of the Lingthusiasm podcast, an entertaining, informative show that all about, as they put it, “what’s neat about linguistics.” http://waywordradio.org

1663-Lex-Bag-A-Slim-Guide-Continued

A prospective student’s high school transcript is the most important individual component of an application. Hannah and Mark discuss what admissions officers look for when reviewing transcripts and how transcripts demonstrate an applicant’s academic preparedness and academic resourcefulness. They share advice on building a high school course schedule and how to navigate the challenges that inevitably arise when students are unable to enroll in their preferred courses. The hosts share answers to some of the most frequently asked questions and give their advice on how to keep a healthy perspective on often-fraught topics such as mathematics placement and maximizing advanced courses.    

Selecting High School Courses

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809):
String Quartet in D major, Op. 76 No 5, Hob. III, No 79
1. Allegretto – Allegro
2. Largo: Cantabile e mesto
3. Menuetto: Allegro
4. Finale: Presto

Equalis Quartet

Recorded in Levinsalen, Norwegian Academy of Music 02.04.2016 during the ECMA Oslo session 2016

www.nmh.no


Equalis Quartet - Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): String Quartet in D major, Op. 76 No 5, Hob. III, No 79

The Norwegian Academy of Music offers the highest level of education for performers and composers, pedagogues and music therapists. The academy is an artistic and creative centre and provide research within various fields of music.

Equalis Quartet - Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): String Quartet in D major, Op. 76 No 5, Hob. III, No 79

Norges musikkhøgskole