We’ve all let a swear word slip at one time or another. This hour, we’ll talk about the complex set of rules that guide our usage of these words – and about why some words get declared off limits. Joining us for the conversation will be linguist Randall Eggert, psychology professor Timothy Jay, rapper Sam Lao and Jabari Asim, author of “The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn’t, and Why” (Houghton Mifflin Books).

This episode originally aired on May 5, 2017.