Podcasts by Word of Mouth

Everyday Shakespeare from 2023-08-22T15:00

Michael Rosen talks to Ben and David Crystal about the Shakespeare quotes we use every day, without even realising.

We’ve all heard someone roll their eyes and say “the lady doth protest ...

Therapy Speak from 2023-08-15T15:02

Susie Orbach talks to Michael Rosen about the use and misuse of “therapy speak”. With the rise of mental health awareness, it seems to have leaked out of the therapist’s office and into our home...

Fandom from 2023-08-08T15:20

There's lots of 'birging' in this week's programme. For those not in the know - that's short for Basking In Reflected Glory and it's something football fans in particular do when they talk about...

The stories behind our names from 2023-08-01T15:02

Michael Rosen talks to journalist Sheela Banerjee about the family and cultural histories revealed by our names. In her book What’s in a Name? Friendship, Identity and History in Modern Multicul...

Audio description: putting art into words from 2023-07-25T15:30

Lonny Evans audio describes in theatres and museums, and Terry James, who is vision impaired, trains audio describers. They talk to Michael about their work.

Producer Sally Heaven

Interpreting Presidents Putin and Zelensky from 2023-07-17T15:30

Irina Morgan is a high level interpreter. Being bi-lingual in Russian and Ukrainian means she's in demand whenever Vladimir Putin or President Zelensky give a press conference requiring simultan...

Learning Yiddish from 2023-07-11T15:52

Michael Rosen is learning Yiddish. Every Sunday, he joins other adults in an evening class, conjugating verbs and practising rhymes.

For this episode of Word of Mouth, he invites his teach...

Chatbots from 2023-05-12T12:55

Michael is joined by Emily M Bender, Professor of computational linguistics at the University of Washington and co-author of the infamous paper ‘On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots’.

Cut...

The Language of Fascism from 2023-05-09T15:25

Michael Rosen speaks with Jason Stanley, the Jacob Urowsky Professor at Yale University to discuss the language of fascism. They discuss propaganda, slogans and ‘vermin terminology’ as well as h...

Women's Words from 2023-05-02T15:30

Dr Jenni Nuttall talks to Michael about the words used by and about women since the beginnings of language. Including some words we should never have lost.

A Load of Nonsense from 2023-04-18T16:00

Michael Rosen talks nonsense with literary scholar Noreen Masud. From the nonsense language of Shakespeare's fools, to the nonsense lyrics of The Beatles, via the limericks of Edward Lear, the p...

Psychiatrist and Patient from 2023-04-11T15:00

Neuropsychiatrist Anthony David talks to Michael about the dialogue that takes place between him and his patients.

Producer Sally Heaven

The Life Inside: Philosophy in Prison from 2023-04-04T15:33

Andy West talks to Michael Rosen about his work discussing philosophy in prisons around England. His book The Life Inside is a memoir of his own experience of the justice system through his fam...

Richard Osman's love of language from 2023-02-21T16:00

Richard Osman talks in depth to Michael Rosen about his life in language: from growing up loving TV and sports, to working on Pointless and then writing The Thursday Murder Club. And you can dow...

Interpreting for Mum and Dad from 2023-02-14T16:30

Sanmeet Kaur has been interpreting for her parents since the age of five, when her family arrived in the UK from Afghanistan.

Producer Sally Heaven

Subtitles from 2023-02-07T16:30

Karli Witkowska is the subtitler behind films and TV shows including Stranger Things. She explains to Michael how descriptions such as 'tentacles wetly squelching' enhance the experience of Deaf...

Snap Crackle and Every Little Helps - the language of food advertising from 2023-01-31T16:48

Giles Poyner has worked in marketing and advertising for over twenty years and has worked on some of the biggest global brands. He explains how when it comes to marketing food and drink words r...

Grammar Table from 2023-01-24T17:01

Ellen Jovin is a grammar and language fan. Her book Rebel With A Clause: Tales and Tips From A Roving Grammarian details her travels with her Grammar Table. Keen to engage with people face to fa...

Band names from 2023-01-17T16:30

Bob Stanley from Saint Etienne talks band names, from the (subjectively) rubbish to the brilliant, along with some of the best origin stories.

Producer Sally Heaven

Exclamation Marks!! from 2023-01-10T16:02

In the first of a new series, Michael Rosen exclaims excitedly over exclamation marks with Dr Florence Hazrat, who has a passion for them. They explore the history behind the first punctuation s...

Nihal Arthanayake on conversation from 2022-08-23T15:30

Nihal Arthanayake has written a book based on his decades long experience of talking to people. Now he talks to Michael about what makes a good conversation.

