49 - Season 4 - How Bilinguals Find Their ‘Where’

In Episode 49 of the America the Bilingual podcast, Steve introduces seven bilinguals whose new language came alive for them when they found where in their lives it should live.

Lorna Auerbach is one of them. She had struggled as a young student trying to learn a second language. But later, as an adult, she blossomed when she connected her “where” to the work she was passionate about—and found the language that she really wanted to learn.

Father Chuck Durante is another. A Catholic priest, he had abandoned his plans to minor in Spanish when he was in college. But when he joined the seminary, he had the motivation he needed: his future parishioners.

You’ll also hear about leading international correspondents and authors Anand Gopal and Evan Osnos, who knew that the only way to truly get the story was to first get the language.

Calvin Sims, a longtime overseas correspondent for The New York Times, also became fluent in both Spanish and Japanese for just this reason. And his bilingualism has taken him beyond the Times, to two other unexpected “wheres”—International House in New York City, and CNN Worldwide.

Enjoy hearing this audiobook chapter of America’s Bilingual Century by Steve Leveen. You’re listening to Chapter 17, narrated by the award-winning Sean Pratt.