Word of Mouth

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

Radio 4,304 episodes

Episodes

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The Language of Fascism
The Language of Fascism
09 May 2023,28 mins
Women's Words
Dr Jenni Nuttall talks to Michael about the words used by and about women.
02 May 2023,28 mins
Chatbots
Professor of computational linguistics Emily M Bender chats all things bot with Michael
25 Apr 2023,28 mins
A Load of Nonsense
Michael Rosen talks nonsense literature and made-up words with Noreen Masud.
18 Apr 2023,28 mins
Psychiatrist and Patient
Neuropsychiatrist Anthony David talks to Michael.
11 Apr 2023,28 mins
The Life Inside: Philosophy in Prison
Michael Rosen talks to Andy West who teaches philosophy in prisons
04 Apr 2023,28 mins
Richard Osman's love of language
Richard Osman talks in depth to Michael Rosen about his broadcasting and writing lives.
21 Feb 2023,28 mins
Interpreting for Mum and Dad
Sanmeet Kaur has been interpreting for her parents since the age of five.
14 Feb 2023,28 mins
Subtitles
Karli Witkowska, the subtitler behind TV shows including Stranger Things, explains her job
07 Feb 2023,28 mins
Snap Crackle and Every Little Helps - the language of food advertising
Michael Rosen delves into the fascinating world of food and drink advertising.
31 Jan 2023,28 mins
Grammar Table
Michael Rosen is joined by grammar fanatic Ellen Jovin.
24 Jan 2023,28 mins
Band names
Bob Stanley talks band names, from the rubbish to the brilliant.
17 Jan 2023,28 mins
Exclamation Marks!!
Michael Rosen exclaims excitedly over exclamation marks with Florence Hazrat.
10 Jan 2023,28 mins
Nihal Arthanayake on conversation
Radio 5 Live presenter Nihal Arthanayake talks to Michael about the art of conversation.
23 Aug 2022,28 mins
Like
Linguist Carmen Fought talks to Michael about 'like' in all its forms.
16 Aug 2022,28 mins
A Murmuration of Starlings
Michael Rosen talks to Matt Sewell about collective nouns in the animal world.
09 Aug 2022,28 mins
Ghosting Caking and Breadcrumbing
The evolving lexicon of online dating
26 Jul 2022,28 mins
The Art of Apologies
Michael Rosen talks to sociolinguist Louise Mullany about all the ways we say sorry.
19 Jul 2022,28 mins
Lords and Ladies: Folk Names for Plants and Flowers
The different names we call our common plants and flowers around the British Isles.
19 Jul 2022,28 mins
My Stammer Story
Michael Rosen asks William Laven about how he has learnt to celebrate his stammer.
12 Jul 2022,28 mins
What is language actually good for?
Nick Enfield and Michael Rosen on language being good for lawyers but bad for scientists.
10 May 2022,28 mins
Nathan Filer on the ways we talk about mental health
Nathan talks with Michael about words we use when talking about mental health.
03 May 2022,28 mins
Weather Words
The many different ways we use to talk about the weather
26 Apr 2022,28 mins
The language we use about children in care
Adoptive parent Margaret Reynolds talks about the language used around children in care
19 Apr 2022,28 mins
3 Ways to Speak English
Dr Jamila Lyiscott describes to Michael Rosen the 3 ways in which she speaks English.
12 Apr 2022,28 mins
The Language of Sci-Fi
Michael Rosen explores how the vocabulary of sci-fi has entered everyday speech.
05 Apr 2022,28 mins
Talking to Computers
Michael Rosen talks to Lane Greene about advances in language technologies.
22 Feb 2022,28 mins
John McWhorter on Language
John McWhorter, author and linguist at Columbia University, joins Michael Rosen.
15 Feb 2022,28 mins
Dropping the Mic and Jumping the Shark: Where Do Modern Idioms Come From?
Michael Rosen talks to Dr Gareth Carrol about the surprising origins of modern idioms.
08 Feb 2022,28 mins
Remembering Mother Tongues
Michael Rosen asks Julie Sedivy about what happens when we lose our first language.
01 Feb 2022,28 mins