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Say What

Say What

By Jo Vraca

Say What - Language, True Crime, History, Pop Culture & Feminism From true crime to music, films, myths, legends, ancient history, folklore, and everyday life, join me as I rub shoulders with the glitterati of language, all wrapped up with a radical feminist bow, to discover where some of our everyday words come from, how they came to mean what they do today, and who are the folks responsible. So we’ll be rocking through dictionaries, encyclopedias, religious texts, newspapers, magazines, lyrics, books, and social media to learn why we say what we say.
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Currently playing episode

Propaganda - War, Pandemics, Soap & Cigarettes, oh and the Pope

Say WhatMar 14, 2022

00:00
23:38
Troll - What do Ogres, George Michael & Chrissy Teigen Have in Common?

Troll - What do Ogres, George Michael & Chrissy Teigen Have in Common?

If you think a Troll is an ogre from northern European mythology, a beast under the bridge, you'd be missing half the story. It's about so much more. It's also about big boulders that litter the Scandinavian countryside, Chrissy Teigen, eBay, Reddit and those cute little plastic toys we collected in the 80s that will make someone rich one day.

Mainly we'll talk about internet trolls because they're all around us.

Plus Creative Cursing from Around The World takes us to Serbia.

Join me on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/saywhatthepodcast

Please share and leave us a review on your favourite podcast app including Apple and Spotify - it makes it easier for others to find the show.

Produced by Jo Vraca. You can find my books on Amazon

Sound engineering and original music by Jeff Willis. You can find his tunes on Spotify and iTunes

Additional music thanks to https://uppbeat.io

Mar 28, 202220:04
Propaganda - War, Pandemics, Soap & Cigarettes, oh and the Pope
Mar 14, 202223:38
Hoax - Real Mermaids, Magicians and Balloon Boy does Metal
Feb 28, 202224:15
Niiiice - Drug Smugglers, Purity Balls and the Complicated History of Nice

Niiiice - Drug Smugglers, Purity Balls and the Complicated History of Nice

How did such a nice word that we use to mean sweet and polite, also come to be an insult for some? Well, today's word, nice, started out as a pretty mean word, actually.

Depending on your circle of influence, you might want someone to call you nice, because it’s a compliment. Like, you know those 16 year old girls who attend Purity Balls with their dads where they commit to remaining a virgin until marriage?

But if you’re a satanist, or even an artist, you might be outraged if someone uses it to refer to you or your work.

And really, Nice was a real downer in Old English. To be called nice wasn't nice.

Because Nice is one of the most poly-semus words I’ve come across – and that’s just a fancy way of saying a word that has multiple meanings.

So from drug smugglers, nun's hens, the first English dictionary with a ridiculously long title and Sex and the City, let's have a look at the rather complicated history of a tiny word.

PS. I'm launching a new segment today - Naught Words from Around the World.

Show notes:
Do Nice Guys Finish Last?
https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/meet-catch-and-keep/201405/do-nice-guys-really-finish-last
UnCommon Ground Magazine What Was Happening Before ‘Just Be Nice Feminism’? https://uncommongroundmedia.com/just-be-nice-feminism-part-i/

Join me on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/saywhatthepodcast

Please share and leave us a review on your favourite  podcast app including Apple and Spotify - it makes it easier for  others to find the show.

Produced by Jo Vraca. You can find my books on Amazon
Sound engineering and original music by Jeff Willis. You can find his tunes on Spotify and iTunes
Additional music thanks to https://uppbeat.io

Feb 14, 202218:43
ASMR - Head Orgasms, Triggers & Bob Ross

ASMR - Head Orgasms, Triggers & Bob Ross

Many years ago, I found a series of videos on YouTube of people making miniature food. Actual food like a burger, the size of a coin, sushi no bigger than a pebble. To make this food, faceless people use working miniature kitchens and utensils to prepare and cook the meals. It’s food for Barbie and Ken. And this food is edible.

Many years ago, I found a series of videos on youtube of people making miniature food. Actual food like a burger, the size of a coin, sushi no bigger than a pebble. To make this food, faceless people use working miniature kitchens and utensils to prepare and cook the meals. It’s food for Barbie and Ken. And this food is edible.

Chances are, even if you haven’t gone out of your way to watch or listen to ASMR, you have experienced it without even realising.

It’s the whispering by Amelie in the classic French movie, and when she plunges her hands into sacks of dry beans at the market. It’s Diane Weiss applying makeup to Edward Scissorhands, gentle brushing and stroking. It’s the silent rustle of linen and silk fabric and of charcoal pencil against canvas in Portrait of a Lady on Fire. And it’s Bob Ross in The Joy of Painting – everything - the brush strokes, his soothing voice, his concentration.

