Why We Stopped Teaching Children How to Read

Legend has it that Samuel Maverick was a 19th-century rancher who refused to brand his cattle — but was he really such a maverick? Visit Lexicon Valley. A Booksmart Studios Production. Episode 305: "The Original Maverick." With Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo. Edited and produced by Mike Vuolo. Produc…

On the possible origins of a provocative — and thoroughly caprine — phrase, featuring lexicographer Ben Zimmer. Visit Lexicon Valley. A Booksmart Studios Production. Episode 47: "Get One's Goat." With Bob Garfield, Mike Vuolo and Ben Zimmer. Edited and produced by Mike Vuolo. Produced by Livia Blo…

Play along and guess the correct chronological order of the following phrases: Great White Hope, Great White Shark and Great White Way. And check out our other *great* episodes: The Amazing Great: Good is no longer good enough. Everyone is awesome, superlative or great. The G.O.A.T.: An aggrandi…

The aggrandizing acronym that was seeded in the 1960s and born decades later. Visit Lexicon Valley. A Booksmart Studios Production. Episode 304: "The G.O.A.T." With Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo. Edited and produced by Mike Vuolo. Produced by Livia Bloom Ingram. All rights reserved. Learn more abo…