Episodes
Matt chats to James LaRue about why the most commonly banned books are fairy tales.
Published 10/11/17
Matt talks to kids, parents, and the ”psychologist of swearing”, Dr. Timothy Jay, to find out just how bad it is to swear around your kids.
Published 10/04/17
We meet Matt's mom and talk about how she would swear around him growing up.
Published 09/27/17
In this episode of Very Bad Words, Matt talks about A-holes with UC Berkeley Linguist and author of the book, Ascent of the A-Word, Geoffrey Nunberg.
Published 09/20/17
Matt chats with Geoff Nunberg about the differences between British “arse” and American “a$$”.
Published 09/13/17
In this episode of Very Bad Words, Evelyn Dean-Olmstead returns to help Matt explore how religion and mothers shape the way we swear. Guests: Anton Bonnici, Francois Gratton, Evelyn Dean-Olmstead
Published 09/06/17
Matt talks to Evelyn Dean-Olmstead about one of the most offensive words spoken in Spanish.
Published 08/30/17
Matt talks with a number of people about everyone’s favorite swear word, including author of the book The F-Word, Jesse Sheidlower and radio colleague Andy Mills.
Published 08/23/17
With the help of her parents, executive producer Jill, tells a story about her using the “F-word” as a young child.
Published 08/16/17
We learn about swearing in German, Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese, Farci, and Tamil. Linguistic Anthropologist Evelyn Dean-Olmstead helps us make the connection between taboo and the culture that created it.
Published 08/09/17
Matt talks to Tara Clancy about being sworn at in Italian by her Grandmother.
Published 08/02/17
On this very special episode of Very Bad Words, Matt is joined by co-host Katrin Redfern to explore one of the most controversial and misunderstood words in the English language. The C-Word! They reach out to women like Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot, Dr. Camilla Power, Dr. Evelyn-Dean Olmsted and others to discuss the history of this powerful word and how it is being re-appropriated by feminists.
Published 07/26/17
Matt's cousin talks about comedian Bill Burr and the C-Word.
Published 07/19/17
What are the rules about swearing on television and radio? What can you actually say on the air, and how are these decisions made? Do these rules change as times change? On this episode of Very Bad Words, we learn how George Carlin’s bit about the 7 words you can never say on television, unintentionally set FCC policy regarding profanity on the air. With guests: Matthew Lasar - author of “Pacifica Radio: The Rise of an Alternative Network” Sarah Montague - producer of Selected Shorts
Published 07/12/17
Next week on Very Bad Words, we hear about how a famous comedian unintentionally changed the FCC's language policies forever.
Published 07/05/17
For years comedians in comedy clubs have been pushing the lines of what could be said in the public arena. Lenny Bruce was arrested multiple times for doing just that, and George Carlin was immortalized for same thing just a decade later. But swearing just isn't that controversial anymore - especially in a comedy club. But never-the-less, there are still plenty of comedians actively crossing the lines in comedy today. On this episode of Very Bad Words, we talk to several of them. Guests:...
Published 06/28/17
Very Bad Words is the podcast about swearing and taboo language. On this episode we explore the origins of one of the oldest swear words in the English language, s**t. We talk with linguist Geoff Nunberg and “the psychologist of swearing" Timothy Jay to find out why it is still one of the most popular and versatile words - even after centuries of use.
Published 06/14/17
Promo for the podcast Very Bad Words, coming out June 14th.
Published 06/07/17