Full episodes and podcasts of A Way with Words

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Mystery Drawer (episode #1555)

Posted by Grant Barrett on October 12, 2020 · Add Comment

Deviled Eggs (episode #1554)

Posted by Grant Barrett on September 14, 2020 · Add Comment

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Play It by Ear (episode #1553)

Posted by Grant Barrett on August 31, 2020 · Add Comment

How does social context shape our perception of language? When hiking the Appalachian Trail, a young woman from Wyoming found that fellow hikers assumed she was from another country, not only because of how she spoke, but also how she looked. Sometimes our perception of other people’s accents have more to do with social context [...]
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Moon Palace (episode #1552)

Posted by Grant Barrett on August 17, 2020 · Add Comment

What happens in a classroom of refugee and immigrant youngsters learning English? Their fresh approach to language can result in remarkable poetry — some of which is collected in the anthology England: Poems from a School. Also, new language among healthcare professionals: the term cohorting describes the act of grouping patients with COVID-19 in designated [...]
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Cherry Bombs (episode #1551)

Posted by Grant Barrett on July 27, 2020 · Add Comment

An ornithologist says there’s a growing movement to change the name of a pink-footed bird currently called the flesh-footed shearwater. The movement reflects a growing understanding that using flesh-colored for “pink” fails to acknowledge the full range of human skin color. Plus, is hooligan an anti-Irish slur? Some people might perceive it that way, but [...]
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Queen Bee (episode #1550)

Posted by Grant Barrett on July 13, 2020 · Add Comment

An artist asks strangers to write haiku about the pandemic and gets back poetic, poignant glimpses of life under lockdown. Plus, the new book Queenspotting features the colorful language of beekeeping! Bees tell each other about a good source of nectar by doing a waggle dance, and when a queen bee is ready to mate, [...]
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Here you’ll find full episodes of public radio’s A Way with Words, heard on NPR stations around the United States. Looking for something you heard on the show? Try the search page.

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