The Word Nerds Podcast
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The Word Nerds is a weekly podcast on words, language, and why we say the things we do. Three language teachers share their ideas about the roots of everyday English. Each edition explores a rude word of the week. In addition to looking at language change, the podcast features music by independent artists each week.
About Podcasting:
For those of you new to podcasting, Click Here to read our "Introduction to Podcasting" Article.
 Write a Review of The Word Nerds Podcast
 
girijad83, February 17, 2006
Reviewer: girijad83
from India
The Word Nerds Podcast by Dave Shepherd is a weekly program that discusses language- its nuances, history, vocabulary, etc. and also features new and upcoming musicians. The podcast claims to be a 'program about words, language and why we say the things we do'.
For example, the August 27 podcast features songs by two independent bands called Euphonic and One Drop Rule. The chosen word of the week is 'fads' and the topic discussed in depth is 'slang'. The latter topic is discussed in detail first, giving the listener interesting information about the origin and cultural importance of slang. The format of this particular podcast is a friendly tete-a-tete between Dave Shepherd and his brother Howard, a high school teacher.
Each edition is as much a treat as this one. The September 1 podcast also does its bit for a social cause by invoking people to help those affected by hurricane Katrina.
The audio quality and the narrator's diction are good. The only hitch is the length of each program- approximately 20 minutes. However, given its weekly status and informative content, I would count this as a minor detraction. I recommend The Word Nerds to students and language lovers alike.
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Podcast Website:
http://thewordnerds.org/
Rhetoric, part 3: Rhetoric in Famous Speeches (102)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Mon, May 26, 2008
Rhetoric in Famous Speeches: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd conclude their three-part series in rhetoric by presenting some examples of rhetoric and public discourse.
At the time this is posted, our web site is not fully functional. It will be fixed soon, so that you can find things and make PayPal donations. (1:54)
Dave and Barbara [...]
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Games and Wordplay (101)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Apr 20, 2008
Games and Wordplay: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd explore word games, games with words, and ways of playing with words.
Dave thanks Brad and Naoko for donations, and Naoko, Ralsen, Asa, Jason and Hossein for their emails. (1:59)
This show was inspired by a game published by Brad Chase, Orijinz. We play a couple of rounds. (Thanks, [...]
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Baby Talk (100)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Mar 22, 2008
Baby Talk: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd use their best adult vocabulary as they discuss baby talk.
Dave thanks Andy, Beverley and Jianxia for their support through the PayPal donation button. (2:00)
This is show #100. The recording date, March 21, is the third anniversary not only of The Word Nerds, but also of Schlaflos in Mnchen. [...]
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Rhetoric, part 2?Tropes and Schemes (99)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Mar 01, 2008
Rhetoric, part 2–Tropes and Schemes: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd continue their discussion of rhetoric by exploring tropes, schemes, and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
Grimace from the Word Nerds Forum corrects us on our example of a syllogism. (2:31)
Content versus style; tropes and schemes defined; and some examples of tropes. (Note: despite what Dave says in [...]
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Body Words (98)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Feb 09, 2008
Body Words: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd put their noses to the grindstone and go toe-to-toe in a tete-a-tete, as they talk about body words.
Dave thanks Scott and Mary for their support through the PayPal donation button. (2:05)
This topic is, of course, the theme of Charles Hodgson’s book Carnal Knowledge. It was suggested [...]
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Rhetoric, part 1 (97)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Jan 19, 2008
Rhetoric, part 1: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd explore the difference between rhetoric and dialectic. They invoke Plato, Aristotle, Rush Limbaugh and Michael Moore.
Dave thanks Michael, Tim, Emma, and Clint for their support through their PayPal donations to the show. (See the button on the right-hand navigation column of our web page.) (2:00)
Rhetoric, dialectic, [...]
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Special 2008 New Year?s Edition (96A)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Wed, Jan 02, 2008
2008 New Year’s special edition: Dave Shepherd sends New Year’s greetings from the Word Nerds team, and responds to listener feedback.
