Do people call you by a nickname without asking? A caller named Elizabeth is baffled when people she’s just met insist on calling her Liz. This is part of a complete episode.
A gracious good morning to you! In this week's archive episode, we savor the pleasure of reading poetry aloud -- specifically the poems in "Essential Pleasures," the recent anthology of ear-pleasing poems gathered by U.S...
Hi from Martha and Grant! In our latest show, we talk about games that first made us realize that goofing with words and letters is fun. Martha recalls discovering the "F U N E X" word puzzle and Grant describes doing anagrams and...
gayby n.— «In 1994, Daddy Dave and Daddy Bob prepared 5-year-old Elizabeth Wall for the first day of kindergarten in New Jersey, meeting with the principal in advance to ease her transition as the daughter of two gay men. […] Wall...
eatertain v.— «Kessler spends a lot of time meeting with (often anonymous) consultants who describe how they are trying to fashion products that offer what’s become known in the food industry as “eatertainment.” Fat, sugar, and salt turn...
unison calling n.— «The breeding adults are noisiest now during the mating ritual, when pairs are engaged in what is known as “unison calling.” They throw their heads back and unleash a stream of songs and rattles, turning...