A Way with Words

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A Way with Words is an upbeat and lively hour-long listener-based call-out radio show about language examined through history, culture, and family.

There are no carriage fees. You can begin carrying the program right away. Email or call for details: biz@waywordradio.org, 619 567 9673. 

The show is conversational, fresh, contemporary at the same time it reflects deep cultural heritage. It’s a positive, information-based look at what is really happening with all aspects of language and communication, using listener questions and anecdotes as starting points answered by first-hand, primary research and professional language experience.

Journalist/author Martha Barnette and linguist/lexicographer Grant Barrett talk with callers from around the world about slang, new words, old sayings, word origins, regional dialects, family expressions, jokes and riddles, and speaking and writing well. They settle disputes, play word quizzes, and discuss language news and controversies.

Why You Should Carry the Program

  • It costs you nothing, but it's a high-quality national-sounding show.
  • Nowhere else on public radio features so many different American voices each week. Includes voices and accents of all ages, regions, ethnicities, and backgrounds. 
  • It’s true audience-service. Everyday public radio listeners are heard. We reflect the community back to itself.
  • Highly loyal listeners who show up in force at stations’ fundraising time.
  • Serves the core public radio mission of informing and entertaining at the same time.
  • Family-friendly.
  • We’ll do live on-air pitching to help you at pledge time, if schedules allow.
  • We’ll tell podcast listeners and social media about you, so you can reconnect with the part of your audience that is already listening to us online or by podcast.
  • We remind our listeners to pledge stations at pledge time.
  • When we hold public events in your town, we’ll work with you to make sure that’s to your advantage, too.
What Programmers Say About the Show

“WFYI has been extremely pleased with the results of adding A Way with Words to the radio schedule. As a weekend entertainment program, the show delivers quality information and has that ‘discovery’ quality to it that makes it so favorable in comparison to Car Talk and Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me. Our audience has made this show appointment listening and a part of their weekend routine. And, they call in regularly with great questions!”

— Richard Miles, former VP, Interactive Media & Content Strategy at WFYI, Indianapolis

“Our listeners love A Way with Words. It’s a no-brainer because public radio listeners love words. Your listeners will love A Way with Words, too.”

— Jeff Ramirez, vice president of radio, KERA 90.1 and KXT 91.7, Dallas, Texas

A Way with Words is the perfect public radio show. It engages our audience and gives them an opportunity to think about how they use language, the most fundamental building block of human nature. The show is smart without being academic and funny without being smarmy. You really learn something from Martha and Grant and they clearly enjoy themselves on the show. Their enthusiasm goes a long way in making AWWW one of the more accessible radios shows out there.”

— John Decker, Director of Programming, KPBS-FM and TV, San Diego, California

A Way with Words is NOT your grandmother’s grammar book. Number one, it’s fun. Number two, you learn stuff without even trying. Number three, it’s not just smart, it’s savvy. If you run a public radio station, this program is like manna from heaven — it will make your listeners happy. It will make your listeners gorgeous and brilliant. Most importantly, it will make YOU rich and famous.

“At North Country Public Radio, the show has gone viral. Even in a tough time slot it has attracted a real following … think Prairie Home Companion at 6 pm on Saturdays in the early days. If it’s good, they’ll come. And they sure tune us in for A Way with Words. Try it, your listeners will love it.

“Grant visited the North Country and we thought people would never let him leave. Our listeners LOVE A Way with Words. We haven’t seen this kind of reaction since Wait Wait … or A Prairie Home Companion. Grant and Martha are natural talents. Even if you don’t give two hoots about words, I know you want talented people on your airwaves. These guys are the real deal.”

— Ellen Rocco, Station Manager, North Country Public Radio, Canton, New York

Find out more about the program.

Get the show on PRSS/Content Depot.

Media Materials

Logos, graphics, photos, bios, and press details are here.

Series

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218 Pieces

A Way with Words is a national, lively, hour-long public radio show about language, on the air since 1998. Author/journalist Martha Barnette and linguist/lexicographer Grant Barrett take listener calls about slang, grammar, old sayings, word origins, regional dialects, family expressions, and speaking and writing well. There are no carriage fees.


Pieces

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The autocomplete function on your phone comes in handy, of course. But is it changing the way we write and how linguists study language? Also, supp...

Bought by WPCA-LP, KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), WNIN, KTXK, Tri States Public Radio and more


  • Added: Jan 08, 2024
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
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How do actors bring Shakespeare's lines to life so that modern audiences immediately understand the text? One way is to emphasize the names of peop...

Bought by KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), WPCA-LP, WNIN, Raven Radio, WHCP-LP Cambridge and more


  • Added: Jan 01, 2024
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
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If you skip wearing underwear, you're said to be going commando. This bit of slang originated during the Vietnam War, when U.S. commandos had compe...

Bought by KECG, KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), WPCA-LP, WNIN, WHCP-LP Cambridge and more


  • Added: Dec 25, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
Piece image
Stunt performers in movies have their own jargon for talking about their dangerous work. They refer to a stunt, for example, as a gag. Across the c...

Bought by KTXK, WPCA-LP, WHCP-LP Cambridge, WNIN, Red River Radio Network (E. Texas/Louisiana/Arkansas/Mississippi) and more


  • Added: Dec 18, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 14
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Crossword puzzles are a marvelous mental workout. A delightful new book about them shares plenty of crossword lore and puzzle-solving tips. Also, p...

Bought by KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), WNIN, WPCA-LP, KTSW 89.9, WHCP-LP Cambridge and more


  • Added: Dec 11, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
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We asked for your thoughts about whether cursive writing should be taught in schools -- and you replied with a resounding "Yes!" Here's why: Cursiv...

Bought by CI Dolphin Radio, WPCA-LP, KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), WHCP-LP Cambridge, WNIN and more


  • Added: Dec 04, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
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Secret signals on the job: Waitresses at some 19th-century restaurants ensured speedy drink service by communicating with a non-verbal code. One se...

Bought by WPCA-LP, KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), WNIN, WHCP-LP Cambridge, KTXK and more


  • Added: Nov 27, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
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If someone urges you to spill the tea, they probably don't want you tipping over a hot beverage. Originally, the tea here was the letter T, as in t...

Bought by KAWC / Border Radio - KOFA, WPCA-LP, KTXK, Raven Radio, KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio) and more


  • Added: Nov 20, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
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When you had sleepovers as a child, what did you call the makeshift beds you made on the floor? In some places, you call those bedclothes and blank...

Bought by WPCA-LP, KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio), WNIN, WHCP-LP Cambridge, KECG and more


  • Added: Nov 13, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
Piece image
During the late 19th and early 20th century, thousands of volunteers helped crowdsource the Oxford English Dictionary. This venerable reference wor...

Bought by CI Dolphin Radio, KTSW 89.9, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], WPCA-LP, KHOL (Jackson Hole Community Radio) and more


  • Added: Nov 06, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16