⁠⁠Getting new words into the dictionary is a rigorous, time consuming process — with no guarantee of success.

Visit Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 293: "How Do Words Get into the Dictionary?" With Stefan Fatsis and Bob Garfield. Edited and produced by Mike Vuolo. Produced by Livia Bloom Ingram. All rights reserved.

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"Unabridged" author Stefan Fatsis on the fastidious practice of lexicography and the heiress who amassed the largest collection of dictionaries in history.

⁠⁠Visit Lexicon Valley⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 292: "Look It Up! The Story of the Dictionary." With Stefan Fatsis and Bob Garfield. Edited and produced by Mike Vuolo. Produced by Livia Bloom Ingram. All rights reserved.

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Like 'analog watch' and 'snail mail,' 'openly racist' is a retronym — John McWhorter and Mike Vuolo explain.

⁠Visit Lexicon Valley⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 291: "Open Season for Racists." With John McWhorter and Mike Vuolo. Edited and produced by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved.

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What does St. John the Apostle have in common with Bernie Bernbaum, the sniveling grifter from Miller's Crossing? Angling!

Visit Lexicon Valley. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 290: "Playing the Angles." With Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo. Edited and produced by Mike Vuolo. Produced by Livia Bloom Ingram. All rights reserved.

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During an appearance on The Gist with Mike Pesca, we discussed the curious backstory of, you guessed it, the word "gist."

Visit Lexicon Valley. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 289: "You Get the Gist." With Bob Garfield, Mike Pesca, and Mike Vuolo. Edited by Mike Vuolo. Produced by Livia Bloom Ingram. Special thanks to Michelle Hunter Pesca. All rights reserved.

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A prolific writer on men's fashion, Guy discusses the vocabulary of outerwear and why dress is a form of social language.

⁠Visit Lexicon Valley. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 288: "Derek Guy on the Language of Clothing." With Derek Guy and Mike Vuolo. Edited by Mike Vuolo. Produced by Livia Bloom Ingram. All rights reserved.

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The world was shocked by a controversial article published by "John McWhorter." Here, he sets the record straight.

Visit Lexicon Valley. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 287: "McWhorter vs. McWhorter." With John McWhorter. Edited and produced by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved.

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Raise a glass to browned bread ... now you're toast!

Visit Lexicon Valley. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 286: "A Toast to Toast." With Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo. Edited by Mike Vuolo. Produced by Livia Bloom Ingram. All rights reserved.

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Oxford English Dictionary editor Fiona McPherson talks to Mike Vuolo about the terms that caught her attention in 2025.

Visit Lexicon Valley. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 285: "All the Rage Bait." With Fiona McPherson and Mike Vuolo. Edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved.

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Author John Koenig talks about inventing words for those subtle emotions that hitherto had no name.

Visit Lexicon Valley. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 284: "The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows." With Bob Garfield, John Koenig, and Mike Vuolo. Edited by Mike Vuolo. Produced by Livia Bloom Ingram. All rights reserved.

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