The Gist

Stylometry for Dummies

What prose analysis can (and can’t) tell us about that infamous New York Times op-ed.

Analyzing prose is a complex science.

Johnny Eggitt/AFP/Getty Images

Listen to Slate’s The Gist:

Slate Plus members: Get your ad-free podcast feed.

Listen to The Gist via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

On The Gist, are we having a national crisis?

The New York Times’ publication of an anonymous op-ed has sparked rounds of speculation as to who’s behind it—and the deep-state trappings it describes. Some see the word “lodestar” as signature Mike Pence, but as Sadia Afroz explains, stylometry—the analysis of prose to uncover its author’s identity—is a little more complicated than looking at individual words. Afroz is a senior research scientist at the International Computer Science Institute.

In the Spiel, Serena Williams, sexism, and double standards.

Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at Slate.com/gistplus.

Join the discussion of this episode on Facebook.

Email: thegist@slate.com
Twitter: @slategist

Podcast production by Pierre Bienaimé and Daniel Schroeder.