{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgrammar-girl.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2Fzimmer-TtCN8qFn","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"The crossword craze — now and then — with Ben Zimmer","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/081bc298-473c-4b7f-b2bc-051ce9d53f7f/2eaee4cf-3187-44d1-9984-fa8ad212abc0/gg-interview-show-mock-up-art.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"<iframe src=\"https://player.simplecast.com/fa363b49-d6db-4ebc-a650-75cf8dea3614\" height=\"200\" width=\"100%\" title=\"The crossword craze — now and then — with Ben Zimmer\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"></iframe>","height":200,"description":"992. It's been 100 years since the crossword puzzle took America by storm in 1924. This week, Ben Zimmer tells us the little-known story of how this humble word game launched major publishing empires and examines the public's polarized reactions at the time. "}