Lexicon Valley

Booksmart Studios

A podcast about language, with hosts Mike Vuolo, Bob Garfield and John McWhorter.

  1. 3D AGO

    Playing the Angles

    What does St. John the Apostle have in common with Bernie Bernbaum, the sniveling grifter from Miller's Crossing? Angling! X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    25 min

  2. FEB 3

    You Get the Gist

    During an appearance on The Gist with Mike Pesca, we discussed the curious backstory of, you guessed it, the word gist. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    13 min

  3. JAN 20

    Derek Guy on the Language of Clothing

    A prolific writer on men's fashion, Guy discusses the vocabulary of outerwear and why dress is a form of social language. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    20 min

  4. JAN 6

    McWhorter vs. McWhorter

    The world was shocked by a controversial article published by "John McWhorter." Here, he sets the record straight. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    30 min

  5. 2025-12-30

    A Toast to Toast

    Raise a glass to browned bread ... now you're toast! X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    30 min

  6. 2025-12-23

    All the Rage Bait

    Oxford English Dictionary editor Fiona McPherson talks to Mike Vuolo about the terms that caught her attention in 2025. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    17 min

  7. 2025-12-09

    The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

    Author John Koenig talks about inventing words for those subtle emotions that hitherto had no name. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    27 min

  8. 2025-12-02

    6 7: Everything You Don't Know About the Word of the Year

    Mike Vuolo and Bob Garfield join Mike Pesca of The Gist to talk about the long, strange journey of 6 7, from rapper Skrilla to the basketball court, from the classroom to the Word of the Year. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    18 min
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4.7
out of 5
50 Ratings

About

A podcast about language, with hosts Mike Vuolo, Bob Garfield and John McWhorter.

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