Producer Sally Heaven

Like from 2022-08-16T15:30

Carmen Fought is a Californian Valley Girl, born and bred and she's, like, there's nothing wrong with using 'like.' And Michael's, like, come on Word of Mouth and tell us why.

Producer Sal...

A Murmuration of Starlings from 2022-08-09T15:30

Most groups of wildlife can be described as a flock or a herd, a swarm or a shoal – but where is the fun in stopping there? From an army of ants to a dazzle of zebras, an exultation of larks to ...

The Art of Apologies from 2022-08-02T15:29

Michael Rosen talks to sociolinguist Louise Mullany about all the ways in which we say sorry. From the sympathetic sorry in the face of bad news, to the polite sorry we say to strangers in the s...

Ghosting Caking and Breadcrumbing from 2022-07-26T16:43

Michael Rosen talks to cyber-pyschologist Dr Nicola Fox Hamilton about the new language that has emerged now that so many relationships begin online. She has studied the way people use words an...

Lords and Ladies: Folk Names for Plants and Flowers from 2022-07-19T15:38

Snotty Gogs and Moggie Nightgown may not immediately mean a lot to you but as common or folk names for the Yew berry and Wood anemone they reveal a fascinating social and cultural history of the...

My Stammer Story from 2022-07-12T15:29

Michael Rosen asks William Laven about how he has learnt to embrace language and life with a stammer.

For the first 10 years of his life, William Laven went to speech therapy with a stamm...

What is language actually good for? from 2022-05-10T15:00

Acclaimed Australian linguist Professor Nick Enfield has come to the conclusion that language is good for lawyers, for the purposes of persuasion, but bad for scientists who seek to accurately r...

Nathan Filer on the ways we talk about mental health from 2022-05-03T15:30

Nathan talks with Michael about words we use when talking about mental health.

Producer Sally Heaven

Weather Words from 2022-04-26T15:29

It's Gone Dark Over Bill's Mother's

In Britain talking about the weather is a good neutral way to start conversation. Because we have such varying weather conditions (three seasons in one...

The language we use about children in care from 2022-04-20T11:52

Adoptive parent Margaret Reynolds talks about the language used around children in care. From the unthinking people asking about 'real parents' to the clinical language used to describe children...

3 Ways to Speak English from 2022-04-12T15:02

Dr Jamila Lyiscott describes to Michael Rosen the 3 ways in which she speaks English according to whether she's at home, at school or with friends. Her TED talk on the subject is one of the most...

The Language of Sci-Fi from 2022-04-05T15:46

Are you a lover of SF and all things fantasy, or merely a fan?

Jesse Sheidlower formerly of the Oxford English Dictionary began compiling a dictionary of sci-fi 20 years ago and has been u...

Talking to Computers from 2022-02-22T16:00

Will machine translation ever be as good as human translation? How do services like Google Translate actually work? How does Alexa or Siri know what I'm saying? And will I ever be able to have a...

John McWhorter on Language from 2022-02-15T16:00

Michael Rosen is joined by John McWhorter, author and linguist at Columbia University, to talk about his life in language.

John H. McWhorter teaches linguistics, American Studies, and mus...

Dropping the Mic and Jumping the Shark: Where Do Modern Idioms Come From? from 2022-02-08T16:30

Some idioms feel like they've been with us forever. We're used to saying it's 'raining cats and dogs', that we feel like 'a fish out of water' or that someone has been 'pulling our leg'. But oth...

Remembering Mother Tongues from 2022-02-02T17:29

Michael Rosen asks Julie Sedivy about what happens when we lose our first language.

Julie Sedivy's family left their home country, the former Czechoslovakia, when Julie was a small child....

It's language, Jim, but not as we know it from 2022-01-25T16:00

Could aliens 'speak' in chemicals? Could they converse in electricity? Would they be able to hear us? In the absence of a Star Trek-style universal translator, how would you talk to an alien new...

When Words Fail Us from 2022-01-18T16:00

Kathryn Mannix, author and palliative care specialist, joins Michael Rosen to think about those discussions we would rather avoid. She calls them "tender" conversations.

In the moments t...

Words from World War I from 2022-01-11T16:00

Doing your bit or shirking? Afflicted with ‘Belgian flush’? Don’t forget to BYOB.

Lynda Mugglestone, Professor of the History of English at the University of Oxford, joins Michael Rosen to...

Digital body language: how to work online from 2021-08-24T15:00

Michael Rosen gets advice from Erica Dhawan on the best ways to communicate on-screen, as people work and live more in zoom, text, social media and email rather than meeting up. We need to find...

