Enigmatology (WORD PUZZLES) with David Kwong

Crosswords! Puzzles! Wordles! Magic? Ah yes, world-renowned Enigmatologist David Kwong drops in to chat about the intersection of sleight of hand and brain games, covering everything from Scrabble strategies to how to get away with a surprise party unsuspected. Also: crosswords and dementia, how puzzles are like hot sauce, a secret group of Hollywood magicians, his most clever clues, cryptic crosswords, international slang, Wordle’s many derivatives, and how to get over your intimidation of all those empty squares.

Listen via Stitcher, Apple, Podbay, Podcast Addict, Spotify, Overcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

David Kwong’s website

Follow David on Instagram and Twitter

A donation went to Lollipop Theater

Links to things we discussed:

The ENIGMAS playing card deck – with puzzles!

The origin of Enigmatology

‘The Enigmatist’ written & performed by David Kwong at The Geffen Playhouse

David’s TED Talks “The Science of Illusion” and “Two Nerdy Obsessions Meet — And It’s Magic”

Ultra-high-field fMRI insights on insight: Neural correlates of the Aha!-moment

Why we call pizza ‘za

Games we mention: Sexaginta-Quattuordle, Framed, Anigrams

David’s sources for Gen Z and Millennial-age puzzles: AVCX, Diary of a Crossword Fiend, Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle

Database with Answers

This is your brain on Scrabble: Neural correlates of visual word recognition in competitive Scrabble players as measured during task and resting-state

Mark Halpin’s puzzles

Mark Halpin’s stage design

The backstory of Wordle

Association of Crossword Puzzle Participation with Memory Decline in Persons Who Develop Dementia

Regular crosswords and number puzzles linked to sharper brain in later life

An online investigation of the relationship between the frequency of word puzzle use and cognitive function in a large sample of older adults

Shareen Nanjiani is a celebrated Scottish newscaster – and Kumail’s second cousin

Guide to Cockney Rhyming Slang

More episodes you might like:

Etymology (WORD ORIGINS)

Ludology (VIDEO GAMES)

Mythology (STORYTELLING)

Molecular Neurobiology (BRAIN CHEMICALS)

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Sound editing by Mark David Christenson and Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media

Transcripts by Emily White of The Wordary

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn