Lexicon Valley
Lexicon Valley
A podcast about language, with hosts Mike Vuolo, Bob Garfield and John McWhorter.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 4, 2017 • 28min
Heyo, Let's Talk About Hamilton
John McWhorter talks to linguist Neal Whitman about the mash-up of hey and yo.
Twitter: @lexiconvalley
Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley
Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
Mar 21, 2017 • 29min
How Did Americans Talk a Hundred Years Ago?
More profane, parochial and provincial: John McWhorter time travels to 1930 and eavesdrops on American English.
Twitter: @lexiconvalley
Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley
Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
Feb 7, 2017 • 32min
Like, Why Do We Use Like So Much?
John McWhorter talks to sociolinguist Alexandra D'Arcy about the spike in our use of like.
Twitter: @lexiconvalley
Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley
Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
Jan 24, 2017 • 30min
What Had Happened Was Storytelling
John McWhorter discusses the subject of his new book, Talking Back, Talking Black: Truths About America's Lingua Franca.
Twitter: @lexiconvalley
Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley
Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
Jan 10, 2017 • 30min
Why We Stopped Teaching Children How to Read
Mark Seidenberg, author of Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can’t, and What Can Be Done About It, discusses the fallout from the so-called reading wars.
Twitter: @lexiconvalley
Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley
Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
Dec 27, 2016 • 25min
Away in a Penthouse, the Little Lord Jesus
When hath gave way to has, the original meaning of merry, and other insights from popular Christmas carols.
Twitter: @lexiconvalley
Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley
Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
Dec 13, 2016 • 27min
What "The Wizard of Oz" Can Tell Us About "Arrival"
In Arrival, Amy Adams plays a linguist who discovers that language can radically alter one's perception of reality. But is that true?
Twitter: @lexiconvalley
Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley
Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
Nov 29, 2016 • 31min
Black Like Us
Are the slang, sounds, and syntax of Black English a kind of lingua franca for America's youth?
Twitter: @lexiconvalley
Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley
Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
Nov 15, 2016 • 29min
Language Lessons of Past Presidents
What can we learn about English from Bill Clinton, the two Bushes, and other leaders of the free world?
Twitter: @lexiconvalley
Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley
Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
Nov 1, 2016 • 33min
How You Vanquished Ye, Thee, and Thou
Whither didst thou go? How our rich and complex system of second person pronouns got whittled down to just "you."
Twitter: @lexiconvalley
Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley
Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
