Word Bomb

Language moves fast and Word Bomb is here to help. Unpacking one explosive word per week, hosts Pippa Johnstone and Karina Palmitesta talk to experts and dive deep into lived experiences to share stories the dictionary doesn't tell you.

Coming Soon: Word Bomb, a TVO Podcast

Welcome to Word Bomb, the podcast that helps us understand our words in a whole new way. Subscribe now for episodes that begin in October 2018.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

09-23
01:36

Ep. 1 - 'Fat': Go ahead, say the F-word

In our very first episode of Word Bomb, hosts Pippa Johnstone and Karina Palmitesta discuss the word "fat," bias, and the "euphemism treadmill."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10-02
28:21

Ep. 2 - 'Doxx': Hacking the language of the internet

What does it mean to "doxx somebody?" Word Bomb hosts Pippa Johnstone and Karina Palmitesta delve deep into the dark history of an ever-evolving culture of online discourse.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10-02
33:16

Ep. 3 - 'Like': Tackling a like/hate relationship

What does it mean when we pepper everything we say with "like"? Word Bomb hosts Pippa Johnstone and Karina Palmitesta take a good, hard listen to their own speech patterns and reveal some surprising stats.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10-02
12:01

Ep. 4 - 'Trigger': The word behind the warning

TW: everything. This week, Pippa and Karina tackle the word "trigger", interviewing a PhD student, a mental health advocate and a filmmaker. Safe spaces, content warnings and "snowflakes" all feature in this exploration of the words we use when we talk about trauma.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10-09
26:04

Ep. 5 - 'Moist': The ick factor and damp semantics

Why are people so hung up on the word "moist"? Pippa and Karina wade into the damp, the humid and the slightly wet as they dismantle English's most hated word (and repeat it enough to cure themselves of word aversion).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10-16
11:34

Ep. 6 - 'Singular They': Busting open the binary

Pippa and Karina journey from the fifteenth century to the present day, tracing the course of a small word with an outsized impact. As singular "they" gains ground as the gender-neutral pronoun of choice for nonbinary folks, are publications and the public following suit?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10-23
25:35

Ep. 7 - 'Partner': The best name for your better half?

Girlfriend, boyfriend, S.O., bae, better half, sweetheart, beau ... what's in a name? Pippa and Karina debate and dismantle all the names you may choose to call that special someone and discuss the social utility of the word partner - and its important LGBTQ backstory.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10-30
12:26

Ep. 8 - 'Renoviction': Portmanteau as protest

What happens when landlords evict tenants to renovate their units and triple the rents? Bitter disputes, drawn-out court battles, fierce housing activism - and a brand-new portmanteau that's catching on so fast, it seems poised for dictionary status. Pippa and Karina discuss the phenomenon of "renoviction" in Canada and interview the word's creator.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

11-06
25:11

Ep. 9 - 'Native': O Canada, don't label, just listen

In this episode, Karina and Pippa consider the word Native, using it to explore Canada's painful colonial past and present. They discuss the labels applied to Indigenous peoples and sit down with two Indigenous artists to talk self-identification, word choice, and the power of capitalization.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

11-13
32:00

Word Bomb is back for Season 2!

Listen to hosts Pippa Johnstone and Karina Palmitesta in season 2 of Word Bomb. Subscribe now!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

09-26
00:58

Ep. 1 - 'Polyamory': Opening up the vocab of non-monogamy

Polyamory in North America is on the rise-and with it comes a plethora of brand-new words to describe how non-monogamous relationships work, like "polycule" and "compersion". Karina and Pippa talk to a polyamorous reporter and a family lawyer about this linguistic wellspring and the stumbling blocks that poly families face in Canada.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10-01
26:03

Ep. 2 - 'Addict': On drug use and language usage

With an opioid epidemic sweeping North America, there has never been a more urgent time to question how we talk about people who use drugs. Pippa and Karina dive into diagnostic manuals to track the history of how doctors have written about addiction, and talk to a methadone user and a self-professed addict on how labels can both help and hurt.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10-08
25:19

Ep. 3 - 'Crazy': How to De-craze Our Conversations

Dude, that's craaazy. In this mini episode, Pippa and Karina discuss one of the most-used adjectives in their vocabulary, what they mean when they use the word "crazy," and the subtle ways that ableist language can creep into casual conversation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10-15
16:38

Ep. 4 - 'Anthropocene': Naming the climate crisis

As the Earth responds ever more rapidly to human activity, a controversial group of scientists is proposing that we've entered a new epoch: the age of the Anthropocene. Pippa and Karina sit down with earth scientists and a documentary filmmaker to talk about how the crisis is packaged and why word choice is so important to the future of the climate.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10-22
28:00

Ep. 5 - 'Meme': Weird episode, but OK

LOLcats and starter packs. Evil Kermit and Pepe the Frog. One does not simply record a podcast episode on memes, but they can't stop all of us, let alone 30-50 feral hogs. In this mini-episode, Pippa and Karina talk memes past, present, and future to expand your brain. You love to see it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10-29
13:37

Ep. 6 - 'Troll': From the internet to IRL

Being a butt on the internet just isn't what it used to be. From the early '90s to the age of Trump and troll farms, there's a lot to unpack about what we mean when we call someone a troll. Pippa and Karina talk trolling online and in real life with an information and media studies scholar and a vigilante Toronto blogger.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

11-05
26:32

Ep. 7 - 'Drag': From drag balls to RuPaul

Serving realness, throwing shade, reading - RuPaul's Drag Race put drag slang on the map, for better and for worse. Pippa and Karina talk to a drag performer and an anthropology scholar about the aftershocks of appropriated language and the real definitions behind the lingo that's exploded into common usage.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

11-12
26:19

Ep. 8 - 'White': The Great YT North

Are Canadians too polite to talk about race? When it comes to whiteness in Canada, it's a conversation worth having. Pippa and Karina explore the surprising origins of the words "white" and "Caucasian," talk about what it really means to be white in Canada past and present, and speak to the woman behind Toronto's first white privilege conference.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

11-19
33:25

Ep. 9 - 'Toronto': Live at Hot Docs

Tkaronto, York, Toronto the Good, T-Dot, Hogtown, the 6ix... Canada's largest city has gone by many names over the years and Pippa and Karina explore the myths and origin stories behind all of them. This season finale was recorded at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema in Toronto in front of a live audience as part of the annual Hot Docs Podcast Festival.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

11-26
11:54

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