74: Mailbag of Go
We're going deep into our Mailbag, and we're going to answer all your questions. Why do we say "here you go" when we give something to someone? Why can we reduce something to /sʌmʔ/? The thing is is,...
25 Apr 20231h 8min
73: Consequences of Language (with Nick Enfield and Morten Christiansen)
When language was innovated, what happened next? How did it change our abilities — and our responsibilities — to each other? Dr Nick Enfield shares ideas from his new book, Consequences of Language. P...
3 Apr 20232h 12min
72: PharaohKatt Is a Speechie Now
Here's an entire show, curated by one of our most prolific contributors — newly minted speechie PharaohKatt! She's got news. She's got words. She tries to stump us on Related or Not. She even teaches ...
25 Mar 20231h 37min
71: You're Welcome, English! (live with friends, for LingFest23)
For this special live LingFest23 episode, we'll again be voting on tricky language issues, and our votes will be binding on all English users for all time because that's how language works. If you ha...
2 Mar 20231h 33min
70: Free Speech, But… (with Dennis Baron)
We all have freedom of expression, but what are its limits — social and legal? And how have governments tried to curtail it? We're talking through the implications of free speech with Dennis Baron. He...
16 Feb 20231h 42min
69: Mailbagussy
The American Dialect Society Word of the Year has been chosen — and it's a wonderful and terrible pick! Depending on who you're talking to. In this episode, we're talking about -USSY and all the words...
27 Jan 20231h 36min
68: Lazy in a Good Way (with Mark Ellison)
In what was meant to be a casual chat, cognitive scientist Dr Mark Ellison answers galaxy-brain-level questions about how language works. Why aren't we more efficient with language? How do we know wh...
3 Jan 20231h 22min