When people get your name wrong from 2021-08-17T15:00

Michael Rosen on why personal names are so often mispronounced or misspelled, in conversation and online. With guest Dhruti Shah, linguist Dr Laurel MacKenzie, and lots of stories from the Word...

Accent Bias from 2021-08-10T15:00

Michael Rosen asks Professor Devyani Sharma about the latest research into accent bias in the UK. Which are the highest and lowest rated accents, and why does it matter so much? Produced by Beth...

Cultish Language from 2021-08-03T15:02

Michael Rosen and Amanda Montell talk about the language used by cults that has permeated other, and more unexpected, areas of life.

Produced by Beth O'Dea for BBC Audio in Bristol.

Medical English from 2021-07-27T15:00

Michael Rosen asks Dr Sophie Harrison about the strange and special new language she had to learn to become a doctor, having been an editor at Granta Magazine. She's written a book about her lan...

The Art of Inventing Languages from 2021-07-20T15:30

How does one go about inventing a language?

David J. Peterson is the creator of the Dothraki and Valyrian languages for fantasy series Game of Thrones, as well as many others. He joins Mi...

Why is English so weird? from 2021-07-15T09:00

Why do we say 'I climbed' not 'I clomb'? Why is there a 'p' in 'receipt' and not in 'deceit'? Why is 'of' spelled with a 'f' when it sounds like a 'v'?

Michael Rosen hears why from Americ...

The Shipping Forecast: Internet Fandom from 2021-05-11T19:13

Gretchen McCulloch, Internet Linguist, author of Because Internet and the host of the Lingthusiasm podcast, talks to Michael Rosen about what it is to "ship" and how fandoms and other subcommuni...

Speech and Language Therapy from 2021-05-04T15:30

Michael talks to speech and language therapists Fiona Gillies and Tara Millan-Brophy. Fiona has been helping Michael with his rehabilitation post Covid-19 and takes him through his exercises. Pr...

Coinages from 2021-04-27T15:30

Michael talks to Ralph Keyes about some of the unusual circumstances in which words and phrases are coined

Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol : Sally Heaven

Romance Fraud from 2021-04-20T15:30

Dr Elisabeth Carter talks to Michael about the language used by fraudsters who fake romantic relationships online for monetary gain Producer Sally Heaven

Further information and help.

Changing Names from 2021-04-13T15:30

Michael Rosen and BBC presenter Ben Boulos talk about how we change names

Produced by Sally Heaven for BBC Audio in Bristol

Alphabetical Order from 2021-04-06T15:30

Michael Rosen and historian Judith Flanders talk about how we categorise things, using alphabetical order and more.

Produced by Sally Heaven for BBC Audio in Bristol

LGBTQIA+ slang from 2021-02-16T16:30

Chloe Davis, creator of The Queen's English dictionary of LGBTQIA+ slang, talks to Michael about shade, fierce, and the importance of etymology. Producer Sally Heaven

Hilary Mantel in conversation with Michael Rosen from 2021-02-09T16:30

Hilary Mantel, author of the Wolf Hall Trilogy, talks in depth to Michael Rosen about her life in writing and language. Producer Beth O'Dea Also available to download as part of the Word of Mou...

Bulls and Bears: animal metaphors in business language from 2021-02-02T16:30

Michael Rosen finds out from journalist Dhruti Shah why there are so many terms relating to animals in the business world. From dragon kings to yak shaving, her aim is to open up these mysteriou...

Being a Polyglot from 2021-02-01T11:54

Alex speaks 15 languages fluently. Does he have a special gift or could we all do this? Plus, what does 'to Donald Duck' mean in Hungarian? Producer Sally Heaven

Adam Bradley: The Poetry of Pop from 2021-01-26T16:30

Literary critic Adam Bradley talks to Michael about pop lyrics, melody and performance, and how they all work together. Producer Sally Heaven.

How to Disagree from 2021-01-12T16:30

Michael Rosen and philosopher Darren Chetty explore ways of disagreeing that could help to unite us, and provide a more productive way of communicating in an increasingly divided society. Produ...

Talking Disability from 2021-01-05T16:30

Michael Rosen is back. In the first in a new series, he meets actress and campaigner Samantha Renke and asks her how we talk about disability. Producer Sally Heaven.

Protest Slogans from 2020-08-25T15:02

Playwright Sabrina Mahfouz, sitting in for Michael Rosen, talks about the provocative language of protest slogans with artist Zoe Buckman and writer Siana Bangura. ...

