Discover 11,122,490 listings and 293,468 playable programmes from the BBC
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FM
Available for over a year
Writers Jeffrey Boakye & JJ Bola look at how language is used to define or constrain black male identity in a post-colonial world. If you're not a roadman or a baller, who are you? Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FM
Available for over a year
Playwright Sabrina Mahfouz, sitting in for Michael Rosen, talks about the provocative language of protest slogans with artist Zoe Buckman and writer Siana Bangura. Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LWLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FM
Available for over a year
Michael Rosen is back. In the first in a new series, he meets actress and campaigner Samantha Renke and asks her how we talk about disability. Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FM
Available for over a year
Michael Rosen and Darren Chetty explore ways of disagreeing that could help to unite us, and provide a more productive way of communicating in an increasingly divided society. Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LWLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Alex speaks 15 languages fluently. Does he have a special gift or could we all do this? Plus, what does 'to Donald Duck' mean in Hungarian? Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LWLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FM
Available for over a year
Literary critic Adam Bradley talks to Michael about pop lyrics, melody and performance, and how they all work together. Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LWLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Michael Rosen finds out from journalist Dhruti Shah why there are so many terms relating to animals in the business world. From dragon kings to yak shaving, what do they mean? Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LWLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FM
Available for over a year
Chloe Davis, creator of The Queen's English dictionary of LGBTQIA+ slang, talks to Michael about shade, fierce, and the importance of etymology. Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LWLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FM
Available for over a year
Michael Rosen and historian Judith Flanders talk about how we categorise things, using alphabetical order and more. Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LWLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FM
Available for over a year
Michael Rosen and BBC presenter Ben Boulos talk about how we change names. Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LWLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Dr Elisabeth Carter talks to Michael about the language used by fraudsters who fake romantic relationships online for monetary gain. Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LWLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FM
Available for over a year
Michael Rosen talks to Ralph Keyes about some of the unusual circumstances in which words and phrases are coined. Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FM
Available for over a year
Michael Rosen talks to speech and language therapists Fiona Gillies and Tara Millan-Brophy. Fiona has been helping Michael with his rehabilitation post Covid-19. Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LWLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FM
Available for over a year
Michael Rosen talks to internet linguist and author Gretchen McCulloch about what it is to "ship" and how fandoms and other subcommunities online are changing the English language. Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Michael Rosen hears why our language is messy from linguist Arika Okrent. Why do we say 'I climbed' not 'I clomb'? Why is there a 'p' in 'receipt'? Why is 'of' spelled with a 'f'? Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LWLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
How does one go about inventing a language? David J. Peterson, who made up the Dothraki and Valyrian languages for fantasy series Game of Thrones, joins Michael to discuss. Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FM
Available for over a year
Michael Rosen asks Dr Sophie Harrison about the strange and special new language she had to learn to become a doctor, having been an editor at Granta Magazine. Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LWLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Michael Rosen and Amanda Montell on the language used by cults that has permeated other, more unexpected, areas of life. Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FM
Available for over a year
Michael Rosen asks Professor Devyani Sharma about the latest research into accent bias in the UK. Which are the highest and lowest rated accents, and why does it matter so much? Show more
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
David Walliams talks to Michael Rosen about how he writes his children's books like Mr Stink and The Boy in the Dress. Show more
