Best Humanities Education Podcasts (2024)

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Pinking Shears - 8 July 2024 53:45

4d ago53:45

53:45

When you’re distracted by trying to get the perfect photo at a wedding or fiddling with your camera during a solar eclipse, you’re missing out on some of the experience itself. There’s a term for this: It’s called overshadowing. Plus one of Lionel Hampton’s old bandmates recalls hearing him greet fellow musicians with “How you doing, gates?” It may…

1
Baby Blues (Rebroadcast) - 1 July 2024 53:45

11d ago53:45

53:45

A hundred years ago, suffragists lobbied to win women the right to vote. Linguistically speaking, though, suffrage isn’t about “suffering.” It’s from a Latin word that involves voting. Plus: military cadences often include Jody calls, rhyming verses about the mythical guy who steals your sweetheart while you’re off serving the country. But just who…

1
Episode 177: Dressed for Success 1:24:52

16d ago1:24:52

1:24:52

In this episode, we look at clothing and fashion in the Elizabethan era, and we examine the connection between clothing, custom and language. We also examine Shakespeare’s plays about the lives of Julius Caesar and Henry V of England. Along the way, we also explore how Elizabethan clothing conventions influenced the structure and presentation of th…

1
Sleeve Island - 24 June 2024 53:45

18d ago53:45

53:45

Language from inside a monastery. A Benedictine monk in the Episcopal Church shares terms from his world: For example, corporate prayer refers to praying as a group. And did you know there’s a term of art for those annoying add-on costs when you buy tickets online? It’s called drip pricing. Plus: Why do we hear the word Perfect! when we’ve answered…

1
Walkie Talkie (Rebroadcast) - 17 June 2024 53:45

25d ago53:45

53:45

One of the most powerful words you’ll ever hear — and one of the most poignant — isn’t in dictionaries yet. But it probably will be one day. The word is endling, and it means “the last surviving member of a species.” The surprising story behind this word includes a doctor in a Georgia convalescent center, a museum exhibit in Australia, the Tasmania…

1
Tiger Tail (Rebroadcast) - 10 June 2024 53:45

1M ago53:45

53:45

You may have a favorite word in English, but what about your favorite in another language? The Spanish term ojalá is especially handy for expressing hopefulness and derives from Arabic for “God willing.” In Trinidad, if you want to ask friends to hang out with you, invite them to go liming. Nobody’s sure about this word’s origin, although it may in…

1
Clever Clogs (Rebroadcast) - 3 June 2024 53:45

1M ago53:45

53:45

Ribbon fall. Gallery forest. You won’t find terms like these in most dictionaries, but they and hundreds like them are discussed by famous writers in the book Home Ground: A Guide to the American Landscape. The book is an intriguing collection of specialized vocabulary that invites us to look more closely at the natural world — and delight in its l…

1
Bug in Your Ear (Rebroadcast) - 27 May 2024 53:45

2M ago53:45

53:45

Is there something inherent in English that makes it the linguistic equivalent of the Borg, dominating and consuming other languages in its path? No, not at all. The answer lies with politics and conquest rather than language itself. Plus: a new baby may be lovingly placed in a giraffe and spend time in the Panda room, but where is that? And: it’s …

3251
The Black Dog (Rebroadcast) - 20 May 2024 53:45

2M ago53:45

53:45

Books were rare treasures in the Middle Ages, painstakingly copied out by hand. So how to protect them from theft? Scribes sometimes added a curse to the first page of those books that was supposed to keep thieves away — and some were as vicious as they were creative! Also: if you spot a typo in a published book, should you contact the publisher? M…

1
Animal Crackers - 13 May 2024 53:45

2M ago53:45

53:45

Images of birds flutter inside lots of English words and phrases, from “nest egg” and “pecking order,” to proverbs from around the world—including a lovely Spanish saying about how birds sense light just before dawn. Plus, how do you define “fun”? Outdoor enthusiasts divide fun into three distinct categories, the last of which is something you’ve t…

1
Episode 176: All the World’s a Playhouse 1:19:37

2M ago1:19:37

1:19:37

Theaters were an important part of cultural life in Elizabethan England, and they contributed many words to the English language. Those words joined thousands of other words that were pouring into English from around the world. In this episode, we look at how distant cultures were contributing to the growth of English and how Shakespeare’s acting c…

1
Beside Myself (Rebroadcast) - 6 May 2024 53:45

2M ago53:45

53:45

The new Downton Abbey movie is a luscious treat for fans of the public-television period piece, but how accurate is the script when it comes to the vocabulary of the early 20th century? It may be jarring to hear the word swag, but it was already at least 100 years old. And no, it’s not an acronym. Also, a historian of science sets out to write a bo…

