Very Bad Words

Contributing producer, Stephanie Billman, tells Matt the ridiculous story of the FBI’s hunt for “Dorothy”.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, Matt speaks to both the director of a camp specifically for children with Tourette Syndrome and the Tourette’s Hero, Jess Thom to dispel the idea that it’s just the “swearing disease”.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A friend tells a story about his childhood fascination with Tourette Syndrome.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt follows the story of the banning and unbanning of one of the most notorious books ever, James Joyce’s Ulysses. He speaks with Lisa Flannigan, Director of the 2017 Bloomsday Festival in New York City and James LaRue, the Director of the Office of Intellectual Freedom to help guide the way.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt chats to James LaRue about why the most commonly banned books are fairy tales.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We meet Matt's mom and talk about how she would swear around him growing up.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt chats with Geoff Nunberg about the differences between British “arse” and American “a$$”.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt talks to Evelyn Dean-Olmstead about one of the most offensive words spoken in Spanish.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With the help of her parents, executive producer Jill, tells a story about her using the “F-word” as a young child.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt talks to Tara Clancy about being sworn at in Italian by her Grandmother.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt's cousin talks about comedian Bill Burr and the C-Word.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Next week on Very Bad Words, we hear about how a famous comedian unintentionally changed the FCC's language policies forever.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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: Dante Nero PJ Landers Adam Glyn Joe Larson Von Decarlo Jen Matascio Christian Duran Tamer Cattan  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.