{"id":28070,"date":"2026-01-08T09:00:53","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T09:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/?p=28070"},"modified":"2026-01-07T16:01:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T16:01:08","slug":"ou-bbc-radio-series-word-of-mouth-returns-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/education-languages-health\/ou-bbc-radio-series-word-of-mouth-returns-2\/","title":{"rendered":"OU \/ BBC radio series, Word of Mouth, returns"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new seven-part OU\/BBC radio series of\u00a0Word of Mouth<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0begins on Thursday, 8th<\/sup> January, and will air weekly at\u00a015:30<\/strong>\u00a0on\u00a0BBC Radio 4<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0BBC Sounds<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n

The series is presented by celebrated author\u00a0Michael Rosen<\/a>\u00a0and explores the world of words and how we use them.<\/p>\n

In the first episode, Michael goes on an alphabetical odyssey with linguist Danny Bate, author of the book Why Q Needs U: A History of Our Letters and How We Use Them.<\/p>\n

In a later episode, Michael talks to digital anthropologist Jennifer Cearns about the rise of AI companions- how do we talk to AI, and how does AI talk to us?<\/p>\n

Dr Philip Seargeant\u00a0and\u00a0Dr Zsuszanna Barkanyi acted as academic consultants for the series, providing expert knowledge to support its development.<\/p>\n

Dr Seargeant commented: <\/strong><\/p>\n

‘This is the third series of Word of Mouth we\u2019ve worked on, and it\u2019s developed into an exciting and mutually-rewarding partnership. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were particularly pleased to get the chance to interview Michael Rosen himself for our own podcast to accompany this series, where we talk with him about his own love of language and languages, as well as the importance and attraction of lifelong education.’<\/em><\/p>\n

Supporting Online content<\/u>:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Visit our\u00a0Broadcast & Partnerships site<\/strong>\u00a0OU Connect<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0where you can find\u00a0an exclusive interview with Michael Rosen about\u00a0his own language journey and what\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0learnt from the stories behind how we speak.\u00a0(NB:\u00a0this site may not be live or complete\u00a0prior to\u00a0broadcast<\/em>)<\/p>\n

This series was commissioned by Broadcast & Partnerships and is supported by the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies with particular relevance to Q39 Ba (Hons) English Language and Literature, Q30 BA (Hons) Language Studies\u00a0and R54 BA (Hons) English Language.<\/p>\n