
Do you call it "pop," "soda," or "coke"? We look at the interesting history behind these regional names for carbonated beverages. Then, we look at words where you can use a Q without a U, which might help your Scrabble game.
Jul 15
15 min

1098. We talk with cognitive scientist Dr. Vicky Lai about how frequently we use metaphors and what happens in our brains when we hear them. We also look at her research on irony and its effect on emotion, and how people recovering from cancer use metaphors differently depending on how they're doing.
Jul 10
19 min

1097. Do you wonder whether "bacon" can be plural? We look at the difference between countable and uncountable nouns. Then, we look at how the Martha's Vineyard accent developed and what it tells us about language and society.
Jul 8
17 min

1096. This week, we look at the world of emoji with Keith Houston, author of "Face with Tears of Joy." He discusses the long history of emoji, from ancient origins to early computer character sets, and the formal process of proposing new emoji to the Unicode Consortium. We also look at how emoji can be blends of multiple characters and tell us more about cultural, generational, and political attitudes.
Jul 3
28 min

1095. Is “sick” really “good”? This week, we look at how words flip their meanings and why language changes over time. Then, we look at the 1950s idea of "U and Non-U English" and what it tells us about social climbing.
Jul 1
17 min

1094. Have you ever wondered about the linguistic techniques behind popular children's podcasts? This week, we talk with Doug Fraser, also known as Dougie Pickles from the "Cozy Critters" podcast, who explains his strategic use of language to soothe and captivate kids. We also hear his insights on what makes successful children's content, including the importance of varied sentence length, the power of word choice and musicality in language.
Jun 26
19 min

1093. Why do we say “prob’ly” instead of “probably”? This week, we look at elision in everyday speech. Then, we look at a wild study showing that the way people talk is being influenced by AI.
Jun 24
17 min

1092. Your accent may be saying more than your words. Sociolinguist Rob Drummond explains how accents shape our identities, how they differ across social classes, and why changing your accent can affect how you’re perceived.
Jun 19
31 min

1091. Is the em dash a sign of AI writing? I looked at where the idea comes from, and we have the final answer! Then, we look at the difference between "caregiver" and "caretaker."
Jun 17
17 min

1090. Your hands may be saying more than your words. Lauren Gawne explains how gestures shape communication, how they differ across cultures, and why removing gestures can make your speech less fluent.
Jun 12
29 min
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