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Society & Culture

A Way with Words — language, linguistics, and callers from all over

A Way with Words

A fun weekly radio show about language seen through culture, history, and family. Co-hosts Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett talk with callers who have questions and stories about linguistic...

A Way with Words — language, linguistics, and callers from all over Podcast Guide

Listen to A Way with Words — language, linguistics, and callers from all over, a Society & Culture podcast by A Way with Words. Stream 976 episodes in English, follow new audio stories, and play episodes online on Radio and Podcast.

Show Topic

Browse this show under Society & Culture podcasts.

Episodes

20 episodes are loaded now from a catalog of 976. More episodes can be opened from this page.

Episodes

20 of 976 episodes

Hot Gossip (Rebroadcast) - 29 June 2026

Gossip goes by many names: the poop, the scoop, the lowdown, the dope, the scuttlebutt, the 411, the grapes, the gore, and hot tea. Plus, Jo...

53:45Jun 29, 2026

Flash in the Pan - 22 June 2026

It’s the ultimate road trip: A father and son retrace the journey of Odysseus and find a way to navigate their relationship. Plus, the story...

53:45Jun 22, 2026

Outer Space - 8 June 2026

A writer stumbles upon a tiny, motionless creature on a country road and, against all good advice, takes it home. The resulting memoir, Rais...

53:45Jun 8, 2026

Stub Your Toe (Rebroadcast) - 1 June 2026

Advice about college essays from the winner of a top prize for children’s literature: Kelly Barnhill encourages teens to write about experie...

53:45Jun 1, 2026

Match Game - 11 May 2026

Why do speakers of the same language have different accents? A lively new book called Why We Talk Funny offers a linguist’s look at how and...

53:45May 11, 2026

Touch Grass (Rebroadcast) - 4 May 2026

High school students in Alabama share some favorite slang terms. If someone tells you to touch grass, they’re telling you to get a reality c...

53:45May 4, 2026

Catch My Drift - 27 April 2026

If you work in tech support, you might use snarky slang for problems caused by computer users themselves. There’s the acronym PEBCAK, for ex...

53:45Apr 26, 2026

Funny Papers (Rebroadcast) - 20 April 2026

There are word nerds, and then there’s the woman who set up a folding chair on sidewalks throughout the country, cheerfully dispensing tips...

53:45Apr 20, 2026

Buttons on Ice Cream - 13 April 2026

How do dictionaries define colors? And why are some of those definitions so confusing, like “stronger than carmine” and “bluer than fiesta”?...

53:45Apr 13, 2026

Go Bananas (Rebroadcast) - 6 April 2026

A caller wonders if she’s being hypersensitive about the way her boss addresses her in emails. Can the use of an employee’s first name ever...

53:45Apr 6, 2026

Tip of the Iceberg - 23 March 2026

Why does the term vegetarian cause so much confusion? Some people assume it means avoiding red meat but still eating chicken. And is there a...

53:45Mar 23, 2026

Blue Streak (Rebroadcast) - 16 March 2026

How long can a newly married woman be called a bride? Does bride apply only as long as her wedding day, or does it extend right on through t...

53:45Mar 16, 2026

Color Me Surprised - 9 March 2026

Over the centuries, the meaning of happiness has traveled a long way. Today we speak of the pursuit of happiness, but it used to be that the...

53:45Mar 9, 2026

Turn on a Dime - 23 February 2026

Every subculture has its own secret lingo, whether you’re talking about surfers, cab drivers, or coffee-shop baristas. A new book uncovers t...

53:45Feb 23, 2026