What does it mean to ask “How are you?” in a pandemic?

Inappropriate Questions

English - May 19, 2021 11:10 - 20 minutes - 19.2 MB - ★★★★★ - 9 ratings
Society & Culture inappropriate questions Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed

Previous Episode: Is asking “Where are you from?” appropriate small talk?

Next Episode: Introducing: Other People’s Problems - Season 4

In the pandemic, answering “How are you?” isn’t as easy as saying “I’m fine.” Elena and Harv chat with linguistics professor Deborah Tannen and try to figure out if we should still ask “How are you?” when things just haven’t been great. Also featuring some of our favourite pandemic email greetings and signoffs.

For more on this question, check out our Season 2 episode “How are you?” where we explore what this question means when you’re grieving.

Connect with Deborah on Facebook: @deborah.tannen.1

For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/inappropriate-questions-transcripts-listen-1.6740372