1
Skookum (Rebroadcast) - 29 April 2024 53:45

3M ago53:45

53:45

So you’ve long dreamed of writing fiction, but don’t know where to begin? There are lots of ways to get started — creative writing classes, local writing groups, and books with prompts to get you going. The key is to get started, and then stick with it. And: which part of the body do surgeons call the goose? Hint: you don’t want a bite of chicken c…

1
Electric Soup - 22 April 2024 53:45

3M ago53:45

53:45

When an international team of scientists traveled to a research station in Antarctica for six months, the language they all shared was English. After six months together, their accents changed ever so slightly — a miniature version of how language evolves over time. Plus, the esoteric lingo from another rarefied environment: the world of contempora…

1
Life of Riley (Rebroadcast) - 15 April 2024 53:45

3M ago53:45

53:45

Unwrap the name of a candy bar, and you just might find a story inside. For instance, one chewy treat found in many a checkout lane is named after a family’s beloved horse. And: 50 years ago in the United States, some Latino elementary students were made to adopt English versions of their own names and forbidden to speak Spanish. The idea was to he…

1
Blue Dolphin - 8 April 2024 53:45

3M ago53:45

53:45

How can you kick the verbal habit of saying you know and um so many times in a sentence? For one thing, get comfortable with pauses. There’s no need to fill every silence during a conversation. Also, a doctor who treats patients in Appalachia shares their colorful vocabulary. If you have a rising in your leader or a misery in your jaw, you may want…

1
Off the Turnip Truck (Rebroadcast) - 1 April 2024 53:45

3M ago53:45

53:45

It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when people disagreed over the best word to use when answering the phone. Alexander Graham Bell suggested answering with ahoy! but Thomas Edison was partial to hello! A fascinating new book about internet language says this disagreement is worth remembering when we talk about how greetings are evolving…

1
Episode 175: The English of Romeo and Juliet 1:32:35

4M ago1:32:35

1:32:35

Romeo and Juliet is one of William Shakespeare’s most popular plays and one of the most popular plays ever written. In this episode, we examine the language of the play to see how it reflects the English of Elizabethan England, and we identify evidence of emerging pronunciations that would become common over the following centuries. TRANSCRIPT: EPI…

1
Gilded Age - 25 March 2024 53:45

4M ago53:45

53:45

In her sumptuous new memoir, Jamaican writer Safiya Sinclair describes her escape from a difficult childhood ruled by her tyrannical father. For Sinclair, poetry became a lifeline. Plus: that fizzy chocolate drink called an egg cream contains neither eggs nor cream — but why? And what do you call a cute dimple in someone’s chin? A listener calls it…

1
Loaded For Bear (Rebroadcast) - 18 March 2024 53:45

4M ago53:45

53:45

One way to make your new business look trendy is to use two nouns separated by an ampersand, like Peach & Creature or Rainstorm & Egg or … just about any other two-word combination. A tongue-in-cheek website will generate names like that for you. And: In the traditions of several African countries, names for babies are often inspired by conditions …

1
Bronx Cheer - 11 March 2024 53:45

4M ago53:45

53:45

What’s the best thing to say to someone who is grieving? Choosing the right words is far less important than just showing up. Also, a family from Russia shares their recipe for something they call hot tamales, that are very un-Mexican. And: if someone’s trying to be philosophical about a situation, they might say sometimes you eat the bear, sometim…

1
Mrs. Astor's Horse (Rebroadcast) - 4 March 2024 53:45

4M ago53:45

53:45

“What has a head like a cat, feet like a cat, a tail like a cat, but isn’t a cat?” Answer: a kitten! A 1948 children’s joke book has lots of these to share with kids. Plus: an easy explanation for the difference between immigrate with an i, and emigrate with an e. And: The ancient Greeks revered storks for the way they cared for each other. They ev…

1
Ghost Runner - 26 February 2024 53:45

5M ago53:45

53:45

In Japan, if you want to order a corndog, you ask for an Amerikan doggu (アメリカンドッグ). These types of coinages are called wasei-eigo , or “Japanese-made English,” and there are lots of them. Plus, there’s an atmospheric optical phenomenon that looks somewhat like the aurora borealis, but has a much friendlier name. Scientists refer to these ribbons of…

1
At First Blush (Rebroadcast) - 19 February 2024 53:45

5M ago53:45

53:45

Book recommendations and the art of apology. Martha and Grant share some good reads, including an opinionated romp through English grammar, a Spanish-language adventure novel, an account of 19th-century dictionary wars, and a gorgeously illustrated book of letters to young readers. Plus, what’s the best language for conveying a heartfelt apology? I…

1
Sweet Spot - 12 February 2024 53:45

5M ago53:45

53:45

If you’re in a book club, how do you decide what books to read? There are lots of different ways, depending on your group’s goals. And is it ever wise to correct someone who mispronounces a word? Sometimes you have to decide if it’s better to be right–or simply get along. Plus, some research suggests that when presented with photos from nature, hum…

