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Why English creates so many words spelled the same. Why we say 'ye olde' instead of 'the old.'
Episode 1180
1180. Why does "Ye Olde Shoppe" look old-fashioned? This week, we look at the vanished letters of English — thorn, eth, and yogh — and at why English…
2 months ago
'Why We Talk Funny.' The reasons behind our accents, with Valerie Fridland
Episode 1179
1179. This week, we talk to Valerie Fridland, a linguist and professor who grew up in Memphis surrounded by Southern accents and now researches the h…
2 months, 1 week ago
Should you start a sentence with 'hopefully'? Why we might not recognize alien language.
Episode 1178
1178. Do you cringe when someone says "Hopefully, he'll pass the test"? This week, we look at why "hopefully" as a sentence adverb has been controver…
2 months, 1 week ago
Inside the life of a curator (and the myth of white gloves), with John Overholt.
Episode 1177
1177. This week, we look at behind-the-scenes of being a curator at Harvard's Houghton Library with John Overholt. We look at why 18th-century paper …
2 months, 2 weeks ago
Why 'stressed' spelled backwards reveals a delicious truth. 'Me' versus 'myself'
Episode 1176
1176. This week, we look at mind-bending words, including "semordnilap" (which spells "palindromes" backwards), "pentasyllabic" (which has five sylla…
2 months, 2 weeks ago
Losing clients to AI, and how to gain them back, with Suzanne Bowness
Episode 1175
1175. In this bonus segment, which originally aired last October for Grammarpaloozians, we look at how AI is disrupting the freelance writing industr…
2 months, 3 weeks ago
What the way we pronounce Iran says about us. Odorous or malodorous? When smell words stink.
Episode 1174
1174. This week, we look at why we pronounce "Iran" and "Iraq" differently and what those pronunciations reveal about our political beliefs. Then, we…
2 months, 3 weeks ago
The 3,000 hidden colors of the dictionary, with Kory Stamper
Episode 1173
1173. This week, we talk to former Merriam-Webster editor Kory Stamper to discuss her new book, "True Color." We look at the obsessive, "dictionary-e…
2 months, 4 weeks ago
Denim: Secret place names hiding in plain sight. Why the principal is more than your pal.
Episode 1172
1172. This week, we look at "toponyms" — words named after places — and you'll discover the hidden place names in denim, jeans, sherry, cantaloupe, a…
2 months, 4 weeks ago
The crossword puzzle's role in World War II and the fight against Nazism.
Episode 1171
1171. In the bonus segment that aired for Grammarpaloozians in November, we look at the early history of crossword puzzles and their surprising polit…
3 months ago