{"podcast":{"title":"Grammar Girl: For Writers and Language Lovers.","slug":"grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700","podcast_index_feed_id":159700,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/69c1476c007cdcf83fc0964b","website_url":"https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/69c1476c007cdcf83fc0964b/show-cover.jpg","author":"Mignon Fogarty, Inc.","episode_count":1044,"summary":"Five-time winner of Best Education Podcast in the Podcast Awards. Grammar Girl provides short, friendly tips to improve your writing and feed your love of the English language. Whether English is your first language or your second language, these grammar, punctuation, style, and business tips will make you a better and more successful writer. Grammar Girl is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-21T18:19:52.384784+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700"},"episode":{"title":"The crossword puzzle's role in World War II and the fight against Nazism.","slug":"the-crossword-puzzle-s-role-in-world-war-ii-and-the-fight-against-nazism","published_at":"2026-03-26T09:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/the-crossword-puzzle-s-role-in-world-war-ii-and-the-fight-against-nazism","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700","url":"https://shows.acast.com/grammar-girl/episodes/1171","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/69c1476c007cdcf83fc0964b/e/69c2c9ed1861d127d5246a5b/media.mp3","summary":"1171. In the bonus segment that aired for Grammarpaloozians in November, we look at the early history of crossword puzzles and their surprising political uses. Natan Last explains how the “New York Times” crossword, which premiered during World War II, was used to boost morale and support the Allied war effort. We also look at the cultural frenzy of \"crossworditis\" in the 1920s and why libraries banned the puzzles as frivolous. Find Natan Last at  Natanlast.com. Get the book, \" Across the Universe .\" 🔗  Join the Grammar Girl Patreon. 🔗  Share your familect recording in  Speakpipe   or by leaving a voicemail at   833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) 🔗  Watch my  LinkedIn Learning writing courses . 🔗  Subscribe to the  newsletter . 🔗  Take  our advertising survey .  🔗  Transcript available on your podcast player. 🔗  Get  Grammar Girl books .  | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | Grammar Girl is part of  the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network . Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb | Theme music by  Catherine Rannus . | Grammar Girl Social Media:  YouTube .  TikTok .  Facebook .  Threads .  Instagram .  LinkedIn .  Mastodon .  Bluesky . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"1171. In the bonus segment that aired for Grammarpaloozians in November, we look at the early history of crossword puzzles and their surprising political…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1132,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/episodes/the-crossword-puzzle-s-role-in-world-war-ii-and-the-fight-against-nazism/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/the-crossword-puzzle-s-role-in-world-war-ii-and-the-fight-against-nazism.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}