Word of Mouth

Jan 16 2025 184 ep. 28 mins 56.5k
Word of Mouth Podcast artwork

Series exploring the world of words and the ways in which we use them

  Society & Culture
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The Language of Genetics

Jan 16 2025 27 mins  
Adam Rutherford joins Michael Rosen to make sense of the heavily-loaded and often unscientific language that we use to talk about genetics, inheritance, ancestry and race. Adam is a geneticist, science writer, and lecturer in Biology and Society at University College London. His work tries to make sense of what our genes do (or don't) tell us about our similarities and our differen

Susie Dent's World of Words

Jan 09 2025 27 mins  
Susie Dent joins Michael Rosen to talk about her lifelong fascination with words and their origins. It's a programme bringing some apricity, which is one of Susie's favourite words. Her love of language began when she was a child, then found expression in her passion for French and German and now in her work as a lexicographer, writer and language broadcaster.Produced for BBC Audio

Social media language

Oct 03 2024 27 mins  
Michael talks to linguist Dr Andreea Calude about her research into how language is used on Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter/X. And he asks if we're witnessing the death of email.Dr Andreea Calude is the author of The Linguistics of Social Media: An Introduction.Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea. Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an epi

How Animals Talk

Sep 26 2024 27 mins  
Michael hears from zoologist Arik Kershenbaum about the latest research on how and why different types of animals communicate, from wolves howling to dolphins whistling: a world of soundscapes. He also explains how animal communication can help to shed light on the human variety.Dr. Arik Kershenbaum is a zoologist and the author of: Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Commu

A Poet Writing in Three Languages

Sep 22 2024 27 mins  
How best to write about love and other things. Nabeela Ahmed talks about writing in a second language and how her early life in Kashmir shaped the language she uses to express different aspects of her life. She is also a champion for the Pahari language in her home city of Bradford. Pahari is a language spoken by people in Northern areas of India, Kashmir and Pakistant. It fell out

Fine Distinctions

Sep 12 2024 27 mins  
Eli Burnstein talks about fine distinctions between words, including Michael's personal bugbear of forewords, prefaces and introductions, some clarity on clementines, satsumas, tangerines and mandarins, and of course the lunch, dinner and tea debate.Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven. Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.bbc.co.u

Former astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield on the language of Space exploration

Sep 05 2024 27 mins  
Colonel Chris Hadfield is a veteran of three spaceflights. He crewed the US space shuttle twice, piloted the Russian Soyuz, helped build space station Mir and served as Commander of the International Space Station. Getting words and language right in as clear and a concise way is a matter of life and death for astronauts. Crews are traditionally made up of different nationalities

The words we use about getting older and why they matter

Aug 29 2024 27 mins  
How we talk about getting older can affect how we age, both mentally and physically. Michael asks Dr Lucy Pollock for her advice on ageing well and happily.Dr Lucy Pollock has been an NHS consultant geriatrician, a doctor specialising in the care of older people, for over 30 years. She is the author of The Book About Getting Older, and her new book is The Golden Rule: lessons in li

How babies learn language

Aug 22 2024 27 mins  
Recently a video went viral of a baby talking - or babbling - with a Liverpool accent. Professor Julian Pine from Liverpool University explains how babies and young children learn language, including the rules we take for granted. Including the surprising reasons who children make mistakes like saying "nana" instead of banana, or "I play football yesterday" instead of "I played foo

Little Green Men: the secret rules of word order

Jun 13 2024 28 mins  
Michael explores the mysterious rules of word order with linguist Dr Laura Bailey. We all know them instinctively, without knowing that we know them. Contains the truth about killer whales and also why Yoda sounds like an alien.Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea.