The Thing Is, Is... (the "double-IS" construction)
Today's video introduces a new theme with a fancy new name that Calvus worked really hard on: Weird Sh*T What We Say in English Sometimes.
The phrasing in question: "the thing is, is that..." often called the "double-IS" by linguists. Why do people do this? Calvus explores a few different theories.
Some useful scholarship if you're interested in the research:
https://ygdp.yale.edu/phenomena/doubl...
https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll...