Make life harder (and better): Learn another language.
It's Been a Minute
NPR
4.7 • 9.2K Ratings
🗓️ 16 February 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A lot of people around the world speak English. For those who don’t, AirPods offer live translation – and Google Translate can fill in gaps, too. So as English-speakers, why learn a second language? Well, it’s hard – but translation can miss a lot of cultural understanding. Brittany is joined by Emily Kwong, co-host of NPR’s science podcast Short Wave, to explore why putting your brain through learning a new language offers surprising benefits and opportunities for connection.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This message comes from MS Now. |
| 0:02.2 | On their new podcast, MS Now presents Clocket. |
| 0:05.7 | Washington Power Players, Simone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels discuss how the latest political news and the catchiest cultural moments converge. |
| 0:14.6 | Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:18.4 | I want you to show up at the airport in Puerto Rico on Christmas and Bad Bunny is there. |
| 0:22.5 | And he's like, in Spanish, which I don't know how to say. |
| 0:25.2 | Brittany, I've been waiting for you. |
| 0:29.6 | Oh my God. |
| 0:30.4 | I'm like, if my tutor hears this, he's going to be like, girl, you should actually know exactly how to say that phrase. |
| 0:37.6 | Hello, hello. |
| 0:39.1 | I'm Brittany Luce and you're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR, a show about what's |
| 0:43.9 | going on in culture and why it doesn't happen by accident. |
| 0:58.8 | Today I have a very special guest here with me, Emily Kwong. |
| 1:00.0 | Welcome to it's been a minute. |
| 1:00.8 | Hi. |
| 1:01.6 | Hi. |
| 1:02.9 | It's so good to be here, Brittany. |
| 1:04.6 | It's so good to have you. |
| 1:05.4 | It's so good to have you. So for those of you who don't know, Emily is one of the hosts of NPR's shortwave, our science podcast. But we are hanging out today |
| 1:13.1 | because we have something in common. Is it that we both love Mariah Carey? That is true. |
| 1:18.9 | I'll say that's true. Yes. We might both be lambs, but it's not just that. It's that we are both |
| 1:24.7 | second language learners. I am learning Spanish. And I'm learning Mandarin. Can I tell you something, though? Yeah. It's that we are both second language learners. I am learning Spanish. |
... |
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