Black masculinity and language from 2020-08-18T15:02

Teacher and writer Jeffrey Boakye, sitting in for Michael Rosen, and poet and writer JJ Bola, look at the construction of black masculinity in contemporary society and the impact of colonialism....

Talking to Strangers from 2020-08-11T15:06

Do you enjoy having a random chat to a stranger? Professor Tanya Byron sitting in for Michael Rosen explores the benefits and barriers to talking to strangers. The "liking gap" the "parasite t...

Othering through the centuries: Translation to acronyms from 2020-08-04T15:02

Playwright Sabrina Mahfouz, sitting in for Michael Rosen, talks to producer Tobi Kyeremateng and classicist Professor Katherine Harloe about othering in language: describing people in ways that ...

Words Used About Women from 2020-07-28T15:30

Spinster, slut, bird, cat lady, ladette, hussy, bossy, goddess, wife. Guest presenter Nikki Bedi (sitting in for Michael Rosen) talks to Professor Deborah Cameron about the words used to talk ab...

The language of power and inequality in education and leadership from 2020-07-21T15:02

Teacher and writer Jeffrey Boakye, sitting in for Michael Rosen, talks with charity strategist, writer and educator Iesha Small. They explore the language of power and inequality in modern educa...

The Language of the Pandemic from 2020-07-14T17:15

Professor Tanya Byron sitting in for Michael Rosen examines the language of Covid-19 with author Mark Honigsbaum. Since the outbreak of coronavirus we have had to adopt a new way of talking abou...

The power of telling stories from 2020-02-18T16:00

Michael Rosen talks to storyteller Clare Muireann Murphy about how telling and listening to stories can transport both the teller and their audience in wonderfully unexpected ways. Stories chang...

Sindhu Vee from 2020-02-11T16:01

Michael talks to comedian Sindhu Vee about her life in language. Why hearing Nepalese, a language she no longer speaks, can make her cry, how she uses Hindi idioms in comedy, and how she cured h...

Real Talk from 2020-02-05T14:23

Michael Rosen talks to conversation analyst Elizabeth Stokoe about the science of talk. Why infinitesimal pauses and saying hello matter, and the choice of 'speak' over 'talk' can save lives. Wh...

Communicating Climate Change from 2020-02-05T14:01

From the greenhouse effect, through global warming to climate chaos, Michael Rosen talks to George Marshall about the best ways to communicate what's happening to the planet. Producer Sally Heav...

NHS language use from 2020-01-28T15:59

Michael Rosen talks with Sara Wilcox, NHS content designer, about how they decide which words to use on the NHS website. Consultant Dr Hugh Rayner describes his initiative to encourage consultan...

Lying from 2020-01-21T16:02

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright talk to Professor Dawn Archer about her work in evaluating deception: is it possible to tell when someone might be lying and what are the clues? Dawn shares her...

Metaphors from 2020-01-07T16:02

Michael Rosen returns to explore how metaphors shape our lives with author James Geary. We live, breathe and think in metaphors and communication would be impossible without them. In a far-reach...

Anglo Saxon from 2019-08-27T15:00

Michael Rosen explores the origins of English in the Anglo-Saxon world. Ancient riddles, poems and a multi-cultural Britain, in the company of historical linguist Dr Laura Wright and Professor ...

The Language of Science from 2019-08-20T15:00

Michael Rosen looks at how English is used in Science. From the florid writings of the 17th century to modernist poetry and school experiments. With historian Charlotte Sleigh and historical l...

Gabriel Gbadamosi from 2019-08-13T15:00

Michael Rosen meets London-born writer Gabriel Gbadamosi, to talk Dickens and dialect. With historical linguist Laura Wright they look at Gabriel's novel Vauxhall, and how the types of English f...

Philosophy in English from 2019-08-06T15:00

Michael Rosen looks at philosophy in English, from 17th century ideas to modern corporate slogans, via the daffodils of William Wordsworth. With historical linguist Laura Wright and philosopher ...

Vikings from 2019-07-30T15:00

Michael Rosen discovers how the Vikings changed English. These invaders brought with them the words knife, gun, slaughter, ransack and anger. But then they settled, using their anger, verbs a...

Glyn Maxwell from 2019-07-23T16:00

Michael Rosen explores the sound and rhythm of English with acclaimed poet Glyn Maxwell. From nursery rhymes and nonsense poetry to Shakespeare and Bob Dylan. Producer: Melvin Rickarby

The most powerful word from 2019-07-17T12:06

Michael Rosen explores the strange history of 'The', the most influential word in English. It's used more than twice as much as any other English word, and has given philosophers centuries of h...

