On Explain It to Me, Vox’s weekly call-in podcast, we hear a lot of stories from listeners. Recently, we asked people to tell us about their accents: what they love about them, things they’ve noticed.

Why is it that when Americans — well, at least this American — hears a British accent, we think they’re smart, but the opposite, I’m sure, does not hold true? And not all British accents, mind you. I ...