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When love gets lost in translation

Part 2 of the TED Radio Hour episode A guide to negotiating what you want

Linguist Magdalena Hoeller and her husband grew up speaking different languages, which makes negotiating daily conflicts harder. She shares how couples can navigate their differences, in any language.

About Magdalena Hoeller

Magdalena Hoeller is a linguist who works as the Learning and Teaching Director at the University of Newcastle College of International Education in Australia. She is passionate about supporting international students in her work. Her first language is Austrian German, but she also speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French and Dutch.

This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by James Delahoussaye and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at [email protected].

Web Resources

Related TED Bio: Magdalena Hoeller

Related TED Talk: How Language Shapes the Way We Think

Related TED Topic: Language

Related NPR Links

TED Radio Hour: The debate over “LatinX” and how words get adopted — or not

TED Radio Hour: Are we cooked? Algorithms have rewired our language

Short Wave: Learning a second language as an adult can be hard — but it’s not impossible

Copyright 2026 NPR

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Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.

Zomorodi is a co-founder of Stable Genius Productions and is the co-host and co-creator of ZigZag, the business podcast about being human. She also created, hosted, and was managing editor of the podcast Note to Self in partnership with WNYC Studios, which was named Best Tech Podcast of 2017 by The Academy of Podcasters.

Prior to her time at WNYC, Zomorodi reported and produced around the world for BBC News and Thomson Reuters, including a few years in Berlin.

She was named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2018 and has received numerous awards for her work, including The Gracie for Best Radio Host in 2014 and 2018. Her book "Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Creative Self" (2017, St. Martin's Press) and her TED Talk are guides to surviving information overload and the "Attention Economy."

Zomorodi received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in English and fine arts. She is half-Persian and half-Swiss but was born in New York City, where she lives with her family.

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