Word Salad

A collection of all the best words, where they come from and what they mean.

What pandemic-related words do you want to know more about? We dig into "virus," "isolation," and "quarantine," sorting fact from fiction, and running down a crazy story about the number forty.

I look at what happens when you change the names of countries: from Burma to Myanmar. Featuring Dr. Nativo and his hit "Guatemaya," his word for Guatemala.

I discuss where the word of "boomer" comes from. Not just the Baby Boom, but also the Oklahoma boomers and sooners. With Apollonia Piña, a "Sooner" and Mvskoke (Creek) Citizen. It's complicated. Excerpts from Russell Cobb, The Great Oklahoma Swindle. Music bits by Rogers and Hammerstein and JJ Cale the OU Sooner Marching Band. Boomer? Sooner?

How did the United States get to own the word "American"? There are at least 27 other "American" countries, so I talk to a few other non-U.S. Americans to get their stories. I also investigate the origins of the word America and play some dope songs.

All the words, all the best–and worst–words. How The Donald has changed the very language we use.

Stories about words in Spanish to describe foreigners of various stripes.

Words that don’t exist in English but should. And is it “nip in the bud” or “nip in the butt”?

Are you Gen X, Y, or a Millennial? Something else? Do generational labels have any validity beyond marketing? Join Word Salad to explore.

Do we speak language or does language speak us? Word Salad brings you a mix of stories about how words shape our identity. In this pilot episode, we talk about the words “creole” and “redneck”.