Word of Mouth

BBC Radio 4
Word of Mouth
Latest episode

213 episodes

  • Word of Mouth

    Words to Love the Living World

    2026/05/28 | 27 mins.
    The words that we use to label or describe things in nature – words for landscapes, creatures, seasons, the weather – can they help awaken us to the world around us? Drawing on languages from all over the world, Michael Rosen hears about Words to Love a Planet: An Illustrated Dictionary of Language, Landscape and Life from author Ella Frances Sanders.
    Produced for BBC Audio Bristol, in partnership with the Open University, by Becky Ripley.
    Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz
  • Word of Mouth

    The World of Words: editing, typography and print

    2026/05/21 | 27 mins.
    Michael Rosen finds out about fascinating literary errors from editor Rebecca Lee, the author of Rogues, Widows and Orphans: Mischief and Misadventures in the World of Books. They share favourite famous typos and find out where the phrase "out of sorts" originated.
    Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea, in partnership with the Open University.
    Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz
  • Word of Mouth

    Oracy: We Need to Talk

    2026/05/14 | 27 mins.
    Oracy, alongside literacy and numeracy, is being encouraged in schools. Amy Gaunt, from the charity Voice 21, explains to Michael Rosen how children are learning to talk, and through talk. How does talking about a subject help children learn about it? And how does an oracy rich classroom help the less able as well as the more confident?
    We also hear from Tia, who went to a school that works with Voice 21. Tia describes her experience with oracy.
    Produced by Sally Heaven for BBC Audio Bristol, in partnership with the Open University.
    Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz
  • Word of Mouth

    Michael Rosen and Dara Ó Briain talk about time

    2026/05/07 | 48 mins.
    On his 80th birthday, Michael Rosen discusses with Dara Ó Briain how we talk about and understand time, and how we look back on the different chapters of our lives.
    To hear the full conversation, download the podcast.
    Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea, in partnership with the Open University.
    Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz
  • Word of Mouth

    Language Extinction

    2026/02/19 | 27 mins.
    Michael Rosen talks to Sophia Smith Galer about the languages we're losing. She's found that by the end of this century half of the world’s 7000 languages will be gone, and she's travelled across the world to meet both the people who are experiencing this and those who are fighting to keep the words and the knowledge they hold alive.
    Sophia Smith Galer is the author of How to Kill a Language: Power, Resistance and the Race to Save Our Words.
    Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea, in partnership with the Open University.
    Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz
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About Word of Mouth
Series exploring the world of words and the ways in which we use them
Podcast website

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