The words besieged

Today, we dive head first into local, and then national controversy surrounding one of our favorite things: word usage. There's buzz around the word "ladies" and how it impacted the search for a new school superintendent in Easthampton. Having heard from the mayor recently, we engage another side of this story: that of the word user himself, Vito Perrone, and get a different perspective on that situation and the impact of its aftermath. Then we sit with resident wordster, word nerd and senior editor at Merriam-Webster, Emily Brewster to discuss the word "field", which was recently removed from the language of an office at Smith College. And law professor at Western New England University, Jennifer Taub joins us and delves into the differences and distinctions between the two defamation cases Trump is embroiled in with E. Jean Carroll, including the one he just lost.