Hello from Martha and Grant -- A big, warm welcome to our newest public radio listeners! "A Way with Words" is now heard on KSFC 91.9 FM in Spokane, and WFSU 88.9 FM in Tallahassee and Panama City, Florida. We're glad to have you...
Sure, there’s Grandma and Grampa, but there’s also Gammy, Bumpy, Dadoo, Gre-Gre, Kiki, Kerkel, Monga, Nee-Nee, Pots, Rah-Rah and Woo-Woo. Martha and Grant talk about the endlessly inventive names grandchildren call their grandparents. They also...
harlotfest n.— Note: A plausible etymology: “It’s called the ‘Harlot Fest’ out of an old rugby tradition about rugby whores. A rugby whore is someone who will go to a tournament & play for any team who will take them, with loyalty to none...
blipster n.— «So just what is a black hipster—a “blipster” or “alt-black”? Like many recent cultural trends, this one straddles race, politics, fashion and art. For the purposes of discussion, we’ll stick with men (though I have seen some Flock of...
Hip-hop is high art. If you don’t understand that, you’re missing out on some of the best poetry being created today. Grant talks about the new book by English professor Adam Bradley called Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip-Hop.
whaling n.— «The malware is remarkable both for its sweep—in computer jargon, it has not been merely “phishing” for random consumers’ information, but “whaling” for particular important targets—and for its Big Brother-style capacities. It can, for...