You must have heard the term “vibe” by now, right?

We’ve heard about the vibe of the economy, the vibe of a music playlist, the vibe of a season, the vibe of a party … Plus there are vibe shifts and vibe checks.

This hour: vibes. We learn what the word really means, where it comes from, and how the internet has given it new life.

GUESTS:

• Kyle Chayka: Contributing writer for The New Yorker covering technology and culture on the Internet

• Robin James: Editor for philosophy and music at Palgrave Macmillan

• Eda Uzunlar: Freelance journalist and student at Yale University

• Ben Zimmer: Linguist, lexicographer, and the Word on the Street columnist for The Wall Street Journal

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Colin McEnroe, Taylor Doyle, Jacob Gannon, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Catie Talarski contributed to this show, which originally aired November 15, 2022.