The Singing of Human Speech

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"We sing when we speak almost as much as we do when we sing," she says. "You cannot follow what someone is saying if they are not fitting the lyrics into the tune that we expect" We use our voices to deliver words, but there's a whole other set of signals going on in them too, Ama writes.

Today, we are revisiting one of our favorite episodes: an interview with New Yorker staff writer John Colapinto. In his brilliant book, "This Is the Voice," John says that while opposable thumbs are handy, the voice is our species' greatest attribute. We rely on it to communicate and collaborate, woo our mates and protect our children, win wars and make podcasts. John would know. A vocal injury changed his relationship with his instrument and set him on a path to better understand what his voice means to him — and what the voice means to humanity.