Podcast
You're Saying It Wrong
Hosted by KMUW · EN
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.
43episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
An (ahem) Odyssey Through Ancient Greek
1w ago00:32:43Tap to summarizeFor no reason whatsoever, we look at some words that come from Homer's famous tale and Ancient Greek more generally.
Transcribe →It's Summertime, and the Etymology is... Questionable [ENCORE]
2w ago00:29:23Tap to summarizeWe'll look at the surprising origins of some common summer-related words, phrases, and idioms.
Transcribe →Heading Down South
3w ago00:29:23Tap to summarizeWe 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)!
Transcribe →Technically Speaking
4w ago00:30:21Tap to summarizeWe take another shot at figuring out what's good and bad about the technical uses of common words.
Transcribe →Getting Your House in Order
Jul 400:30:09Tap to summarizeWe 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.
Transcribe →Technical Difficulties
Jun 2700:34:00Tap to summarizeThis week, we look at the (sometimes huge) differences between the technical, specialized definitions of words, and what they mean to everybody else.
Transcribe →Congrats, Grads!
Jun 2000:31:58Tap to summarizeSchool's out, so we're celebrating all the new graduates by looking at the backgrounds of some graduation-related words.
Transcribe →More Unknown Knowns
Jun 1300:31:13Tap to summarizeWe return to one of our favorite (and sometimes most confusing) topics: rules of English that we know instinctively, but that we have no idea we know.
Transcribe →Meh, Duh, D'oh, and Other Communicative Grunts
Jun 600:30:11Tap to summarizeToday we make a lot of noise by exploring nonverbal vocalizations: all those sounds that aren't words, exactly, but that still carry a lot of meaning.
Transcribe →Common Grammar Controversies
May 3000:30:10Tap to summarizeTo split infinitives or to not split them? (Ir)regardless, we'll dive into some everyday language arguments that get people all worked up.
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