On the TED Radio Hour, MIT psychologist Sherry Turkle,

her latest research into the intimate relationships

people are having with chatbots.

Technologies that say, I care about you, I love you, I'm here for you, take care of me.

The pros and cons of artificial intimacy that's on the Ted Radio Hour from NPR.

We've got dirty words on the brain.

Today we're talking about the use and functions of profanity and

entertainment and how it may or may not be changing. In this episode from

way back in 2013 I chat with our pals Stephen Thompson, Glen Weldon, and Trey Graham about everything

from Anchor Man to South Park to Shakespeare. I'm Linda Holmes and in this encore episode of

NPR's pop culture happy hour we're talking about profanity in pop culture. So Stephen, why don't you talk a little bit about your observation that got us on to the topic

of swearing?

Okay, I mentioned last week that I recently became, turns out one of the last people to see Ankerman.

And I was very struck by something very clever they did, where they spent about, I don't

know, the first 45 minutes of the movie, never swearing.

It sets itself up to be this very naughty movie, but it feels like it's sanitized for television.

And there's even a scene where the Christina Applegate character is yelling in anger and she's saying that is baloney that is baloney and you know they are doing this very deliberately.

And the reason they're doing it deliberately is to set up a big climactic moment about halfway

through the movie, where Ron Burgundy, titular anchor man is sitting there and

titular not a dirty word and so basically as a prank on Ron Burgundy it has

been established that he will read anything on the teleprompter.

And so they have written on the teleprompter and which he dutifully says at the end of his

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