The First Language from 2019-07-16T16:42

Michael Rosen asks what the earliest language was and how it evolved. Michael joins linguist Dr Laura Wright on a journey to meet our meat-scavenging, fire-harnessing ancestors to discover the...

Raymond Antrobus from 2019-07-16T16:29

Michael Rosen meets acclaimed poet Raymond Antrobus. Winner of the 2018 Ted Hughes award for new work in poetry, his collection The Perserverence brings together autobiographical poems on rac...

Romani from 2019-05-14T15:02

Damian Le Bas talks to Michael Rosen about the Romani language and his experience with using it. Damian is the author of The Stopping Places: A Journey Through Gypsy Britain. Producer Beth O'Dea...

The Language of Comics from 2019-05-07T15:00

Can a series of images be 'read' like a series of words? What makes something a language? We have written, spoken and signed languages, but could the sequences of images we see in comics also qu...

Jeffrey Boakye on black-related words from 2019-04-30T15:00

Jeffrey Boakye talks to Michael Rosen about exploring black British identity, including his own, through the words used by and about black men and women. Jeffrey's the author of Black, Listed an...

Biscuit Names from 2019-04-23T14:53

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright look into the weird and wonderful world of biscuit names while munching some in the studio with Anastasia Edwards, author of Biscuits and Cookies, A Global Hist...

Listen and learn: how to make better conversation from 2019-02-19T16:30

Michael Rosen talks to Eddy Canfor-Dumas and Peter Osborn about how improving our dialogue is good for everything, from helping excluded children to resolving conflict. Producer Sally Heaven.

Dyslexia from 2019-02-12T16:00

Michael Rosen talks in depth about dyslexia: what it is, how to understand it and useful advice for parents and teachers, with expert Professor Maggie Snowling CBE, President of St John's Colleg...

Talk of the Town: How Places Got Their Names from 2019-02-05T16:00

From Ashby-de-la-Zouch to Zennor, via Great Snoring, Lost and Nempnett Thrubwell, Michael Rosen is joined by linguists Dr Laura Wright and Professor Richard Coates to explore the origins of the ...

Solving crime with forensic linguistics from 2019-01-29T16:00

Dr John Olsson talks to Michael Rosen about how he uses forensic linguistics, specifically authorship analysis, to solve crimes including murder, false witness and hate mail. What he does is wor...

Demystifying the language of the courtroom from 2019-01-22T16:30

Family law barrister and chair of The Transparency Project Lucy Reed talks to Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright about the language of the courtroom and how to make family justice clearer. Produc...

How to talk funny with Elis James from 2019-01-15T16:30

Michael Rosen talks to comedian Elis James about how to make language funny. In Elis' case, this is both the English language and the Welsh language, but which is funnier? Produced by Sally Heav...

Raymond Williams' Keywords from 2018-10-23T15:00

Michael Rosen talks to academic Colin MacCabe and Dr Laura Wright about Raymond Williams' 1976 book Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society, which looks at the changing meanings of words s...

Communication and Dementia from 2018-10-16T15:00

Michael Rosen finds out how best to communicate with people with dementia. Professor Alison Wray shares her new research about the ways in which language is affected by dementia. She offers prac...

T-Shirt Slogans from 2018-10-09T15:00

Michael Rosen discusses slogan T-shirts with fashion historian Amber Butchart and fashion identity commentator Caryn Franklin. What do the words we wear say about us?

Slogan clothing is ha...

Multicultural London English from 2018-10-02T15:00

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright talk about the Multicultural London English (MLE) dialect with Somali born journalist Ismail Einashe. Listen to this with your fam and you'll know what Stormzy...

Lane Greene on Editing from 2018-09-25T15:00

Lane Greene talks to Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright about the joys of editing and how it can improve writing. Lane Greene is The Economist's Johnson language columnist and deputy editor of bo...

Give 'em an inch... imperial and metric from 2018-09-18T15:00

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright talk to maths writer Rob Eastaway about imperial and metric measurements. How and why do they co-exist in the United Kingdom? Why are teenagers still talking in fe...

Stephen Fry and Michael Rosen talk language from 2018-09-11T15:00

Stephen Fry talks to presenter Michael Rosen about their mutual obsession with language: the particular joys they both find in speech and in writing and how language is developing. Starting at t...

Shop Names from 2018-05-22T15:00

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright look at the history behind and witty wordplay used in shop names, with guest Greg Rowland of The Semiotic Alliance, which invents names for products, and favourite...

