Our state government is designed to work best when voters are encouraged and engaged. When politicians operate in a "the end justifies the means" mode or when politicians make promises and don't keep them, that feeds cynicism and negativity among the voters. Which in turn attracts politicians that feed off that cynicism and negativity. Rinse and repeat.

Creatine supplements have long become increasingly popular as social media influencers tout their benefits. What does the evidence say?

Usage guide writers, seeing some confusion afoot, tell us to be wary about the distinction between "wary” and “weary.”

Now that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has actually been defunded, many of the consequences that experts warned us about are, in fact, becoming reality.

Even though "mug shots" do not involve drinking or "mugs" in that sense, we can draw a historical connection between these two mugs.

"I was thinking about that guy when I saw the news the other day about President Donald Trump's desire for the U.S. government to own a piece of troubled chipmaker, Intel. What would he think about that? How would he reconcile his steadfast ideology with a President (who I'm guessing he voted for) actively violating it?"

From campfire wood to troubleshooting, English usage provides plenty of curiosities for another lightning round.

I feel this party-first approach to government has gotten considerably worse in the past few decades. The Gingriching, the McConnellizing of American politics.

Only some English speakers have grammars that allow them to say “We might could make that better” or “We might should eat before the movie.”

Scientists and climate experts uniformly tell us that climate change brought about by fossil fuel usage is a root cause of the Canadian wildfires. Many people — including those in leadership positions in the federal government — find this inconvenient, unacceptable, or (by their own declaration) fake news. But that doesn't stop it from being true.