Posted in: 2023

193. Foster Parent, Lawyer, and Writer

My guest today is Debbie Ausburn, who says that she makes a living as a lawyer but what she does with her life is, as she puts is, “take care of other people’s children.” In fact, children, and especially at-risk children, are the focuses of many aspects of her life—as a foster parent and a stepmother, but also as a now former federal prosecutor of child abuse and violent crimes. The circle was of love and care got created recently as she and her husband found themselves raising the child of one of her former foster children. Debbie published a book a couple of years ago called Raising Other People’s Children, and we talk about it and her extraordinary volunteering.
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Debbie’s Website
debbieausburn.com/

Debbie’s Blog
debbieausburn.com/blog

Debbie’s Book
amazon.com/Raising-Other-Peoples-Children-Parenting/dp/1578268990/

Posted in: 2022

94. Two Aspects of the Singular They, and How Texting Is Not Destroying Your Kids’ Literacy

Today’s episode is a continuation of my conversation with Dr. Valerie Fridland, who is a professor of linguistics in the English department at the University of Nevada, Reno. She’s also more publically engaged than many linguists, with a regular column in Psychology Today, and an upcoming book called Like, Literally, Dude. In this second part of our chat, we concentrate on a couple of language things that Professor Fridland was happy to discuss and elucidate. And BTW the first part of our conversation can be found as episode 93 from Wednesday.