Helen's Word
Helen's Word
The Rationality Walk
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The Rationality Walk

A conversation on writing with Steven Pinker

Sharpen your style and find joy in wordcraft with bestselling writing expert Helen Sword.

Dear fellow writer,

Welcome to Swordswings, my monthly podcast series for writers in motion. These recordings are intended for you to listen to when you’re moving around — which is a great way to get your writing moving as well.

Today’s 30-minute episode has been excerpted from a conversation that I held in 2022 with the distinguished psycholinguist Steven Pinker. Steve is the Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and the author of, among many other books, The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in a Twenty-first Century.

Steve and I engaged in a wide-ranging conversation about his background and evolution as a writer and his personal and professional sense of style. With a nod toward his recently published book, Rationality, we also touched on the role of rational thought in academic and professional writing.

Enjoy!

You can listen to my monthly Swordswings series wherever you download your podcasts.

The full video of my 2022 WriteSPACE Special Event with Steven Pinker is available in the Videos section of the WriteSPACE Library, and you’ll find downloadable audio files and transcripts of all Swordswings episodes in the WriteSPACE Audio section.

Kia pai tō koutou rā (have a great day) – and keep on writing!

Helen


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Helen's Word
Helen's Word
Sharpen your style and find joy in wordcraft with bestselling writing expert Helen Sword