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Society & Culture

Make life harder (and better): Learn another language.

podcast February 16, 2026


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Translation tech has improved a lot. So why learn a language?

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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