PODCAST: If you can sing, can you talk?

Whether it takes place onstage, at karaoke or in the shower, singing is a special activity unique from speech. And since it uses a lot of the same machinery (mouth, tongue, voice box, etc.), at least some of that difference must lie in the brain. This podcast looks at the mental phenomenon of song from both sides. Bernadine Gagnon, a Columbia speech therapist, explains how singing can sometimes help stroke victims re-learn to speak, and Kalman Katlowitz, a New York University neuroscientist, talks about his lab’s attempt to locate part of the brain’s singing circuit.