The Endless Knot

We discuss Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently novels, the 2010 BBC miniseries, and the new BBC America adaptation, with Samuel Barnett & Elijah Wood, written by Max Landis We talk about "the fundamental interconnectedness of all things" as inspiration for Mark's work, the process of adaptation, and 1980's Englishness..

In our Halloween episode we discuss the origins of the holiday, the etymology of Jack o'Lantern, the Canadian connections to trick-or-treating, and the great pumpkin scandal of 2016, and we read a Roman poem about witches scared off by a wooden fertility god!

We talk to Paul Anthony Jones about where his love of etymology and obscure words came from, how he researches his books, the unexpected popularity of his Haggard Hawks twitter account, and more.

We explore the terms for blue & green in Greek, Latin, and English, and discuss their symbolism and meaning in the various cultures. Is it true the ancient Greeks couldn't see blue? Why do we go 'green with envy'? And what did chariot racing, colours, and religious riots in Constantinople have to do with the Italian national football team?

We chat about the Norman French influence on Anglo-Saxon words for animals and meat, the powerful emotional and political aspects of the words we use for food, and then delve into Latin technical terms for farmyard animals, ending off with Virgil's pastoral poems, the Eclogues.

All about beer! From experiments in baking bread with the leftovers from brewing beer to the etymology of beery words, and the complicated question of how fizzy beer has been through the ages. We follow up on questions raised in our "Loaf" podcast, and get some tips from other foodie podcasters.

Exploring bread-related etymologies, sourdough and Roman loaves, and the link between brewing beer and baking bread.

We talk about Old English, Greek, and Latin words for red, the cultural importance of dyes, basic colour terms, blushes, blood, and gods.

We talk to Stephen Le about his book 100 Million Years of Food, and his efforts to use an understanding of evolution to help us decide what to eat. We chat about what it means to "eat what your ancestors ate", the cultural history of food, and his wide-ranging travels in search of traditional foods to try.

We chat about possible origins for the cocktail, and the crazy stories about the word's origin. We also tell the tale of our first cocktail party, that sparked our interest in them and led to the cocktail video series.

We read passages from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales & Ovid's Fasti, to celebrate #WhanThatAprilleDay, a day for enjoying old languages.

We have an in-depth conversation about the Latin words for "white", the many terms for "shining" in proto-Indo-European, and the connection between the Beatles and medieval German students, while drinking White Ladies.

We discuss the origins of "Come From Away" in the unexpected connections caused by 9/11, and the ways David & Irene's backgrounds and interests have intersected to produce this show.

Sexual fetishes, middle English poetry, Jane Austen, and Ovid -- and how they're all connected to Valentine's Day!

Announcing our Patreon campaign