Fifty Words For Snow

Ep. 2 Japanese Jewels: Wabi Sabi and Shoshin

Maggie and Emily explore the Japanese words wabi sabi and shoshin with native Japanese speaker Taka Tora in Tokyo. They put the word “should” or trial with judge Matt Vern and coin the words “winblunder” and “loomingloss.” Poem by Emily “A Japanese View of Love.”

A linguistic expedition into brave new words. Maggie Rowe and Emily John Garcés hunt for words that lack an English equivalent. They like to think of themselves as Dora the Explorers of language, with their rucksacks and hats and notebooks and magnifying glasses, embarking on a cultural adventure, hunting and gathering useful new word specimens from far flung continents, and holding them up to see what new light they shine on old ideas.