I Hate Talking
A podcast about talking, including etymology, frustrating topics, current events, and other random subjects.
Want to contact the hosts or have a suggestion for a future episode? Email us at ihatetalkingpodcast@gmail.com.
Special thanks to Tim Wright aka CoLD SToRAGE for his permission to use the song Operatique.
Episodes
140 episodes
Spinning Toilets, Stingrays, and St. Thomas Shores - Part 4
In episode 127 of I Hate Talking, the hosts revisit the Coriolis effect after a previous discussion about the direction of a spiral staircase at Blackbeard’s Castle. They separate fact from fiction, explaining that Earth’s rotation affect...
Bombast, Blackbeard, and Beachside Turtles of St. Thomas - Part 3
In episode 126 of I Hate Talking, the hosts continue their U.S. Virgin Islands travel series, picking up after their Water Island stay as they transfer back to the main island of St. Thomas. Before the travel recap, they explore the word ...
From Lucky Numbers to Island Treasures: 125, Honeymoon Beach, and Our St. Thomas Adventure - Part 2
Live web cam - Dinghy's Beach Bar and Grill - Water Island, St. ThomasIn episode 125 of I Hate Talking, the h...
By Rote or By Boat - Travel to St Thomas and Water Island - Part 1
In this episode, the hosts unpack the word rote—from “rote compliance” and mindless repetition to surprising dictionary meanings like the sound of surf and a medieval stringed instrument. They then pivot to their recent family trip...
Faux Pas, Short Sales, and the Search for a Forever Home
In episode 123 of I Hate Talking, the hosts discuss the meaning and origins of faux pas, the French phrase for a social mistake, blunder, or tactless misstep. They compare it with “solecism,” the topic of the previous episode, and explore...
Solecisms, Faux Pas, and Toy Story 5
In episode 122 of I Hate Talking, the hosts explore the meaning and history of solecism, a word describing a grammatical error, improper language, inconsistency, or breach of etiquette. They discuss examples such as incorr...
The Journey That Goes On and On, My Friend
Episode 121 explores the phrase “on end,” from its everyday meaning of something continuing for a remarkably long time—such as “years on end”—to its less familiar use describing something standing upright. The hosts trace the phrase to ol...
I Will Find You… After This Synopsis
Episode 120 of I Hate Talking begins with the word “synopsis,” as the hosts define it as a concise written summary and finally settle the long-running plural debate: the preferred form is synopses. They also explore the wo...
Fabricated Synopses of Well-Known Movies and Can AI Lie?
Episode 119 of I Hate Talking explores the word “fabrication,” tracing its roots from Latin and showing how it evolved from “making or constructing” to “deliberately making up a false story.” The hosts compare definitions from di...
The Mixed Morality of Toy Story 4
Episode 118 of I Hate Talking focuses on the word “debuted,” with the hosts unpacking its meaning, French origins, and why English keeps some borrowed spellings intact. From there, the conversation turns to Toy Story 4, ...
Offsides, Overtime, and the World Cup
Episode 117 of I Hate Talking shifts from Toy Story to the World Cup, with the hosts celebrating Spain’s victory and unpacking the rules behind extra time, stoppage time, and penalty shootouts. They use the match as a sp...
The Bigger They Are: Toy Story 3, Toy Sentience, and the Word “The”
Episode 116 of I Hate Talking digs into the word “the” and how it can function in comparative or conditional phrases like “the bigger they are, the harder they fall.” The hosts connect that grammar quirk to Old English roots and ...
Story of Toys Continues - Toy Story 2 and Being Fuddled
Episode 115 of I Hate Talking centers on the word “befuddled,” which the hosts unpack through both meaning and origin. They define it as being confused or mentally clouded, then trace it back to its older sense of being intoxicat...
More Acronyms: OP and SPA, plus County Codes and Phone Codes
Episode 114 of I Hate Talking explores the acronym “OP” and how its meaning shifts depending on context. The hosts contrast the Reddit usage of OP as “original poster” with the gaming-world meaning of “overpowered,” then widen th...
Sapience and New Considerations from the World of Toy Story
This episode explores the difference between sentient and sapient, using Toy Story as the main example. The hosts define sentience as the ability to feel and experience surroundings, while sapience is tied to higher thought, reas...
Acronyms Galore
Episode 112 of I Hate Talking opens with a lighthearted follow-up to the previous episode’s “data vs. data” debate, where the hosts reveal the tally: “data” (long A) dominated, especially from one host, while the other alternated...
Data Centers and Brad Paisley
This episode centers on a discussion about data centers: what they are, why they exist, and why some people object to them. The hosts contrast older ideas of data storage with modern AI-focused facilities, then use Brad Paisley’s oppositi...
Middleman Scams and Lawn Care Professionals
Episode 110 of I Hate Talking explores the phrase “middleman scam” and how scammers can impersonate both buyers and sellers to trick legitimate parties. The hosts break down a real-life example involving a lawn care job, a fake i...
Sweet Succor and Sour Suckers
Episode 109 of I Hate Talking centers on the word “succor,” exploring its pronunciation, etymology, and modern meaning as help, aid, or relief in times of distress. The hosts also compare “succor” with “su...
The Plurality and Singleness of You, Everyone, Y'All, and All Y'All
Episode 108 of I Hate Talking explores the Southern phrase “y’all” and its more emphatic cousin “all y’all,” comparing how each one can shape tone, clarity, and group address. The hosts also dig into the older pronouns “you,” “ye...
Delving into the World of AI Affects on Language
Episode 107 of I Hate Talking digs into the word “delve” and how it has become increasingly common in AI-generated writing and online speech. The hosts explore its meaning, compare it with “dive in” and “dig in,” and trace its tr...
Under the Weather and the Health Dangers of Cruise Ships
Episode 106 of I Hate Talking traces the phrase “under the weather” back to nautical language, where it originally described being below deck in a more stable part of the ship. From there, the hosts discuss how the phrase evolved...
Dictionaries, Paywalls, and Search Engines
Episode 105 of I Hate Talking examines the word “paywall” and how it has come to define access-limited content online, using the Oxford Language Dictionary’s shift behind a paywall as the jumping-off point. The hosts discuss how ...
Open House Concepts and Women's Suffrage
Episode 104 of I Hate Talking unpacks the real meaning of “pro and con,” tracing it back to the Latin pro et contra and the separate root contra meaning against or opposite. The hosts compare this with the earli...
The Conviviality of Open Houses
Episode 103 of I Hate Talking explores the meaning of “convivial,” from its Latin roots to its modern sense of lively, friendly togetherness around food and drink. That idea becomes the springboard for a bigger conversation about...