'Funemployment' And More Slang For A Recession
A review of slang that has emerged during and as result of the recession.

Questions to Consider:

1. Had you heard any of these words or expressions before? If so, which ones?
2. Prior to the economic collapse, people had spent their vacations at home for financial reasons, people had gotten excited about receiving tax credits...Yet, clever expressions were not in common circulation. Why did words for these emerge with the economic downturn?

Regional Food Names: When Is a Milkshake Not a Milkshake? Minicast
Fun discussion of how names for foods vary by region and also the different types of foods available in different areas.

Questions to Consider:

1. Had you heard of these dishes before? If so, which ones?
2. If the same dish is served in two areas, why would it go by different names?
3. Are there dishes that are popular where you come from, or within your family, that people others probably have not heard of? If so, give an example.

This American Life 328: What I Learned from Television
This program addresses the role of television in the lives of everyday people. It includes stories of how we watch television and what the images do to our understandings of the world around us. From a general sense of who we are and how we relate to others to such divergent topics as Thanksgiving and sexuality, the program explores the function of television in defining the world around us.

Questions to Consider:

1. Based upon the story about the woman’s conception of Thanksgiving and the man’s sense of his own sexuality, explain the role that television can play in the social construction of reality.
2. Can you find comparable examples from your own life that fit into the stories from the program? If so, what are they and how do they relate?
3. How do language and culture fit into these stories?

This American Life 88: Numbers
Numbers lie. Numbers cover over complicated feelings and ambiguous situations. This program is about quantifying data that is hard to quantify. Several people presented in this episode, including Andrea, Alex, Jerry and Will, attempt to quantify things such as love and productivity in private and family relationships.

Questions to Consider:

1. This chapter in your course textbook addresses qualitative versus quantitative sociological research. How does this episode compare to what is presented in the textbook?
2. Are there any sociological benefits to quantifying personal relationships?
3. What specific research methods were used to collect the data presented in the show?