This week, Kyle and Emily talk, chat, banter, converse, and more with author and dance critic Sarah L. Kaufman about her new book Verb Your Enthusiasm. Drawing from her background in dance, Kaufman connects movement on stage to movement on the page, showing the surprising power of verbs to make writing more vivid and precise.

Kyle and Emily have a traitor in their midst, and his name is Quisling. They’ll talk about a decidedly terrible politician, a quagmire of Q words, and a word for all betrayers great and small.

Get ready to think more than ever about the way you talk and the way people talk to you as Emily and Kyle sit down this week with sociolinguist Valerie Fridland to discuss her latest book Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents.

Emily and Kyle think, therefore they are—and this week thinking is the name of the game! They’re digging into the philosophy of human intelligence, the mind that set the universe turning, and common sense in British slang, as they discuss the meaning and origin of nous.

How closely does one need to stick to the letter of the law? Emily and Kyle explore just that, as they discuss Greek grouches, Christian controversy, diabolical discourse, and the word adiaphoron.

Kyle encounters what he thinks is an obvious word, in more ways than one, but Emily puts some complications in his path. Together they’ll parse through unexpected definitions, clunky phrases, and linguistic repetition, all in pursuit of the word obviate.

Who’s got the power? Anyone from proper princesses to mighty militias, and devastating dandies to high-jumping horses, as Kyle and Emily reveal in discussing the word puissant.

Emily has thrown down the gauntlet and challenged Kyle to a swordfight, but the blade she pulls is a little smaller than expected. The two hack and slash at language and history, as they discuss the winding origins of the word snickersnee.

Get ready for some classic love potion hijinks! This week Kyle and Emily are talking about magical concoctions, dubious enchantments, desirable faces, and the word philtrum.

Kyle and Emily sit down with Kara Raynoha this week to share the good word about a new name in book tracking apps: worm.so. Kara walks the hosts through how the idea first took root, and why the current landscape of reader platforms leaves a lot to be desired.

Emily and Kyle get a little bourgeois this week, and uncover why that’s considered such a bad thing. They’ll look at French history, wealthy upstarts, and some classic New York literature as they explore the word parvenu.

This week Kyle and Emily take a trip to their local planetarium, to learn not about the cosmos but about the machine itself. They’ll chat about astronomy, invention, and perhaps a bit of theater as they explore the word orrery.

Where can Kyle store all of his chainmail, his holy oil, and of course his loose almonds? Emily has the answer, as the two of them chat about that most versatile vessel: the aumbry.

Kyle and Emily unwrap a deceptively sweet treat this week: jujube. What seems only to be a humble fruit quickly reveals a tangled history of biblical proportions. From man’s original sin, to Odysseus’ fruit-addled men, what was once medicine is now a sweet tooth’s dream.

Kyle and Emily find themselves boxed in this week by a word that describes the worst kind of obligation: zugzwang. It’s a bad decision no matter what as Kyle and Emily are forced to explore the German roots of this chess-inspired word.

Kyle and Emily show their true colors in this episode, exploring the history of flags of all kinds and learning the meaning and origin of the word guidon.

This episode turns Emily into a bit of a fence sitter, as she and Kyle discuss the sting of betrayal, the dangers of devil’s advocacy, and the history of the word tergiversation.

Get your pails and shovels ready! Kyle and Emily are digging into the history and usage of the word psammophile, and building a castle fit for beach grasses, kangaroo rats, and microbiologists alike.

Don’t you just love a good throwback? Emily and Kyle certainly do—and, in this episode, so do botanists, doctors, pseudoscientists, and more! Join our hosts in taking some inspiration from the past and exploring the word atavism.

Time is running out! And then running in again, but weirder! Kyle and Emily are joined by producer Seth, who helps them sort reality from fiction from nonsense, and discovers the time-bending truths of the word uchronia.