A Riotous Good Time with Ellen Jovin of the G...

1185. Today, we look at why English spelling is secretly optimized for readers. Colin Gorrie, linguist and creator of the Dead Language Society newsletter, shared the real history of silent letters, why medieval scribes weren't bothered by inconsistent spelling, and how the print ...  Show more

1184. This week, we look at the history of lingua francas, from the original mix of Italian, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Turkish used during the Crusades to today's global English. Plus, we look at whether it's wrong to use "who" for animals, "that" instead of "who" for people, ...  Show more

We're joined this week by Mignon Fogarty, aka Grammar Girl, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of her show Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript availabl ...  Show more

Cleft Sentences are an area of English grammar that is used in daily conversation, but isn't often taught. I don't know many things, but what I am knowledgable about is English! (There's an example!)In this episode, I first explain two of these grammar patterns that you can follo ...  Show more

Yesterday I go to the pizza place down the block and I find out they have new owners. And I look behind the counter and they have all of these weird kinds of pizza. They even have one with pineapple and tuna. I don’t think that’s really pizza. Hey, are you wondering why my story ...  Show more

(VIDEO PODCAST AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE) This week, Alix sits down to do something she’s never done before — a full “What Would Alix Do?” episode. She answers your questions ranging from poons splitting open to obsessive calorie counting. She even shares the story of her boyfriend no ...  Show more