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What 'kith and kin' and 'beck and call' have in common
Episode 1212
1212. This week, we look at fossil words — old words like "kith," "beck," and "hue" that survive only inside phrases like "kith and kin," "beck and c…
1 day, 8 hours ago
Word wagons and bobbasheelys: Life at DARE, with Joan Houston Hall
Episode 1211
1211. Today, we look at the behind-the-scenes history of the Dictionary of American Regional English with Joan Houston Hall. We look at her personal …
6 days, 8 hours ago
Why does 'shh' mean the same thing in so many languages, and what's 'broad' about daylight?
Episode 1210
1210. This week, we look at why the sound "shh" means "be quiet" in so many different languages, and we trace the phrase "broad daylight" back to Old…
1 week, 1 day ago
How comics are made, with Glenn Fleishman
Episode 1209
1209. Glenn Fleishman discusses the mechanical journey of a comic strip, from the cartoonist’s ink to the final newspaper page. We look at why drawin…
1 week, 6 days ago
Why does the U.S. have so many regional accents?
Episode 1208
1208. This week, linguist Valerie Fridland explains why the U.S. has so many regional accents — tracing New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southern, and West…
2 weeks, 1 day ago
Why "golly" and "gosh" are going the way of the dinosaur, with Sali Tagliamonte
Episode 1207
1207. This week, we look at the hidden linguistic history of Ontario with Sali Tagliamonte. We look at why euphemisms like "golly" and "gosh" are goi…
2 weeks, 6 days ago
The secret language of gamers. Plus, why ducks don't ‘duck’ from danger
Episode 1206
1206. This week, we look at the secret language of video gamers — including why getting "nerfed" is a bad thing and what it means to "rage quit" — an…
3 weeks, 1 day ago
'Writing for AI' and the flaws of AI detectors, with Sean Goedecke
Episode 1205
1205. In the bonus discussion this week, we continue discussing AI em dashes with Sean Goedecke, software engineer for GitHub. We talk about why AI d…
3 weeks, 6 days ago
Shark Week: 6 sayings from pop culture
Episode 1204
1204. This week, in honor of Shark Week, we look at six fun shark sayings from pop culture, including "jumping the shark," "voodoo shark," and more. …
4 weeks, 1 day ago
Decoding the Chinese character paradox, with Dr. Charles Kemp
Episode 1203
1203. In this bonus discussion with Dr. Charles Kemp, we look at why the Chinese writing system has actually become visually more complex over thousa…
1 month ago