ASMR can be defined as a combination of positive feelings, relaxation and a distinct, static-like tingling sensation on the skin.

Let's see if you feel it!

Show notes:
Miniature food videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDOzBO85qKQ
“Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state”: https://peerj.com/articles/851/
Is ASMR Real - Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-asmr-real-or-just-a-pseudoscience/
SAS ASMR: https://www.youtube.com/c/SASASMR
Reddit ASMR Poll: https://www.reddit.com/r/asmr/comments/sbd6mt/question_do_you_prefer_asmr_audio_video_or_both/

Join me on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/saywhatthepodcast

Please share and leave us a review on your favourite podcast app including Apple and Spotify - it makes it easier for others to find the show.

Or find your favourite listening app HERE
Sound engineering and original music by Jeff Willis. You can find his tunes on Spotify and iTunes
Produced by Jo Vraca. You can find my books on Amazon


Jan 31, 202222:56
Hysteria - Wandering Wombs, Toxic Semen & Exorcisms
Jan 17, 202220:11
Resolutions - Barbarians, Two-Faced Gods, Serial Killers & Roast Swans

Resolutions - Barbarians, Two-Faced Gods, Serial Killers & Roast Swans

Jan 03, 202217:54
Christmas Elves & Pooping Birds - Where do Christmas Traditions Come From?
Dec 20, 202118:49
What do Peeping Tom & The Rosary Have in Common?
Dec 06, 202119:26
Why is the Left Sinister and What does the Devil Have to Do with it?
Nov 22, 202119:22
Stockholm Syndrome - Abba, Patty Hearst and Anna Freud
Nov 08, 202118:04
Catfishing: A Long History of a Very New Word
Oct 25, 202116:51
Tomboy - Is it Time to Retire This Word? No way!
Oct 11, 202116:31
Gaslight: Manipulation, Asylums & Old Hollywood
Sep 27, 202118:07
Quarantine - The Plague, Lepers, Pandemics and Goats
Sep 13, 202116:16
Vanilla - Cake, Princesses and Bondage
Aug 26, 202111:22
Say What?! The Podcast Trailer

Say What?! The Podcast Trailer

Hi word nerds and history geeks, you’re tuned into Say What.

I’m Jo Vraca and each episode, I’m going to rub shoulders with the glitterati of language where we’ll learn that some of the more colourful, and even, dare I say it, humdrum words that we use every day have remarkable origins. From true crime to music and pop culture, religion to social movements…

Where do words come from?

Who came up with them?

Who policies them?

What is the secret history of words?

And it’s not just the origins that I’m going to explore. I will look into how these everyday words came to mean what they do today. So we’ll be rocking through dictionaries AND encyclopedias exploring the what, when, how, who and most definitely the why of words.

Like vanilla. How did a flavouring that is use in cakes and icecreams come to mean, in some circles boring, hum-drum, run-of-the-mill (and yes, we’ll be talking about bondage and S&M for this one).

How did vanilla come to mean “basic” when the actual vanilla pod is one of the most expensive spices in the world, requires bees and hummingbirds to pollinate, and only grows in very select climates?

And how about spinster? Today it’s come to mean a sad and miserable unmarried childless woman (and I have a bit to say about that!) but did you know that a spinster was once an independent, unmarried working woman? And let’s not forget that one of the fiercest queens England was a celebrated spinster (and possibly a virgin).

And in today’s age of qanon, I’ll tell you how we came to use the term Tin Foil Hat to refer to conspiracy theories. Jack Black will make an appearance in this story.

And have I mentioned quarantine? Now that’s a history I can’t wait to share with you.

And we’ll launch a grenade at problematic words that just need to be buried.

Of course, as an Italian (Sicilain, actually) living in Australia, we’ll head down the slippery slope of Aussie vernacular because it’s often hilarious.

So who am I to talk about language? I’m a lover and a fighter. I’ll start and end sentences with prepositions because when we know the rules, we can break them.

I may be a grammar autocrat, but I’m not here to teach grammar and tell you that what you’re saying is wrong. But don’t use whom incorrectly, because that is one word that drives me crazy.

I’ll say cactuses and octopuses knowing I’ll be ridiculed because I know what’s right.

I’m a Sicilian living in Australia, I only spoke Italian, Sicilian actually, until I started school, and I went on to study French, Spanish, Italian and French linguistics, so I’m the perfect wanker for this task.

So… Join me as I travel along the road of words and sayings that we use, pretty much on the daily, but that we never really spare a thought for.

Do you have a word or phrase that you always wondered about and wish someone else would do the research on? Send me an email.

You can also find me on Instagram as saywhatthepodcast where I’ll share even more of my daily encounters with words and the people who butcher them.

Aug 24, 202104:05