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
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 between pronunciations—even within the same sentence—to distinguish meaning.
The main segment shifts to the episode’s theme: words that ...
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 opposition to a proposed Nashville Zoo data center as a concrete example of concerns about water use, electricity demand, noise, heat, and visual impact.
Main points
- They firs...
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 identity, and a confusing attempt to route payment through a third party, using it to explain how these scams work in practice.
The episode also looks at the broader risks of...
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 “sucker” and “lollipop,” digging into regional language differences, candy terminology, and how words can shift in meaning over time.
From there, the conversation t...
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,” “thee,” and “thou,” using a Bible passage and a simple Venn-diagram-style breakdown to show how E...
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 true roots to Old English rather than Greek or Latin.
The conversation then broadens into a thoughtful discussion about language, AI influence, and how...
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 to mean feeling sick, and briefly touch on its older, less common financial sense before comparing it to being “underwater.”
The conversation then shifts into v...
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 dictionary access, search engines, and AI-generated summaries have changed the way people find definitions, and compare Oxford’s approach with alternatives like...
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 earlier discussion of “convivial,” then use the language lesson as a springboard into a lively debate about open-concept houses, why they became popular, and the practical tradeoffs o...
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 open-house versus closed-house family styles, how different upbringings shape expectations around visitors, and why the hosts see growing kids’ friendships as a reas...
Episode 102 of I Hate Talking explores the word “blithe,” tracing its spelling, meaning, and shifting connotations from carefree and lighthearted to heedless or careless. The hosts also dig into the curious connection between the word and Blythe, California, then branch into a broader conversation about names, language change, and how April Fool’s jokes land depending on whether they’re...
Episode 101 of I Hate Talking dives into the Latin roots of “second,” exploring how time was divided into minutes, seconds, and even smaller units. The hosts then spiral into a funny and surprisingly deep conversation about nanoseconds, internet speed, metric versus imperial measurements, and a child’s determined refusal to abandon Celsius in a Fahrenheit world.
What starts as an etymology les...
In episode 100 of I Hate Talking, the hosts mark their milestone with a reflection on time—how quickly it passes and how much life has changed since they started the podcast. The word of the episode is the Latin phrase “tempus fugit” (“time flies”), which they unpack as more than a cliché, leaning into the nuance that time not only passes quickly but flees irretrievably, never to ...
In episode 99 of I Hate Talking, the hosts gear up for a milestone and ask listeners to help them decide what to do for episode 100. Big “top 100” countdown ideas are quickly ruled out as too long, so they invite audience suggestions via comments, text, or email—and encourage listeners to share the show so friends can weigh in too.
The word of the episode is “diss”, a slang term fo...
In episode 98 of I Hate Talking, the hosts deliver the promised IKEA episode, starting with brief cameos from two young “guest experts” who offer earnest life advice about brushing your teeth and plug a YouTube channel before weighing in on a new dinosaur documentary.
The main segment’s word of the episode is “IKEA” itself, which they explain is an acronym formed from f...
In episode 97 of I Hate Talking, the hosts introduce the Diderot effect, a behavioral economics concept named after French philosopher Denis Diderot. After Diderot received a luxurious new red robe, he suddenly viewed his other possessions as shabby and began replacing them in a costly spiral—a pattern many people recognize today when one “nice” purchase (a couch, outfit, or gadget) triggers ...
In this episode of I Hate Talking, the hosts explore the word “somniferous,” meaning sleep‑inducing or soporific. They trace its Latin roots from “somnium” (dream) and explain how it’s used to describe drugs or experiences that bring on sleep, from strong sedatives to painfully dull lectures. The word surfaces via a Tool song lyric, and they joke about whether being called somnife...
In episode 95 of I Hate Talking, the hosts introduce the delightfully nerdy word “sesquipedalian”—a term that describes long, multi‑syllabic words or overly long‑winded speech. They trace its roots back to Latin, where it literally meant “a foot and a half long,” and joke about how perfectly self‑referential it is: a long, fancy word that means “long, fancy words.” The...
In episode 92 of I Hate Talking, the hosts lean into a real‑life continuity error: the original recording for this episode was corrupted, so they had to re‑record it after already releasing episodes 93 and 94. They use that mishap to introduce the word “erroneous,” exploring its meaning as “wrong” or “incorrect,” and tracing its roots back to Latin ideas of “straying&r...
In episode 94 of I Hate Talking, the hosts center their discussion on the word “continuity.” They define it both as the unbroken, consistent existence of something over time and, more specifically, as the careful maintenance of consistent details in films and shows so that scenes flow smoothly. Using their own multiple false starts recording this episode as a jumping-off point, they joke about edit...
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