Word Bomb

TVO
Word Bomb

Language moves fast and Word Bomb is here to help. Unpacking one explosive word per week, hosts Pippa Johnstone and Karina Palmitesta talk to experts and dive deep into lived experiences to share stories the dictionary doesn't tell you.

  1. 12/09/2021

    It's time to reevaluate resilience

    Well into the second year of the pandemic, is "resilience" really what we need to be cultivating? Pippa and Karina are joined by Julie S. Lalonde, a women's rights advocate and author of the memoir "Resilience Is Futile." Together they tackle the trap of resilience, and why it shouldn't be doing all the heavy lifting in the face of real systemic problems. They also touch on disaster studies, brain plasticity, and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    21 min

  2. 12/02/2021

    Is our culture getting more culty?

    What sets a cult apart from a religion? Is it a harmless groupthink, or something much darker? And why are cults having such a moment right now, from pop culture to politics? Pippa and Karina drink the Kool-Aid and venture deep into wild, wild country with the help of Marianne Boucher, author of the graphic novel 'Talking to Strangers: A Memoir of My Escape from a Cult.'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    22 min

  3. 11/25/2021

    Deaf or deaf? Capitalizing a community

    What a difference capitalization makes: Pippa and Karina dive into the hotly debated and deeply personal terminology around being Deaf/deaf. They're joined by deaf podcaster Caroline Mincks to break down the spectrum and diversity of the deaf and hard-of-hearing experience, and why words matter when labeling members of this community. Along the way, they touch on the cochlear implant debate, sign language, person-first language, and "deaf gain." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    23 min

  4. 11/18/2021

    Sorry, we're at capacity

    When and how do we decide that someone can't make their own decisions? As the "grey wave" of aging baby boomers approaches, ,capacity, has become an all-important metric. Pippa and Karina speak to Laura Tamblyn Watts, the CEO of seniors' advocacy organization CanAge, to break down mental capacity assessments for seniors, as well as the capacity of our health care system.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    26 min

  5. 11/11/2021

    Don't you know that you're toxic?

    From relationships, to workplaces, to masculinity, "toxic" is a label we've embraced enthusiastically for the last few years. Pippa and Karina trace this overused metaphor from a 1980s fringe men's movement all the way to the Britney song we know and love.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    14 min

  6. 11/04/2021

    Defining the mission of abolition

    The abolition movement has hit the mainstream, and calls to disarm, defund, and dismantle the system as we know it have never been louder. Rinaldo Walcott, author of "On Property," joins Pippa and Karina to imagine a world without police or prisons, discuss the problem of property, and decode the language of reform.Rinaldo Walcott is the director of the Women and Gender Studies Institute at the University of Toronto and the author of "On Property" (Biblioasis, 2021).If you're interested in reading more on the topic of abolition, Rinaldo's recommended booklist includes, "We Do This 'til We Free Us," by Mariame Kaba; Golden Gulag by Ruth Wilson Gilmore; and "Are Prisons Obsolete?" by Angela Davis.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    23 min

  7. 10/28/2021

    Homing in on houselessness

    Amid an affordable housing crisis, the language around homelessness is changing - but is it helping? With insights from housing activist Lorraine Lam and Toronto Drop-in Network coordinator Diana Chan McNally, Pippa and Karina track the rise of alternatives such as "unhoused," and break down the spectrum of homelessness and housing precarity. Thank you to our guests Diana Chan McNally, a training and engagement coordinator at the Toronto Drop-In Network, and Lorraine Lam, who is a housing activist and outreach worker at Sanctuary TO. If you’re interested in the Canadian-specific definition of homelessness, the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness has broken it down into four main typologies: unsheltered, emergency sheltered, provisionally accommodated, and at risk. They also have a separate definition for Indigenous homelessness in Canada. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    22 min

  8. 10/21/2021

    We're simps for semantics

    Pippa and Karina embark on a totally hard-hitting investigation into the past, present, and future of the word "simp," from 1970s hip-hop to 1990s rap to Tiktok. With its overtones of misogyny, toxic masculinity, and homophobia, this of-the-moment insult takes them back into the territory of Nice Guys and the "manosphere." Where did simping get its start? And might there be a chance for a rare redemption arc? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    17 min
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    4.9
    out of 5
    9 Ratings

    About

    Language moves fast and Word Bomb is here to help. Unpacking one explosive word per week, hosts Pippa Johnstone and Karina Palmitesta talk to experts and dive deep into lived experiences to share stories the dictionary doesn't tell you.

    Information

    • Creator
      TVO
    • Years Active
      2018 - 2021
    • Episodes
      41
    • Rating
      Clean
    • Copyright
      © 2025 TVO
    • Show Website
      Word Bomb

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