The Takeaway (WNYC), “What Should We Call the Oil Spill?”

June 23, 2010

Interview on WNYC’s “The Takeaway” about what to call the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. (June 23, 2010)

Ben Zimmer joins us; he writes the On Language column for The New York Times. People are passionate about the language we’re using to define the oil catastrophe (from “oil-apocalypse” to “runaway oil”). Zimmer says that we’re searching for a term that helps embody the magnitude of the Gulf spill. He looks at historical connotations behind some of the words in use like “gusher” and “rupture,” as well as at the language that was used to describe the Ixtoc blowout in the Gulf of Mexico 20 years ago to see if it can help put these words in perspective.

(Show page, streaming, download)

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