About this episode

This episode explores how accents reflect personal identity and regional origins.

How you talk reveals where you’re from and who you’d like to be. This episode was produced by Ariana Aspuru, edited by Jenny Lawton, fact-checked by Melissa Hirsch, engineered by Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Jonquilyn Hill. A still from the movie "Clueless". Photo by CBS via Getty Images. If you have a question, give us a call at 1-800-618-8545 or email askvox@vox.com. Listen to Explain It to Me ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Jonquilyn Hill

Topics covered

• accents
• identity
• communication
• regional dialects
• sociolinguistics

Keywords

• accent
• identity
• communication
• regional dialect
• sociolinguistics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Vox

Books & works: Clueless

More episodes of Explain It to Me

• Burnout sandwich · April 26, 2026 · 30 min
• How to fight burnout · April 19, 2026 · 29 min
• Why you have to be optimistic · April 12, 2026 · 30 min
• Can someone explain these prices? · April 5, 2026 · 30 min
• The book of Mormon influence · March 22, 2026 · 31 min
• Sugar crash · March 15, 2026 · 30 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Explain It to Me podcast page.