Finding the true history of words, with Ben Z...

1235. This week, we're celebrating the 20th anniversary of the "Grammar Girl" podcast with something I've wanted to do for years: our first-ever live game show! We originally streamed Grammarpalooza live on YouTube back in September, and now we're bringing all the wordplay, laugh ...  Show more

1234. This week, we look at how small writing errors in proposed laws have cost millions of dollars and knocked whole measures off the ballot. Then, we look at the nautical origin of "batten down the hatches."A hearty thank-you to our Keepers of the Commas and one mysterious Guar ...  Show more

The brilliant and dazzling Helen Zaltzman pops in with some new asides in this encore episode of Ologies. Helen, host of the podcasts The Allusionist, Veronica Mars Investigations and Answer Me This, and a person who technically for a living researches the origins of language ...

Listen with FREE Interactive Transcript only on the RealLife App. Have you ever wondered why English words are the way they are? In this episode, Izzy and Ksenia dive into the fascinating world of etymology—the study of word origins! Understanding where words come from can make t ...  Show more

Have you ever wondered what’s up with double negation, the history of gender neutral pronouns, or why swearing is taboo? Then get ready for this week’s guest, linguist Anne Curzan! Anne and Jonathan talk about how the English language has evolved since the 1300s and how our words ...  Show more