1
Episode 174: Speak and Spell 1:28:54

5M ago1:28:54

1:28:54

English spelling largely reflects the state of the language in the late 1500s. In this episode, we look at one of the first English spelling books, and we explore several plays by William Shakespeare to examine the way he rhymed words. We also explore the way modern spellings reflect the pronunciation of words during the Elizabethan period. Works d…

1
Gift Horse (Rebroadcast) - 5 February 2024 53:45

5M ago53:45

53:45

The edge of the Grand Canyon. A remote mountaintop. A medieval cathedral. Some places are so mystical you feel like you’re close to another dimension of space and time. There’s a term for such locales: thin places. And: did you ever go tick-tacking a few nights before Halloween? It’s pranks like tapping ominously on windows without being caught or …

1
Had the Radish (Rebroadcast) - 29 January 2024 53:45

6M ago53:45

53:45

Your first name is very personal, but what if you don’t like it? For some people, changing their name works out great but for others it may create more problems than it solves. And: at least three towns in the U.S. were christened with names formed by spelling a word backward. There’s a name for such names: they’re called ananyms. Plus, the Iowa to…

1
Orange Pigs - 22 January 2024 53:45

6M ago53:45

53:45

What do you call a segment of an orange? These juicy pieces of fruit go by lots of different names, including section, wedge, and carpel. But they’re also called pegs or even pigs! The stringy parts of a banana also have a surprising name. Also, we need a word to describe that productive period of wakefulness in the middle of the night before falli…

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Abso-Bloomin-Lutely (Rebroadcast) - 15 January 2024 53:45

6M ago53:45

53:45

The autocomplete function on your phone comes in handy, of course. But is it changing the way we write and how linguists study language? Also, suppose you could invite any two authors, living or dead, to dinner. Who's on your guest list and why? Plus, anchors aweigh! The slang of sailors includes the kind of BOSS you'd better dodge, a barn you sail…

1
Niblings and Nieflings (Rebroadcast) - 8 January 2024 53:45

6M ago53:45

53:45

How do actors bring Shakespeare’s lines to life so that modern audiences immediately understand the text? One way is to emphasize the names of people and places at certain points. That technique is called billboarding. And: Anyone for an alphabet game? A pangram is a sentence that uses every letter of the alphabet at least once. There’s the one abo…

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Episode 173: Fooling Around 1:24:54

6M ago1:24:54

1:24:54

In this episode, we look at the development of English comedy in the early modern era. We examine some of William Shakespeare’s early comedies, and we also distinguish Shakespearean comedy from other types of comedic performances which had been popular for centuries. We also look to Italy to see how developments in literature and drama there had an…

1
Book Moth - 1 January 2024 53:45

6M ago53:45

53:45

If you skip wearing underwear, you’re said to be going commando. This bit of slang originated during the Vietnam War, when U.S. commandos had compelling reasons to do without that particular piece of clothing. Plus, Watergate salad is a mixture of pistachio pudding with whipped cream and pineapple. This dish was popularized in the 1970s, but what d…

1
Kite in a Phonebooth (Rebroadcast) - 25 December 2023 53:45

7M ago53:45

53:45

Stunt performers in movies have their own jargon for talking about their dangerous work. In New York City, the slang term brick means “cold,” and dumb brick means “really cold.” Plus: the East and Central African tradition that distinguishes between ancestors who remain alive in living memory and those who have receded into the vast ocean of histor…

1
Takes All Kinds - 18 December 2023 53:45

7M ago53:45

53:45

Crossword puzzles are a marvelous mental workout. A delightful new book about them shares plenty of crossword lore and puzzle-solving tips. Also, performers who tell each other break a leg aren’t really hoping someone gets hurt. The phrase stems from an old superstition that involves saying the opposite of what you really wish. And: is conversate a…

1
Strawberry Moon (Rebroadcast) - 11 December 2023 53:45

7M ago53:45

53:45

We asked for your thoughts about whether cursive writing should be taught in schools — and many of you replied with a resounding "Yes!" You said cursive helps develop fine motor skills, improves mental focus, and lets you read old handtoodlewritten letters and other documents. Also in this episode: finding your way to a more nuanced understanding o…

1
Highway Robbery - 4 December 2023 53:45

7M ago53:45

53:45

Secret signals on the job: Waitresses at some 19th-century restaurants ensured speedy drink service by communicating with a non-verbal code. One server took orders, then placed each customer's cup to indicate exactly what the customer wanted. A second server could then whisk right in and serve the right beverage without asking. Also, the term highw…

1
Spill the Tea (Rebroadcast) - 27 November 2023 53:45

8M ago53:45

53:45

If someone urges you to spill the tea, they probably don’t want you tipping over a hot beverage. Originally, the tea here was the letter T, as in “truth.” To spill the T means to “pass along truthful information.” Plus, we’re serving up some delicious Italian idioms involving food. The Italian phrase that literally translates “eat the soup or jump …