How to talk like a Samaritan from 2018-05-15T15:00

Michael Rosen talks to Mark Harris and Darran Latham, who volunteer for the Samaritans, about the ways in which talking and listening can best be used to help people in crisis.

You can cal...

The Words That Saved Me from 2018-05-08T15:00

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright talk to Sally Bayley, author of Girl With Dove, about how words both mystified and rescued her during a highly unusual childhood. Producer Sally Heaven.

Me, Myself&AI from 2018-05-01T15:00

Michael Rosen and Dr. Laura Wright are joined in the studio by a virtual assistant and Tom Hewitson - conversation designer for the likes of Siri, Alexa and Cortana. They discuss whether virtual...

Naming Emotions from 2018-04-24T15:00

Michael Rosen talks to Dr Tiffany Watt Smith about the words we use to try and describe our emotions, and what that can tell us about the way we feel now and have felt at different times in the ...

Not My Type from 2018-04-17T14:53

How do fonts change the meaning of a message? What was Comic Sans invented for? Why was Obama's first election campaign so typographically bold? And which font would make you buy one chocolate b...

Words Apart from 2018-04-10T15:00

Word of Mouth returns with a special programme in which Michael Rosen and guests Marina Warner and Barry Smith discuss the state of language and public debate.

With the rise of the intern...

Haggard Hawks from 2018-02-20T16:00

Why do we 'let the cat out of the bag' or 'go the whole nine yards'? What is a hackle and why might it be raised? What does it mean to 'fribble'? Or to have a 'schnapsidee'? And what are 'cupid'...

Language and Gender Identity from 2018-02-13T16:00

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright are joined by CN Lester, author of 'Trans Like Me: A Journey for All of Us' to talk about language and gender identity. What does it mean to be transgender and ...

Naming Diseases from 2018-02-12T15:48

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright explore how diseases are named and the political, economic and social impact of disease names past and present. Joining them are Laura Spinney, Science journalist ...

Best wishes, kind regards or none of the above? from 2018-01-31T13:52

We used to sign off letters using "yours faithfully" or "yours sincerely", then email came along and it was all "kind regards" and "best wishes". Now, it seems, we hardly sign off at all. With s...

Michael Gets Voice Training from 2018-01-23T16:00

Vocal coaches Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher, authors of This is a Voice, give Michael Rosen a workout. They get him to read against natural pitch and intonation, which proves nearly impossib...

Hello! Is it me you're looking for? - The art of greetings from 2018-01-16T16:00

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright are back with a new series of Word of Mouth, and appropriately enough they're starting with Hellos. And greetings. Former diplomat Andy Scott has greeted people...

Pub Names from 2017-10-24T15:00

From The Red Lion to the Bucket of Blood, how did your local get its name? Michael Rosen asks Word of Mouth's resident linguist Dr Laura Wright about her research into pub names. And guest Eddie...

Language and Our Genes with Dr Steve Jones from 2017-10-18T13:21

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright talk to geneticist Steve Jones about how language is used to talk about genetics, and how genetics influences language.

Producer Sally Heaven.

Autism and Communication from 2017-10-10T16:33

Michael Rosen finds out what the rest of society can learn about communication from people on the autism spectrum, by getting an insight into a different worldview. He meets Alis Rowe and Helen ...

Wild Words from 2017-10-10T15:00

The writer Robert Macfarlane (author of Landmarks, The Old Ways, The Wild Places and Mountains of the Mind) believes that the language we use to talk about nature is itself at risk of becoming a...

Are we all speaking football? from 2017-10-02T14:46

Lifelong Arsenal supporter Michael Rosen and football-uninterested Dr Laura Wright talk to Adam Hurrey about the language, and in particular, the clichés of football. Football is a linguistic mi...

Malorie Blackman on Language from 2017-09-19T15:00

Malorie Blackman, author of Noughts and Crosses, talks in depth to Michael Rosen about language: the writing that has shaped her and how she's used language in her own influential work. Her life...

Eat My Words: How to Describe Food Flavours from 2017-09-12T15:00

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright ask Great British Menu judge Andi Oliver and author of The Flavour Thesaurus Niki Segnit how they describe the flavours of food. Niki describes coriander and lime ...

David Walliams on writing for children from 2017-05-23T15:28

David Walliams talks in depth to Michael Rosen about how he writes his children's books like Mr Stink and The Boy In The Dress. His acute awareness of language developed from a young age, and he...

