Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Jeezly! New Scrabble Words, K-Pop Descends on LA and More
The danger posed by two Ebola patients brought home to the U.S. for treatment may be overblown, but could the CDC have handled the situation better? And ‘Hashtag,’ ‘chillax,’ and ‘selfie,’ are just a few of the 5,000 words added to the new Scrabble Dictionary.
By Madeleine Brand • • 52m ListenThe controversy over two Ebola patients being brought back to the US for treatment may be overblown. But could the CDC have handled the situation better? ‘Hashtag,’ ‘chillax,’ and ‘selfie,’ are just a few of the 5,000 words added to the new Scrabble Dictionary -- what do the purists think? Forty thousand fans of Korean pop culture will descend on the L.A. Convention Center for KCON this weekend: a celebration of Korean food and entertainment. And the NCAA has voted to loosen restrictions on college sports programs.
Banner Image: artists on stage at KCON (K-Pop convention) - by A1candidate
In this episode
4 storiesCDC Missteps
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has activated its highest alert level in response to the Ebola outbreak in Africa and is sending more staff and disease specialists to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Guinea. Here in the U.S., some people are criticizing the CDC for helping bring two American Ebola patients back stateside.
Read the story14 minScrabble’s New Words
Mojito, mixtape and chillax are three of the 5,000 new words that’ll appear in the latest edition of the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, out on Monday. This is the first update to the game’s approved lexicon in more than a decade. Other new additions include selfie, hashtag and frenemy. How do words get deemed Scrabble-worthy?
Read the story11 minK-Pop Descends on L.A.
This weekend, 40,000 fans of Korean pop culture will put on their wigs and sparkly makeup and head to the Los Angeles Sports Arena for the third annual KCON. There will be Korean food, Korean drama stars, workshops like “How to Become a Classy K-Pop Fan” and performances by huge K-Pop stars like G-Dragon and Girls Generation.
Read the story14 minLooser Restrictions for College Sports
The word of the day in college sports is… autonomy. The NCAA just voted to give colleges from the 5 wealthiest conferences -- including the Pac-12 -- more freedom to make their own rules when it comes to student athletes.
Read the story8 min
