logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2024
32m 35s

How The (English) Alphabet Became A Thin...

iHeartPodcasts
About this episode

Let's be honest: the concept of writing stuff down is both brilliant and insane. Right now, all around the world, countless people are scrawling or typing messages that may last long after the writer has passed from this mortal plane - in a way, reading your favorite dead authors can be like communication from beyond the grave! Add to this, language itself is pretty ridiculous. In the first part of this special two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max crack each other up with an exploration of how writing became a thing, tracing its prehistoric origins through the rise of English, all the way up to what we call "modern English" today.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Aug 23
CLASSIC: The Strange and Spectacularly Disgusting Story of the Great Kentucky Meat Shower
On March 3rd, 1876, residents of Bath County, Kentucky were startled to see what appeared to be chunks and flakes of meat falling from the clear, cloudless sky. The rain, which only lasted a few minutes, captured national attention. People across the country proposed various theo ... Show More
35m 55s
Aug 22
The Ridiculously Energetic History of Energy Drinks!
This episode is brought to you by our favorite cohost: coffee. These days, if you stroll into any convenience store across the planet, you're going to run into a selection of energy drinks -- whether we're talking Red Bull, NOS, Monster, or our favorite pal, the humble cup of joe ... Show More
47m 1s
Aug 19
Japan is Overrun By Raccoons Entirely Due to a Single Cartoon
While the legendary Japanese raccoon dog -- or tanuki -- may look like a raccoon, it's a very different beast. However, these days Japan is home to actual raccoons: they're considered an invasive species, wreaking havoc across the country as they destroy temples, consume crops, a ... Show More
40m 57s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2022
John McWhorter Describes Human Language's 20,000-Year Journey from Proto-Sumerian to Ebonics
Language not only defines humans as a species, placing us head and shoulders above even the most proficient animal communicators, but it also beguiles us with its endless mysteries. How did different languages come to be? Why isn't there just a single language? How does a languag ... Show More
54m 6s
Oct 2021
Episode 153: Zombie Letters
In early Modern English, writers and printers began to revise the spelling of many English words to reflect their etymological origins. Old letters were revived from the dead to reflect sounds that had disappeared over time in those words. This fad reached its height in the mid-1 ... Show More
1h 11m
Apr 2025
The Birth of Indo-European
From the steppes of prehistoric Eurasia to the languages we speak today, the story of Indo-European is one of ancient roots and global impact. But what exactly is Indo-European? Who spoke it? And how did a single language family come to dominate nearly half the world? In this epi ... Show More
42m 59s
Jul 21
284 | Advanced - Short Story: The Heart of Cleopatra [English Listening Practice]
Title: The Heart of CleopatraLevel: Advanced (C1)Story: Set against the rich, atmospheric backdrop of ancient Egypt, The Heart of Cleopatra unveils the secret life of one of history’s most enigmatic queens. Behind the throne, beneath the gilded halls of Alexandria, Cleopatra guar ... Show More
10m 24s
Jun 2014
Shakespeare vs Milton: The Kings of English Literature Debate
Nearly four centuries after his death, no writer has come close to matching Shakespeare’s understanding of the world – or his gift for dramatic poetry. It’s not just kings and queens that he captured so uniquely in his transcendent verse. Shakespeare analysed the human condition, ... Show More
2h 14m
Jul 2024
CLASSIC: Will the real Shakespeare please stand up?
Playwright William Shakespeare is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential writers in the English language, and his plays have been read or performed millions of times around the world. He was also quite prolific: Between about 1590 and 1613, Shakespeare wrote at least ... Show More
1h 3m
Nov 2024
Oldest Alphabetic Writing Discovered and the Indian Ocean Gravity Hole
What would you like to see more of? Let us know!In today's episode of Discover Daily, we begin with a closer look at a groundbreaking archaeological discovery. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have unearthed the world's oldest known alphabetic writing in Syria, d ... Show More
8m 16s
Nov 2024
How to Learn Old English (feat. Colin Gorrie)
My guest today is someone who I believe, without exaggeration, will help transform the way people learn ancient languages for years to come. While our institutional academies crumble, a new academy is quietly emerging in independent organizations like the Ancient Language Institu ... Show More
36m 8s
May 6
CLASSIC: The Story of Atlantis
The legendary civilization of Atlantis was first mentioned in the works of Plato, in dialogues that claimed to recount information from translations of ancient Egyptian texts. And people have been searching for this city ever since. So what was Atlantis, exactly? A metaphor, a wo ... Show More
1h 3m
Aug 2024
The Voynich Manuscript Pt. 1
Discovered by book dealer Wilfred Voynich in 1912, the centuries-old “Voynich Manuscript” is written in a strange text that no one has been able to decipher. Scholars, historians, and linguists have all tried to uncover the secret behind the mysterious tome. Conspiracy Theories i ... Show More
42m 10s