Word of Mouth

Damian Le Bas talks to Michael Rosen about the Romani language and his experience with using it. Damian is the author of The Stopping Places: A Journey Through Gypsy Britain. Producer Beth O'Dea

Can a series of images be 'read' like a series of words? What makes something a language? We have written, spoken and signed languages, but could the sequences of images we see in comics also qualify? Michael Rosen explores the visual language of comics and graphic novels, with comics theorist and cognitive researcher Neil Cohn, author of The Visual Language of Comics. Producer: Mair Bosworth

Jeffrey Boakye talks to Michael Rosen about exploring black British identity, including his own, through the words used by and about black men and women. Jeffrey's the author of Black, Listed and of Hold Tight: Black Masculinity, Millennials & the Meaning of Grime. Producer Beth O'Dea

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright look into the weird and wonderful world of biscuit names while munching some in the studio with Anastasia Edwards, author of Biscuits and Cookies, A Global History. Why is it a Garibaldi and how about a Jammie Dodger? Producer Beth O'Dea

Michael Rosen talks to Eddy Canfor-Dumas and Peter Osborn about how improving our dialogue is good for everything, from helping excluded children to resolving conflict. Producer Sally Heaven.

Michael Rosen talks in depth about dyslexia: what it is, how to understand it and useful advice for parents and teachers, with expert Professor Maggie Snowling CBE, President of St John's College, Oxford. Producer Beth O’Dea.

From Ashby-de-la-Zouch to Zennor, via Great Snoring, Lost and Nempnett Thrubwell, Michael Rosen is joined by linguists Dr Laura Wright and Professor Richard Coates to explore the origins of the UK's place names. What are the meanings of some of the most common village name formations, and how did some of the stranger names come about? Producer: Mair Bosworth

Dr John Olsson talks to Michael Rosen about how he uses forensic linguistics, specifically authorship analysis, to solve crimes including murder, false witness and hate mail. What he does is work out whether a text, email or letter is likely to have come from the person it says it is from - or whether, in some cases, it is in fact being sent by the person who has murdered them.. Producer Beth O'Dea

Family law barrister and chair of The Transparency Project Lucy Reed talks to Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright about the language of the courtroom and how to make family justice clearer. Producer Sally Heaven

Michael Rosen talks to comedian Elis James about how to make language funny. In Elis' case, this is both the English language and the Welsh language, but which is funnier? Produced by Sally Heaven