100: Spicy Mailbag
A hundred episodes already? To celebrate, we're doing our favourite kind of episode: a Mailbag. Why is it a BLOW JOB when there's no blowing? Why JOB? And why is OFF often used in sexual expressions?...
19 Juni 20241h 27min
99: Gender in Germany (with Rob Tegethoff and Ciarán from Corner Späti)
What's going on in Germany? How are people talking about gender in the German language, and how is freedom of expression being handled? We have a couple of German experts — linguist Rob Tegethoff and ...
11 Juni 20242h 8min
98: Origin Uncertain (with Anatoly Liberman)
How much can we really know about the words we use? What are the facts behind some of the most tangled etymologies in English? And is our "Related or Not" game a good way of approaching word history? ...
20 Maj 20241h 43min
97: The Dictionary of Fine Distinctions (with Eli Burnstein)
What's the difference between a KINK and a FETISH? Does it matter if you ASSUME or PRESUME? English is full of these close groups of words, and author Eli Burnstein has untangled many of them in his d...
28 Apr 20241h 38min
96: Language City (with Ross Perlin)
New York City is home to a lot of languages! Sometimes a sizeable language community can live on just a couple of floors of an apartment building. Dr Ross Perlin is working to find and promote minorit...
19 Apr 20241h 45min
95: Why the Far-Right Demagogues Language (with Caitlin Green and Maureen Kosse)
Language authorities. Right-wing politicians. White supremacists and feminists. What do they have in common? They're all working together to fight gender-inclusive language. But why bring language int...
1 Apr 20241h 44min
94: Mailbag of Sextillion and Three
Dr Kelly Wright is helping us understand the link between public health and language maintenance. And she's helping us with our voluminous Mailbag! Why can you have a TRIFECTA, but not any other numb...
18 Mars 20241h 16min
93: Stop! Grammar Time (live with Ellen Jovin and friends)
In honour of Grammar Day (4 March), we are joined live by special guest Ellen Jovin, who regularly dispenses grammar advice and wisdom from the Grammar Table. Now she's testing our grammatical mettle ...
2 Mars 20241h 28min