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Episode 172: Succession 1:34:37

8M ago1:34:37

1:34:37

In this episode, we explore the concept of a successful succession. During the early 1590s, France was divided by a bitter conflict over the succession of Henry of Navarre to the French throne. Meanwhile, William Shakespeare wrote a couple of plays that appear to make reference to the events in France. He also composed other plays that dealt with t…

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Dirty Laundry (Rebroadcast) - 20 November 2023 53:45

8M ago53:45

53:45

When you had sleepovers as a child, what did you call the makeshift beds you made on the floor? In some places, you call those bedclothes and blankets a pallet. This word comes from an old term for “straw.” And: What’s the story behind the bedtime admonition “Sleep tight, and don’t let the bedbugs bite”? Plus, when grownups are talking about sex or…

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Strong Coffee - 13 November 2023 53:45

8M ago53:45

53:45

During the late 19th and early 20th century, thousands of volunteers helped crowdsource the Oxford English Dictionary. This venerable reference work includes citations sent in by inventors, eccentrics, scientists and educators, an Arctic explorer–even the owner of the world’s largest collection of pornography. A lively new book tells their stories.…

1
Keep Your Powder Dry (Rebroadcast) - 6 November 2023 53:45

8M ago53:45

53:45

Jacuzzi and silhouette are eponyms — that is, they derive from the names of people. An Italian immigrant to California invented the bubbly hot tub called a jacuzzi. And the word silhouette commemorates a penny-pinching treasury secretary who lasted only a few months in office and was associated with these shadow portraits. Also, if the words strubb…

1
One-Armed Paper Hanger (Rebroadcast) - 30 October 2023 53:45

9M ago53:45

53:45

The emotional appeal of handwriting and the emotional reveal of animal phrases. Should children be taught cursive writing in school, or is their time better spent studying other things? A handwritten note and a typed one may use the very same words, but handwritten version may seem much more intimate. Plus, English is full of grisly expressions abo…

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Hair on Your Tongue (Rebroadcast) - 23 October 2023 53:45

9M ago53:45

53:45

If you speak both German and Spanish, you may find yourself reaching for a German word instead of a Spanish one, and vice versa. This puzzling experience is so common among polyglots that linguists have a name for it. • The best writers create luscious, long sentences using the same principles that make for a musician’s melodious phrasing or a tigh…

1
Train of Thought (Rebroadcast) - 16 October 2023 53:45

9M ago53:45

53:45

Chances are you recognize the expressions Judgment Day and root of all evil as phrases from the Bible. There are many others, such as the powers that be and bottomless pit, which both first appeared in scripture. • There’s a term for when the language of a minority is adopted by the majority. When, for example, expressions from drag culture and hip…

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Episode 171: Shakespeare’s English (featuring Ben Crystal) 1:06:55

9M ago1:06:55

1:06:55

In this episode, we turn our attention to the wordcraft of William Shakespeare. Today, many people have mixed opinions about his plays and poems. They know that he is widely regarded as the greatest English writer of all time, but they struggle with his language. This time, we explore what makes Shakespeare’s use of the English language so unique a…

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Space Cadet (Rebroadcast) - 9 October 2023 53:45

9M ago53:45

53:45

We have books for language-lovers and recommendations for history buffs. • How did the word boondoggle come to denote a wasteful project? The answer involves the Boy Scouts, a baby, a craft project, and a city council meeting. • Instead of reversing just individual letters, some palindromes are sentences with reversed word order. • Also squeaky cle…

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Howling Fantods (Rebroadcast) - 2 October 2023 53:45

10M ago53:45

53:45

Are there words and phrases that you misunderstood for an embarrassingly long time? Maybe you thought that money laundering literally meant washing drug-laced dollar bills, or that AM radio stations only broadcast in the morning? • A moving new memoir by Kansas writer Sarah Smarsh touches on the connection between vocabulary and class. • The invent…

1
Pizza Bones - 25 September 2023 53:45

10M ago53:45

53:45

If your last name is Cook or Smith, your ancestors probably worked in those professions. But what if your last name is Pope? Or Abbott? And if you have enough food for Coxey’s army, you have more than enough to go around. The phrase refers to protesters marching on Washington more than a century ago. Plus, some people say pizza bones are the best p…

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Bottled Sunshine (Rebroadcast) - 18 September 2023 53:45

10M ago53:45

53:45

If you catch your blue jeans on a nail, you may find yourself with a winklehawk. This term, adapted into English from Dutch, means “an L-shaped tear in a piece of fabric.” And: What’s your relationship with the books on your shelves? Do the ones you haven’t read yet make you feel guilty — or inspired? Plus, we’re all used to fairy tales that start …

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