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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Listen and learn: how to make better conversation
Tue 19 Feb 2019
Michael Rosen talks to the authors of The Talking Revolution about improving our dialogue.
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Dyslexia
Tue 12 Feb 2019
Michael Rosen talks in depth about dyslexia with expert Professor Maggie Snowling.
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Talk of the Town: How Places Got Their Names
Tue 5 Feb 2019
Michael Rosen and guests explore the origins of the UK's town and village names.
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Solving crime with forensic linguistics
Tue 29 Jan 2019
John Olsson talks to Michael Rosen about how he uses authorship analysis to solve murders.
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Demystifying the language of the courtroom
Tue 22 Jan 2019
Family law barrister Lucy Reed talks to Michael Rosen about the language of the courtroom.
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How to talk funny with Elis James
Tue 15 Jan 2019
Michael Rosen talks to comedian Elis James about how to make language funny.
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Raymond Williams' Keywords
Tue 23 Oct 2018
Michael Rosen talks to academic Colin MacCabe about Raymond Williams' book Keywords.
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Communication and Dementia
Tue 16 Oct 2018
Michael Rosen finds out how best to communicate with people with dementia.
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T-Shirt Slogans
Tue 9 Oct 2018
Michael Rosen discusses slogan T-shirts with Amber Butchart and Caryn Franklin.
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Multicultural London English
Tue 2 Oct 2018
Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright talk Multicultural London English with Ismail Einashe.
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Lane Greene on Editing
Tue 25 Sep 2018
Economist Johnson language columnist Lane Greene talks to Michael Rosen and Laura Wright.
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Give 'em an inch... imperial and metric
Tue 18 Sep 2018
Michael Rosen and Laura Wright talk to Rob Eastaway about imperial and metric measurements
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Stephen Fry and Michael Rosen talk language
Tue 11 Sep 2018
Stephen Fry talks to presenter Michael Rosen about their mutual obsession with language.
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Shop Names
Tue 22 May 2018
Michael Rosen and Laura Wright look at the history behind and wordplay used in shop names.
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How to talk like a Samaritan
Tue 15 May 2018
Michael Rosen talks to the Samaritans about how language can help people in crisis.
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The Words That Saved Me
Tue 8 May 2018
Sally Bayley talks to Michael Rosen about how words came to her rescue during childhood.
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Me, Myself & AI
Tue 1 May 2018
Michael is joined by Tom Hewitson, conversation designer for the likes of Siri and Alexa.
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Naming Emotions
Tue 24 Apr 2018
Michael Rosen talks to Tiffany Watt Smith about the words we use to describe our emotions.
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Not My Type
Tue 17 Apr 2018
How do fonts change the meaning of a message? Michael Rosen is joined by Sarah Hyndman.
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Words Apart
Tue 10 Apr 2018
Michael Rosen asks if we are living through a crisis of language in public debate.
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Haggard Hawks
Tue 20 Feb 2018
Michael Rosen is joined by Paul Anthony Jones of popular etymology blog Haggard Hawks.
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Language and Gender Identity
Tue 13 Feb 2018
Michael Rosen talks language and gender identity with CN Lester, author of Trans Like Me.
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Best wishes, kind regards or none of the above?
Tue 30 Jan 2018
Best wishes or kind regards? What is the new etiquette for written communication?
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Michael Gets Voice Training
Tue 23 Jan 2018
Vocal coaches Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher give Michael Rosen a thorough workout.
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Hello! Is it me you're looking for? - The art of greetings
Tue 16 Jan 2018
Michael Rosen and Laura Wright start a new series with hellos and greetings.
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Language and Our Genes with Dr Steve Jones
Tue 17 Oct 2017
Michael Rosen talks to Steve Jones about language and our genes.
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Wild Words
Tue 10 Oct 2017
Robert Macfarlane tells Michael Rosen about his 'word-hoard' of endangered nature words.
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Autism and Communication
Tue 3 Oct 2017
Michael Rosen finds out what can be learnt about communication from people with autism.
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.
