Booksmart Studios

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Channel • 2 Shows

Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Updated Biweekly
Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Updated Weekly

3D AGO

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

3d ago

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17 min
DEC 9

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

Dec 9

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25 min
DEC 2

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

Dec 2

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18 min
NOV 18

Gobbledygook Explained

Gobbledygook sounds like one of those words that somebody just made up — so is it? X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 18

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24 min
OCT 28

Gen Alpha Thinks You're Cringe

Our parents were cringe-inducing but we're just cringe. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValleylley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 28

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24 min
OCT 7

The Amazing Great

Good is no longer good enough. Everyone is awesome, superlative or just great. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 7

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20 min
SEP 15

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. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 15

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25 min
JUL 9

The American Accent Came First

What did English sound like during the Revolutionary War? John has a number of fascinating observations about the way the language was spoken back then — including the accents! X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 9

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34 min
SEP 4

Ask Not?

An interview with Richard Tofel about his book Sound the Trumpet: The Making of John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address, revealing the startling authorship behind JFK’s most famous words. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 4

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31 min
MAY 20

Oversleeping at the Sleepover

Over isn’t just the opposite of under and off is not necessarily the opposite of on. X: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 20

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29 min

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!

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