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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Women's Words
Tue 2 May 2023
Dr Jenni Nuttall talks to Michael about the words used by and about women.
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Chatbots
Tue 25 Apr 2023
Professor of computational linguistics Emily M Bender chats all things bot with Michael
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A Load of Nonsense
Tue 18 Apr 2023
Michael Rosen talks nonsense literature and made-up words with Noreen Masud.
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The Life Inside: Philosophy in Prison
Tue 4 Apr 2023
Michael Rosen talks to Andy West who teaches philosophy in prisons
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Richard Osman's love of language
Tue 21 Feb 2023
Richard Osman talks in depth to Michael Rosen about his broadcasting and writing lives.
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Interpreting for Mum and Dad
Tue 14 Feb 2023
Sanmeet Kaur has been interpreting for her parents since the age of five.
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Subtitles
Tue 7 Feb 2023
Karli Witkowska, the subtitler behind TV shows including Stranger Things, explains her job
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Snap Crackle and Every Little Helps - the language of food advertising
Tue 31 Jan 2023
Michael Rosen delves into the fascinating world of food and drink advertising.
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Exclamation Marks!!
Tue 10 Jan 2023
Michael Rosen exclaims excitedly over exclamation marks with Florence Hazrat.
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Nihal Arthanayake on conversation
Tue 23 Aug 2022
Radio 5 Live presenter Nihal Arthanayake talks to Michael about the art of conversation.
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A Murmuration of Starlings
Tue 9 Aug 2022
Michael Rosen talks to Matt Sewell about collective nouns in the animal world.
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The Art of Apologies
Tue 19 Jul 2022
Michael Rosen talks to sociolinguist Louise Mullany about all the ways we say sorry.
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Lords and Ladies: Folk Names for Plants and Flowers
Tue 19 Jul 2022
The different names we call our common plants and flowers around the British Isles.
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My Stammer Story
Tue 12 Jul 2022
Michael Rosen asks William Laven about how he has learnt to celebrate his stammer.
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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.
Listen to Michael Rosen in conversation with The Open University
Hear Michael reveal his own language journey.
Explore the OU’s Cultural Idioms Guide
Explore how some cultural idioms entered the English Language.
Idioms Quiz
Explore why languages have idioms with The Open University’s quiz.
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.
