Booksmart Studios

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Channel • 2 Shows

Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Updated weekly
Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Updated weekly

13/12/2016

What "The Wizard of Oz" Can Tell Us About "Arrival"

In Arrival, Amy Adams plays a linguist who discovers that language can radically alter a person’s sense of reality. Can it actually? X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

13/12/2016

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30 min
13/10/2020

Sergeant, Corporal, Colonel

The peculiar language of our military ranks. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

13/10/2020

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40 min
15/09/2025

It's Been a Minute

Returning as the primary hosts of Lexicon Valley, Mike Vuolo and Bob Garfield speak to John McWhorter about understatement and hyperbole in Black English. Visit Lexicon Valley. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 279: "It's Been a Minute." With Bob Garfield, John McWhorter, and Mike Vuolo. Edited by Mike Vuolo. Produced by Livia Bloom Ingram. All rights reserved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15/09/2025

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24 min
02/07/2012

Then Is Now, Now and Then

The narrative mastery of Seinfeld's Kramer: talking about the past in the present tense. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

02/07/2012

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32 min
29/12/2014

Exposure to Vape Culture

Editors at Merriam-Webster, Oxford University Press, Dictionary.com and Wordnik discuss their rationale for choosing the one word that best represents 2014. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

29/12/2014

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52 min
17/01/2013

The Fawth Flaw

A classic study about R-dropping in Manhattan department stores and so-called "prestige borrowing." X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17/01/2013

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24 min
02/12/2025

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. Visit Lexicon Valley. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 283: "6 7: Everything You Don't Know About the Word of the Year." With Bob Garfield, Mike Pesca, and Mike Vuolo. Edited by Mike Vuolo. Produced by Livia Bloom Ingram. Special thanks to Michelle Hunter Pesca. All rights reserved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

02/12/2025

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18 min
28/07/2021

English Has a Bee in Its Bonnet

Not all languages lend themselves to spelling competitions. Plus: A special subscriber-only bonus segment — get them all by becoming a paying subscriber to Lexicon Valley. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 218: "English Has a Bee in Its Bonnet." With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

28/07/2021

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41 min
08/11/2024 · BONUS • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

Occupy!

Occupied, like the word busy we discussed in the previous episode, has an interesting — and at times sordid — past. John explains. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Bonus: "Occupy!" With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved.

08/11/2024 · Bonus

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5 min
07/09/2022 · BONUS • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

Sullen, Secure & Sober

Self, solo and even those idio- words — like idiosyncratic and idiolect — all derive from the same ancient root. Oh, and words like ethnic and ethic too. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Bonus: "Sullen, Secure & Sober." With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved.

07/09/2022 · Bonus

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4 min

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

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SOCIETY & CULTURE

Exploring the power of language to inform and misinform. Podcast by Mike Vuolo, Bob Garfield and John McWhorter. If you haven’t yet, please consider a paid subscription to Lexicon Valley. Visit BooksmartStudios.com!

Website

Booksmart Studios

Ad free and exclusive episodes from Lexicon Valley

Top Shows

What "The Wizard of Oz" Can Tell Us About "Arrival"

Sergeant, Corporal, Colonel

It's Been a Minute

Then Is Now, Now and Then

Exposure to Vape Culture

The Fawth Flaw

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

English Has a Bee in Its Bonnet

Occupy!

Sullen, Secure & Sober

Ad free and exclusive episodes from Lexicon Valley

Occupy!

Sullen, Secure & Sober

From Grunts to Special Grunts

English Is Hard Enough Without Antiquated Distinctions

Ghost Town

Four Calling Birds? Not Exactly.

In a Hot Minute

23,000 Year Old Footprints Help Solve a Vexing Linguistic Riddle

In Language, Context Is King

I Got Beat

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