Again we tackle the questions that others dast not. Why do all children know the 'nyah nyah'...
44:46
357: The F-Word (with Jesse Sheidlower)
Daniel chats with lexicographer Jesse Sheidlower about profanity, power, and his book, "The...
40:36
356: The The Show (with Nick Wilson)
Talking to Nick Wilson about the biggest small word in the English language: the. News: How the...
50:08
355: The Bee Show (with Stephen Mann)
Bees: not just great pollinators; great communicators. The dance of the European honeybee is...
01:04:09
Have you ever blanked on a word and said something else? It may not just be you. Some mild...
41:44
353: Mailbag of Highly Intelligent Listeners
Some smart questions from our Mailbag. Will there ever be one global language? What would it take...
43:21
352: Wait (with Sali Tagliamonte)
Dr Sali Tagliamonte tells us about her new research into the word 'wait'. You probably use it at...
47:05
351: A Perfect Alphabet (or, The Royal Tweet)
Answering the royal question: what would a perfect alphabet look like? Are there any redundant...
46:29
350: Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish (with Zalmen Mlotek and Motl Didner)
Fiddler on the Roof is heading to Broadway — in Yiddish for the first time. What goes into the...
44:54
What were the words that marked our year? Daniel was there for the serious, the social, and the...
50:21
348: Microcosm (featuring Rachel Hendery)
Talking with Dr Rachel Hendery about what happens to language on beautiful and remote Palmerston...
47:39
347: Not Rocket Surgery (featuring Kari Sullivan and William Black)
Talking to Dr Kari Sullivan about mixed metaphors, and why they're not all bad. In the news: The...
01:00:51
346: 346: What Works (featuring Dan Dediu)
Talking with researcher Dan Dediu about non-linguistic motivators for language. In the news: We...
49:39
345: Talk on the Wild Side (featuring Lane Greene)
Author Lane Greene joins us to discuss his new book "Talk on the Wild Side". In the news: What...
43:53
344: Coincidences and Surprising Connections (featuring Bethwyn Evans)
We talk to historical linguist Bethwyn Evans about how we know languages are related. In the...
01:01:27
343: Moon Moons and Reduplication Reduplication
Reduplication in the world's languages. A surprising number of meanings can arise from simply...
48:23
Questions from our Mailbag: A whale is an animal. Whales are animals. What's the difference? Is...
48:04
341: What the F (featuring Benjamin Bergen)
Talking with cognitive scientist Benjamin Bergen about the science of swearing. News: California...
55:20
340: Ethics in Big Data (featuring Hannah Rashkin and Maarten Sap)
Researchers routinely use tweets, comments, and social media posts as language data. It's public...
54:49
339: How English Could Be Way Cooler
What cool things about other languages could we bring to English? Our listeners share their...
49:34
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