Lera Boroditsky: The Language You Speak Controls Your Mind

Does the language you speak shape how you see the world? Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky joins Trevor, Eugene, and Dave to explore how our native tongue can influence everything from our personalities to who we blame when things go wrong, and why bilingual people can feel different depending on which language they're speaking. They dive into cultures that navigate using north, south, east, and west instead of left and right, the relationship between language and thought, and why we're all susceptible to the illusion that we're better at communicating than we actually are. It’s a funny, mind-expanding conversation about how the words we use may shape far more of our world than we realize. Subscribe for more conversations from What Now? with Trevor Noah: http://bit.ly/SubscribeTrevorNoah Or follow the podcast on your other favorite platforms... SiriusXM Apple Podcasts - https://bit.ly/WhatNowOnApplePodcasts Spotify - https://bit.ly/WhatNowOnSpotify #LeraBoroditsky #TrevorNoah #whatnow 00:00 – Can You Hear When Someone Learned English? 01:32 – The Soap Debate 04:00 – Trevor’s Bathroom Rules 06:00 – Why We Wash Our Hands Differently 09:00 – How We Imagine Ourselves in the Afterlife 14:00 – Why Everyone Experiences Reality Differently 19:00 – How Language Makes Humans Smarter 20:00 – Does Speaking Another Language Change Who You Are? 23:00 – Why Some Things Get Lost in Translation 30:00 – What Language Do You Dream In? 35:00 – Are We Fighting Because We Don't Understand Each Other? 43:00 – Is AI Actually Intelligent? 47:00 – The Language That Changes How You See Space 54:00 – What Other Cultures Can Teach Us About the Brain 56:00 – Are Some Languages Better at Expressing Certain Things? 1:00:00 – What Happens When a Language Has No Numbers? 1:07:00 – How Language Changes Blame 1:15:00 – Can Language Change How We Assign Responsibility? 1:19:00 – What Is Justice? Punishment vs. Forgiveness 1:24:00 – Why English Speakers Blame People More 1:28:00 – Could We Create a “Super Language”? 1:34:00 – No Language Can Capture Reality Perfectly 1:39:00 – How to Argue Without Making Things Worse 1:43:00 – Which Language Is Best for Getting Angry? 1:45:00 – Why Lera Became a Cognitive Scientist 1:47:00 – Are We All Trapped by the Languages We Speak? 1:49:00 – “Your Vocabulary Is Like Clothes in a Suitcase”

Trevor NoahhostLera BoroditskyguestEugenehostDavehost

Aug 20, 20261h 51mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: August 20, 2026
Duration: 1h 51m
Channel: What Now? With Trevor Noah
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Does the language you speak shape how you see the world? Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky joins Trevor, Eugene, and Dave to explore how our native tongue can influence everything from our personalities to who we blame when things go wrong, and why bilingual people can feel different depending on which language they're speaking. They dive into cultures that navigate using north, south, east, and west instead of left and right, the relationship between language and thought, and why we're all susceptible to the illusion that we're better at communicating than we actually are. It’s a funny, mind-expanding conversation about how the words we use may shape far more of our world than we realize. Subscribe for more conversations from What Now? with Trevor Noah: http://bit.ly/SubscribeTrevorNoah Or follow the podcast on your other favorite platforms... SiriusXM Apple Podcasts - https://bit.ly/WhatNowOnApplePodcasts Spotify - https://bit.ly/WhatNowOnSpotify #LeraBoroditsky #TrevorNoah #whatnow 00:00 – Can You Hear When Someone Learned English? 01:32 – The Soap Debate 04:00 – Trevor’s Bathroom Rules 06:00 – Why We Wash Our Hands Differently 09:00 – How We Imagine Ourselves in the Afterlife 14:00 – Why Everyone Experiences Reality Differently 19:00 – How Language Makes Humans Smarter 20:00 – Does Speaking Another Language Change Who You Are? 23:00 – Why Some Things Get Lost in Translation 30:00 – What Language Do You Dream In? 35:00 – Are We Fighting Because We Don't Understand Each Other? 43:00 – Is AI Actually Intelligent? 47:00 – The Language That Changes How You See Space 54:00 – What Other Cultures Can Teach Us About the Brain 56:00 – Are Some Languages Better at Expressing Certain Things? 1:00:00 – What Happens When a Language Has No Numbers? 1:07:00 – How Language Changes Blame 1:15:00 – Can Language Change How We Assign Responsibility? 1:19:00 – What Is Justice? Punishment vs. Forgiveness 1:24:00 – Why English Speakers Blame People More 1:28:00 – Could We Create a “Super Language”? 1:34:00 – No Language Can Capture Reality Perfectly 1:39:00 – How to Argue Without Making Things Worse 1:43:00 – Which Language Is Best for Getting Angry? 1:45:00 – Why Lera Became a Cognitive Scientist 1:47:00 – Are We All Trapped by the Languages We Speak? 1:49:00 – “Your Vocabulary Is Like Clothes in a Suitcase”

SPEAKERS

Trevor Noah
host
Comedian and TV host; host of "What Now? With Trevor Noah."
Lera Boroditsky
guest
Cognitive scientist known for research on how language influences thought.
Eugene
host
Co-host/regular on "What Now? With Trevor Noah."
Dave
host
Co-host/regular on "What Now? With Trevor Noah."

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of What Now? With Trevor Noah, featuring Trevor Noah and Lera Boroditsky, Lera Boroditsky: The Language You Speak Controls Your Mind explores language shapes perception, blame, and reality more than you realize Lera Boroditsky explains how language and culture shape perception, memory, and the “reality” people believe they directly experience.

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