Word of Mouth Podcast
Series exploring the world of words and the ways in which we use them
Episodes to download
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What is language actually good for?
Tue 10 May 2022
Nick Enfield and Michael Rosen on language being good for lawyers but bad for scientists.
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Nathan Filer on the ways we talk about mental health
Tue 3 May 2022
Nathan talks with Michael about words we use when talking about mental health.
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The language we use about children in care
Tue 19 Apr 2022
Adoptive parent Margaret Reynolds talks about the language used around children in care
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3 Ways to Speak English
Tue 12 Apr 2022
Dr Jamila Lyiscott describes to Michael Rosen the 3 ways in which she speaks English.
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The Language of Sci-Fi
Tue 5 Apr 2022
Michael Rosen explores how the vocabulary of sci-fi has entered everyday speech.
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Talking to Computers
Tue 22 Feb 2022
Michael Rosen talks to Lane Greene about advances in language technologies.
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John McWhorter on Language
Tue 15 Feb 2022
John McWhorter, author and linguist at Columbia University, joins Michael Rosen.
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Dropping the Mic and Jumping the Shark: Where Do Modern Idioms Come From?
Tue 8 Feb 2022
Michael Rosen talks to Dr Gareth Carrol about the surprising origins of modern idioms.
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Remembering Mother Tongues
Tue 1 Feb 2022
Michael Rosen asks Julie Sedivy about what happens when we lose our first language.
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It's language, Jim, but not as we know it
Tue 25 Jan 2022
Michael Rosen talks to science communicator Dr Hannah Little.
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When Words Fail Us
Tue 18 Jan 2022
Kathryn Mannix and Michael Rosen on how to talk tenderly and and listen well.
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Words from World War I
Tue 11 Jan 2022
Michael Rosen and Professor Lynda Mugglestone explore the new language from World War I.
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Digital body language: how to work online
Tue 24 Aug 2021
Michael Rosen gets advice from Erica Dhawan on the best ways to communicate on-screen.
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When people get your name wrong
Tue 17 Aug 2021
Michael Rosen on why personal names are mistaken or misspelled, in conversation and online
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Accent Bias
Tue 10 Aug 2021
Michael Rosen asks Devyani Sharma about the latest research into accent bias in the UK.
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Medical English
Tue 27 Jul 2021
Michael Rosen asks Dr Sophie Harrison about the special language used by doctors.
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The Art of Inventing Languages
Tue 20 Jul 2021
Michael Rosen is joined by David J. Peterson, language creator for Game of Thrones.
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Why is English so weird?
Tue 13 Jul 2021
Michael Rosen hears why our language is a bit of a mess from linguist Arika Okrent
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The Shipping Forecast: Internet Fandom
Tue 11 May 2021
Michael Rosen talks to internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch about online fandom language.
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Speech and Language Therapy
Tue 4 May 2021
Michael Rosen talks to the speech and language therapist who helped him after Covid-19.
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Romance Fraud
Tue 20 Apr 2021
Dr Elisabeth Carter talks to Michael about the language used by romance fraudsters.
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Alphabetical Order
Tue 6 Apr 2021
Michael Rosen and historian Judith Flanders talk categories and more.
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LGBTQIA+ slang
Tue 16 Feb 2021
Chloe Davis, creator of The Queen's English dictionary of LGBTQIA+ slang, talks to Michael
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Hilary Mantel in conversation with Michael Rosen
Tue 9 Feb 2021
Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall, talks to Michael Rosen about her life in language.
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Bulls and Bears: animal metaphors in business language
Tue 2 Feb 2021
Michael Rosen asks why there are so many terms related to animals in the business world.
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Adam Bradley: The Poetry of Pop
Tue 26 Jan 2021
Adam Bradley joins Michael from Los Angeles and talks about the poetry of pop
From blunk to brickfielder: our wonderful words for weather
Exploring creative descriptions for wind, rainfall and sunny spells from around the world
Digital body language – how to communicate better online
We need to find new ways of talking to each other “virtually”.
Coinages that changed the world – and some that tried to...
Exploring the hidden histories of obscure words, and common buzz phrases.
Ittibitium, borborygmus, and Ba humbugi – 14 wonderful science words you’ve never heard of
Michael Rosen puts the language of science under the microscope.
Download this programme
Subscribe to this programme or download individual episodes.
Keywords for Our Time
Series of programmes examining key phrases in public debate.
Smiley face: Seven things you didn't know about emoji
Some facts about emoji - possibly the world's first truly global form of communication.
The funny words that kids invent
Have a look at some of the fantastic words that children invent and reimagine.