Dave reads and responds to emails from Hillary, Idiosyncratic Idiot, Chris, Rob, and Donna. (3:10)
A bald-faced solicitation of your donations through our PayPal button. (See the right-hand navigation column on our website.) (15:47)
Shows [...]
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Silence and Speechlessness (96)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Dec 09, 2007
Silence and Speechlessness: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd sit in silence for a few seconds–and then find that they have something to say after all. They explore speechlessness and silence.
We are currently somewhat speechless because of overwork. (2:02)
Speechlessness: when words fail us. (3:33)
Music bumper from Silence by Caitlyn Smith. (10:29)
Silence: sometimes empty, sometimes [...]
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Religious Words (95)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Nov 17, 2007
Religious Words: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd look deep within their souls–without proselytizing–as they talk about the connection between religious language and everyday language.
Religious words as they are re-appropriated into everyday life. Thanks to EJ for suggesting this topic, and letting us know about the technology evangelists. (1:58)
Howard Shepherd tells us about an interesting [...]
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Nicknames (94)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Oct 27, 2007
Nicknames: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd call each other by names other than their given names as they discuss nicknames.
Listener feedback (2:22)
Eke-names, mascots, and a shout-out to a former student (5:18)
Music bumper from “Grapes” by Evan Stone. (17:34)
Monikers–deliberately chosen or applied names (18:23)
Song: “Familar Names, Familiar Games” by Doug McLeod (22:50)
Rude word of the week: [...]
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Public Speaking (93)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Oct 06, 2007
Public speaking: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd sit very isolated in the Word Nerds studio, and yet speak to thousands of listeners about public speaking.
Oratory, rhetoric, and forensics (2:02)
Music bumper from Forensic by Nick Murray (14:29)
“Everyday” public speakers: teachers, podcasters, managers, and toasters (15:10)
Song: Beer Toast by Bobby Chitwood (25:43)
Rude word of the week: “rabble-rouser” [...]
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Transitions (92)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Sep 15, 2007
Transitions: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd try to move smoothly from one sub-topic to another as they talk about transitions, both in language and in life.
Emails and voice messages from Angy, Joel, MrGraphxFargo, Ken, and Ric (2:33)
Change in our lives, and the continuum of change and transition (5:51)
Music bumper from Ockham’s Shaving Kit by [...]
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?Inside? Language (91)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Aug 26, 2007
“Inside” Language: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd speak as clearly and openly as they can about “insider” language–normal words that outsiders cannot understand.
Our show is introduced this week by the man called Anne from Israel, known to Word Nerds Forum members as RabiAkiva. (0:01)
We encourage you once again to check out Charles Hodgson’s book Carnal [...]
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Small Talk (90)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Aug 04, 2007
Small talk: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd, who haven’t seen each other for several months, make and discuss small talk.
We encourage you to check our our friend Charles Hodgson’s book Carnal Knowledge. (2:22)
The inspiration for this show was the book How to Talk to Anybody About Anything by Leil Lowndes. (3:21)
In response to a voice [...]
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Synonyms (89)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Tue, Jul 17, 2007
Synonyms: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd discuss, chat, and talk about a plethora, a bundle, a whole bunch of ideas about synonyms.
Austin Tichenor of the Reduced Shakespeare Company left us an audio comment via our MyChingo button. (1:55)
It was Dave’s turn to travel to German-speaking Europe this past month. (3:04)
The inspiration for this show was [...]
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Abridgment (88)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Jun 24, 2007
Abridgment: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd leave out all the unimportant parts as they talk about abridgment. We feature the masters of abridgment, the Reduced Shakespeare Company.
We’ve been away. While we were gone, the Nerd Number died. But now you can leave an audio message with our MyChingo button. (1:52)
Definitions of “abridge,” plus some related [...]
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Spring Break (87A)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Mon, Apr 23, 2007
Spring Break Edition: Dave Shepherd does not have a linguistic topic, nor a Rude Word, nor a song–but he does respond to your emails and voicemails, and announces a new feature to the website.
The Virginia Tech shooting touched us–but not directly. (2:20)
We have a new feature on our blog site, a MyChingo button. Leave us [...]
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- Published:
2002
- LearnOutLoud.com Product ID:
T007287
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