*By Alisha Haridasani*
It’s the most divisive question since the blue and black dress (or was it white and gold?!): Do you hear Yanny or Laurel?
Technically, the answer is "Laurel." But some people swear it's "Yanny."
The question, which is ripping the internet apart, revolves around an audio clip [reportedly](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/science/yanny-laurel.html) posted on Reddit by a student who found it on a vocabulary website when researching a school project under the word "laurel." The clip went viral, leaving many listeners questioning what they heard ー and maybe their sanity.
The discrepancy in what people hear could be due to circumstance, said Brad Story, professor of speech, language, and hearing at the University of Arizona.
“It really is going to depend on the information that you have in terms of your bias toward listening to it at that moment in time," said Story. "That’s what we call ‘top-down information’ ー trying to make sense of any kind of pattern that's present.”
The two words share very similar acoustic characteristics that your brain could selectively hear it one way or the other, he said.
The bass, frequency, and volume of the audio clip can also influence what someone hears. Some people posted videos on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/JFLivesay/status/996585941241401346) where the audio levels were adjusted, changing how the clip could be heard.
So, whatever the *technical* answer to the question is, in reality, it can be both.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/yanny-vs-laurel).
Listeners have come to expect their podcasts free of charge. But Pocket Cast has still managed to become one of the leading podcast platforms as a paid app. The company was recently acquired by NPR, WNYC Studios, and WBEZ Chicago, in a move that CEO Owen Grover told Cheddar will only move the medium forward.
President Trump's longtime ally Roger Stone was arrested Friday in connection with Robert Mueller's Russia probe. The FAA reported delays at several major airports across the U.S. because of an increase in employees taking sick leave at air traffic control centers. And Lois Backon, head of Corporate Partner Marketing for JPMorgan Chase, tells Cheddar how the bank partners with celebrities to share their financial planning tips.
The consequences of political gridlock in Washington hit hundreds of airline passengers who experienced sweeping delays at major East Coast airports on Friday, just hours before President Trump agreed to a deal that would reopen the government temporarily.
The star of Netflix's "Tidying Up With Marie Kondo" is inspiring viewers to de-clutter and slim down their homes and closets, and perhaps their shopping bags, too. "It's a feel-good show, so not only are viewers connecting with it and then inspired to purge their closets, but also to rethink their spending habits altogether," Rachel King, editor at Fortune, told Cheddar Thursday.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Jan. 25, 2019.
Cord cutters, rejoice! YouTube TV, Google's ambitious live-television streaming service, is going nationwide. The platform will soon add 95 new markets, making it available to 98 percent of U.S. households, Google announced Wednesday ー just one of several major announcements in the streaming industry this week.
Major players in retail and tech are shaking up the health care industry with massive consolidation. But just as some new unions in the industry are forming, others have shown signs of instability. Amazon, a player that seems to dominate any field it enters, is well positioned to exploit those weaknesses and find itself at the top of another industry once again.
The fifth and final season of the dark romantic comedy "You're the Worst" debuted on Jan. 9, and star Aya Cash couldn't be more upset about it. "Just bitter, no sweet," Cash told Cheddar Thursday. "What's sweet about it? I'm like, 'I lost my job, I loved that job, all my friends.' Just sad, just crying alone in my apartment."
Get ready for an extra dose of pop culture on your Twitter feed. "Power Star Live" will showcase the top viral trends, best clapbacks, and top celebrity news curated by the show's viewers. Comedian Jessie Woo, who co-hosts the show, stopped by Cheddar to share her take on what's trending now.
Even as e-commerce explodes, and digitally native brands appear to control nearly every segment of retail, legacy mall brands like American Eagle are finding that their most important customers ー teenagers ー are gravitating to an old-fashioned in-store experience. "Unlike millennials, the majority of Gen Z kids would rather shop in a physical store," said Chad Kessler, American Eagle's global brand president. "We're seeing a return to wanting to interact with people."
