What’s an eight-letter Greek word for someone whose knowledge spans many subjects, like art, history, philosophy and science? Other definitions might include “Renaissance Man” or “Jack of all Trades,” though those seem unnecessarily gendered. The answer is.....polymath. And if you’re a long time TTBOOK listener, you are likely one of these people, too, someone who is interested in hearing about everything from socialism to bees.
And I’m guessing, many of you, like us, have become regular fans of word puzzles that pull from so many parts of what we know about the world. You might start your day with Wordle, and end it with a crossword puzzle. We thought this weekend you might especially need some more of these mindful distractions. So we bring you the show “Playing With Words,” in which we talk with journalist A.J. Jacobs, who gets us into the puzzle mindset, and Anna Schectman, a New Yorker crossword constructor who tells us about the feminist history of puzzles. Do you play? Let us know what word puzzles mean to you and what you think of the show at listen@ttbook.org.
– Shannon