Game On: The Language of Video Games from 2017-05-16T15:00

With 99% of 8-15 year olds playing video games, Michael Rosen & Dr Laura Wright explore how gaming is influencing language and storytelling. From terms like 'epic fail' and 'levelling up' en...

The Postbag Edition from 2017-05-09T15:00

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright answer listeners' questions from the Word of Mouth inbox and postbag. They're joined by guests, Katherine Fry and Rowena Kirton, authors of the book 'Grammar fo...

Cucks, snowflakes and virtue signalling: the new US political lexicon from 2017-05-02T15:02

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright interview the eminent US linguist George Lakoff about the new political words coming out of the US right now, mainly from the alt-right, and the effectiveness o...

Jacqueline Wilson talks to Michael Rosen about language from 2017-04-25T15:00

Writer Jacqueline Wilson talks to Michael Rosen about her love of language and how she came up with the idea of Tracy Beaker. She describes her imaginative life as a child, walking along telling...

How Countries Got Their Names from 2017-04-18T15:00

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright find out how countries - including this one - got their names, and what they mean. Why isn't Greenland green? How is Venezuela like a Little Venice? And what's ...

Frenchified: The Influence of French on English from 2017-04-11T15:00

Michael Rosen & Dr Laura Wright find out how much of our language comes from French roots, from Anglo-Norman onwards. A Sunday lunch menu from The Ritz is food for thought, and Dr Richard As...

Like, Totally Awesome: The Americanisation of English from 2017-02-28T16:00

Michael Rosen is joined by writer Matthew Engel and linguist Dr Lynne Murphy to discuss the Americanisation of English. Is the pace of Americanisation of British English really increasing? Why d...

Emoji: The Future of Language? from 2017-02-21T16:00

Is emoji really the world's fastest growing language? (And can it really be said to be a language at all?) Who gets to decide which pictograms get added to the official set of emoji? Do they cla...

Intonation: The Music of Speaking from 2017-02-14T16:00

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright explore the tunes we sing when we are speaking - without even realising it. Sound artist John Wynne extracts the melodies to play in the studio and Sam Hellmuth ex...

Pet or Pest? The revealing words we use about animals, and dog names from 2017-02-07T16:00

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright on the language we use to talk about animals - and the names we give our dogs. Do the words used show changing attitudes? They're joined by Professor Alison Sealey...

Words Roadshow in Birmingham from 2017-01-31T16:00

Michael Rosen and linguist Esther Asprey answer questions about interesting local and family words from listeners at a Words Roadshow at the Birmingham Literature Festival. What's a gubbins? Wha...

Susie Dent on Language from 2016-10-18T15:00

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright talk to Susie Dent, lexicographer and word lover known for her expert contribution to Countdown and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. She has been uncovering the se...

Reading: The Science and the Pleasure from 2016-10-11T15:00

As part of the BBC LovetoRead campaign, Michael Rosen talks about his first experience in reading, with Dr Laura Wright, and how and what he reads now. They're joined by cognitive psychologist P...

Snotrils and Jumpolines: Kids' Invented Words from 2016-10-04T15:00

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright explore the words that children invent and reimagine, from snotrils and jumpolines, to Farmer Christmas and the hippyhoppymus. What do these linguistic leaps of...

Small Talk from 2016-09-27T15:00

Pointless chit chat or vital social lubricant? Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright talk small talk with psychotherapist and writer Philippa Perry, author of 'How to Stay Sane'. Why do we bother wi...

Directions: North South East and West from 2016-09-20T15:00

Michael Rosen & Laura Wright discover how different ways of talking about directions in other languages show differences in ways of thinking. Professor Lera Boroditsky explains how in some l...

Lost Words and Secret Connections from 2016-09-13T15:00

Have you ever wondered why there's no word for that universal affliction of early morning worry & wakefulness? Or how to describe the act of eking every last drop of washing up liquid out of...

Break Ups and Brexit from 2016-09-06T15:00

How do you find the right words to make- or break- a personal relationship? Or to leave a political union, for that matter? To consider the clichés and coinages used to negotiate matters of the ...

Punctuation from 2016-05-24T15:30

Michael Rosen talks to Keith Houston about punctuation symbols and how they came to exist. Keith is the author of Shady Characters: Ampersands, Interrobangs and Other Typographical Curiosities. ...

Andrew Graham-Dixon on the naming of art movements from 2016-05-17T15:30

Michael Rosen and art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon take a tour through the naming of art movements. Surrealism, Impressionism, the Renaissance, the Pre-Raphaelites, Modern, Contemporary - how did ...

