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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Disaster Dialogue
Thu 16 May 2024
Professor Lucy Easthope explains why language is important in the aftermath of a disaster.
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How to Think Like an Anthropologist, with Gillian Tett
Tue 20 Feb 2024
Michael Rosen is joined by Gillian Tett, columnist at the Financial Times.
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Family Sayings
Tue 13 Feb 2024
Michael shares listeners' stories about words and phrases passed down through families.
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Are you different in another language?
Tue 6 Feb 2024
Can speaking another language change your behaviour, your decisions, even your morals?
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Unequal English
Tue 30 Jan 2024
Michael Rosen is joined by Ruanni Tupas to discuss English from around the world.
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Words for Sale!
Tue 23 Jan 2024
Dr Pip Thornton and Michael Rosen explore how language has become an online commodity.
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Therapy Speak
Tue 15 Aug 2023
Susie Orbach talks to Michael Rosen about the use and misuse of 'therapy speak'.
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Fandom
Tue 8 Aug 2023
Michael Bond talks to Michael Rosen about the ways in which fans talk to each other.
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The stories behind our names
Tue 1 Aug 2023
Michael talks to Sheela Banerjee about the family and cultural histories revealed by names
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Audio description: putting art into words
Tue 25 Jul 2023
Audio describer Lonny Evans and trainer Terry James talk about how to describe art.
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Interpreting Presidents Putin and Zelensky
Tue 18 Jul 2023
An insight into the world of a simultaneous interpreter.
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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.
Explore the OU鈥檚 Cultural Idioms Guide
Explore how some cultural idioms entered the English Language.
Idioms Quiz
Explore why languages have idioms with The Open University鈥檚 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 鈥� how to communicate better online
We need to find new ways of talking to each other 鈥渧irtually鈥�.
Coinages that changed the world 鈥� and some that tried to...
Exploring the hidden histories of obscure words, and common buzz phrases.
Ittibitium, borborygmus, and Ba humbugi 鈥� 14 wonderful science words you鈥檝e 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.
