You're Saying It Wrong
by KMUW
Political Rhetoric
About this podcast
From KMUW Studios and part of the NPR Podcast Network, You're Saying It Wrong is a podcast that looks at what we get wrong—and what we sometimes get right—when it comes to this English language. Hosted by KMUW's Fletcher Powell, each episode features a conversation with the sister and brother who wrote the book on it. Literally. You're Saying It Wrong: A Pronunciation Guide to the 150 Most Commonly Mispronounced Words and Their Tangled Histories of Misuse is by Kathryn Petras and Ross Petras.On June 24, 2022, You’re Saying It Wrong received first place in Division B for Interview Podcasts from the Public Media Journalists Association. The awards recognize the best work in public media journalism from across the country.You're Saying It Wrong is available to public radio stations through PRX.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 200 episodes
- Political Rhetoric · 35 minJust in time for the spoookiest day of the year (Election Day), we take a look at the ways politicians talk to us and try to win us to their side. We look at axiology in…
- Spooky Differences · 31 minWe talk about one of the scariest of things: words that seem like they should mean the same thing but actually don't. Is a hobgoblin just a fancy goblin? What's the difference…
- Fall! Autumn! Fall! Autumn! · 32 minWe look at the origins of some fall-related and autumn-related words. Which, to be clear, are the same thing.
- Pragmatics! · 33 minWe're talking about how we understand each other even when we're using techniques we don't realize we're using, and how we work together to communicate. We'll dive into Grice's…
- Insults 2: Return of the Clunch · 30 minWe continue our look into the etymologies of various (mild) insults, including the origins of rube, bum, schmuck, and dweeb. (You're none of these things, don't worry, we love…
- Insults: The Blah-Blahs Are at the Gate · 35 minWe look at the etymologies of various insults throughout history, including the origins of barbarian, brat, dunce, and fool.
- Sh-sh-sh-shibboleths · 37 minBe careful how you say these words! It could be a matter of life and death.
- Yep, still different · 34 minWe gaze again into the ocean of difference between American English and British English.
- Red Flags · 36 minSometimes you read something that makes you throw the book against the wall, never to pick it up again.
- Canadian English [ENCORE] · 29 minWe've tackled the differences between American and British English, but let's not forget Canadians also have a language of their own.
- Back to School! · 39 minKathy and Ross throw Fletcher a devil of a grammar quiz as we all get set for back-to-school season.
- Mailbag Day! · 33 minWe answer some of your most burning questions as we take a dip into the ol' mailbag.
- An (ahem) Odyssey Through Ancient Greek · 33 minFor no reason whatsoever, we look at some words that come from Homer's famous tale and Ancient Greek more generally.
- It's Summertime, and the Etymology is... Questionable [ENCORE] · 29 minWe'll look at the surprising origins of some common summer-related words, phrases, and idioms.
- Heading Down South · 29 minWe take a road trip to the U.S. South to look at some place names that have some pretty surprising pronunciations. Bless our hearts (in a good way)!
- Technically Speaking · 30 minWe take another shot at figuring out what's good and bad about the technical uses of common words.
- Getting Your House in Order · 30 minWe look at the confusing, but surprisingly intuitive, world of adjective and adverb order and how we can know what we're doing without knowing what we're doing.
- Technical Difficulties · 34 minThis week, we look at the (sometimes huge) differences between the technical, specialized definitions of words, and what they mean to everybody else.
- Congrats, Grads! · 32 minSchool's out, so we're celebrating all the new graduates by looking at the backgrounds of some graduation-related words.
