Monica Goodling: That Voice!

I had a lot of trouble taking Monica Goodling's testimony seriously. Here was a law school grad, admittedly a fourth tier law school but still, who was one of the most powerful people in Bush's Dept of Justice, and she talked with a high pitched little girl voice. I couldn't figure out what was going on and thought it was all a put on - the more like a little girl she sounded, the less likely those investigators might be to think she might be responsible for a breach of the law ("I know I crossed a line" as she put it). I admit that it didn't help that my starting assumption was that she was lying.

Apparently though, at least according to this story I heard on NPR's "Marketplace," it's part of a broader phenomenon. It would explain a lot. For several years now I have thought that some young women's voice sounded so shrill because my ears were getting old and wearing out.

Now if I could just convince myself that it must be true if I heard it on NPR ...