Snuck and Sung: Irregular Verbs from 2016-05-10T15:30

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright explore irregular verbs with Dr Marcelle Cole, and a contribution from Steven Pinker. What are they, where did they come from, and why do they exist in English?...

Roald Dahl's Language from 2016-05-03T15:00

Michael Rosen on a new Roald Dahl dictionary collecting the amazing words he invented - like squackling, and wondercrump! With Dr Laura Wright and dictionary editor Dr Susan Rennie. Producer Bet...

PR - How Not To Do It from 2016-04-26T15:00

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright talk PR with Public Relations practitioner Hamish Thompson. He's collated examples of the words and phrases used in PR that people find most annoying, and is on...

Metaphors for the Past: From Dinosaurs to Victorian Values from 2016-04-19T15:00

Michael Rosen and Dr. Laura Wright talk to Dr Ross Wilson about how we talk about historical eras in order to define the way we live now, and how we've progressed. Ross Wilson is a historian at ...

House Names from 2016-04-12T15:00

Michael Rosen talks to Dr Laura Wright about her new research on popular house names, from Foo Choo Villas to Nutty Hagg to Orchard Cottage, and what this tells us about our history. She's uncov...

Steven Pinker on Language from 2016-04-05T15:00

Professor Steven Pinker joins Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright in the studio for a wide-ranging talk about his love of, and life working in, language. Steven is Johnstone Professor of Psycholog...

Tip of the Tongue from 2016-03-01T16:00

It's an experience we've all had - desperately trying to recall a word. You might know the letter it begins with, the letter it ends with, but it just won't pop into your head. So how will Micha...

Talking or Texting? from 2016-02-23T16:00

We take it for granted that we can maintain our friendships and family relationships now in so many ways: phone, voicemail, email, text, instant message, Facebook, Skype.. but do we have any ide...

Mouthpiece: Turning the Spoken Word into Songs from 2016-02-16T16:00

Michael Rosen & Laura Wright hear about Mouthpiece, a project in which composer Jennifer Bell has been given access to interview people from the Speaker to the barista about their working li...

Taking Turns in Conversation from 2016-02-09T16:00

Michael Rosen and linguist Dr Laura Wright discuss how well we judge taking it in turns when we're in conversation. Professor Stephen Levinson has new research on the science behind this, and jo...

The Top 20 Words in English from 2016-02-02T16:02

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright guide us through the top 20 words in English. Not the best or most popular (that would include tentacular, ping-pong and sesquipedalian (look it up - it's a cra...

How Shakespeare Spoke from 2016-01-26T16:02

Forget Laurence Olivier and Peggy Ashcroft, Al Pacino and Judi Dench. To take us back to Shakespeare's own time Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright hear Shakespeare as he himself would have spoken...

Slang from 2016-01-19T16:30

What is slang, where does it come from, and which subjects attract the most slang words? Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright thrash it out with lexicographer of slang and swearing Jonathon Green. ...

Language Evolution: A Gene for Language? from 2015-10-27T16:30

How come humans learn to speak and use language in extraordinarily sophisticated ways, without any conscious effort, while other animals do not? Recent research suggests that the answer lies, in...

Gorilla gorilla gorilla: Latin names for animals and plants from 2015-10-20T08:14

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright talk to River Cottage natural forager and writer John Wright about the surprising and wonderful Latin names used to describe animals and plants, and how they ca...

The Alphabet from 2015-10-13T07:55

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright take us through the A-Z of the alphabet, with the help of Professor Nils Langer. How do we come to have the letters we do? Producer Beth O'Dea.

Inventing Brand Names from 2015-10-12T07:45

Michael Rosen & Dr Laura Wright look into how new commercial brand names are invented, with Greg Rowland, the semiotician who came up with the name of a new perfume for Calvin Klein. Which w...

Romance and Romanticism from 2015-09-29T07:51

In a romantic edition, Michael Rosen, Dr Laura Wright and Professor John Mullan explore the clusters of meanings and differences between the words romance and the Romantic poets, romanticism and...

Reading: Print v eBooks from 2015-09-22T07:36

Michael Rosen & Dr Laura Wright discuss with linguist Professor Naomi Baron the quantifiable differences between the experience of reading print books and of reading eBooks, or onscreen. Whi...

Number Words from 2015-09-21T08:32

First in series. Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright explore the numbers one to ten and look at how we understand - and misunderstand - the language of numbers. Why is a shampoo called Zinc 24 so ...

Non-Verbal Communication from 2015-05-26T07:22

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright sob, hum and buzz as they consider whether the sound of a word has any connection with its meaning. With guest Professor Steven Connor.

Producer...Mary Ward-...