Glenn takes a seat while panelists discuss literal American-style pants and trousers around the world that are designed for people who identify as women—and the many styles that fail to fit many bodies! Also: missing pockets—the agents of the p

Expletive Delighted

Jan 18th, 2023 22m 14s

This episode features outbursts of descriptive words of body parts and fluids—and not just in English. We talk both about stuff people are uncomfortable saying and words that they use as freely as breathing air. With our international cast of c

Thingumbob

Oct 10th, 2022 16m 1s

Languages are full of, um, filler words, you know, like, what’s it? We talk in this episode about doodads, whatchamacallits, mojang, and oder, right? Glenn Fleishman with Annette Wierstra, Erika Ensign, Jean MacDonald, Julia Skott, Sarah

Crunchy Granola Family

Sep 23rd, 2022 25m 6s

We’re back with a new set of Pants in the Boots episode with our largest, most geographically and linguistically varied set of panelists—from New Zealand/Aotearoa in the southern hemisphere to 10,000 miles (16,000 km) away in Sweden, we spanned

Broek in de Laars

May 23rd, 2022 3m 35s

Two of our panelists have Dutch origins and so we veer from our usual discussion of things related to English to dive briefly into salty licorice, Christmas holiday letters made of chocolate, and stroopwafel dipping. Glenn Fleishman with A

The Candy Man Can't

May 9th, 2022 29m 55s

We’re sweet on sugar, but many of our panelists don’t cotton to American candy—including the American participants. We discuss our favorite chocolate bars and confections, Glenn forgets the word for licorice briefly, seaside rock crops up, and

Brew Who?

Apr 25th, 2022 20m 10s

Soda, pop, soda pop, soft drink, tonic, seltzer, and other fizzy drinks form the sweet backbone of our discussion as panelists talk about their childhood drinks, fountains and soda jerks, and a special beverage from Malta. Glenn Fleishman

Brew Who?

Apr 25th, 2022 20m 10s

Secret New Zealander

Apr 11th, 2022 7m 59s

People who speak English with one accent trying to ape another region or country’s often sound ridiculous to the people of that other place—but convincing to those from their native land’s impression of what people in that other place sound lik

Accents Acute

Mar 28th, 2022 29m 29s

There’s something about the way people in different countries makes those from others swoon. But there’s often a disdain for regional accents, particularly ones that have class markers. In a language with few accent marks above letters, we talk

All Language Is Made Up

Mar 14th, 2022 16m 10s

Hokey crokey, Batman! We start by talking about nonsense words—words that are filler and mean nothing in the language or dialect in which they’re used—but then transition to more meaningful matters, like the way in which aboriginal and native l

The Detector Van Is a Lie

Jan 24th, 2022 32m 48s

The television license is mythical to those of us in the United States, but it’s prosaic part of having high-quality programming in the UK. We talk about the kinds of over-the-air, satellite, streaming, and cable TV available to us, our feeling

Money Money Money Money Money Money Money Money

Jan 10th, 2022 27m 12s

Money is the root of all evil and the topic of this podcast. What in heaven’s name is spondulix? A pound is not a guinea. A five might be a finif, if you’re a gangster or read hard-boiled detective novels. Learn a little history and our favorit

Marmaladoo, Are You Jelly?

Dec 27th, 2021 17m 28s

We’re in a jam about jelly. What Americans think of as jelly is rarely eaten outside North America, while other folks worried we were putting a gelatin-brand product on our peanut-butter sandwiches. It’s all about the pectin! We compute the com

Sing Your Favorite Postal Code

Dec 13th, 2021 9m 49s

Everyone else’s postal codes seem bizarre until you start decoding them. Glenn Fleishman with Chris Phin, Erika Ensign, James Thomson, Jean MacDonald and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.

We All Live at 123 Fake Street

Nov 29th, 2021 17m 42s

North American house numbering makes no sense to people with more rational systems, like that of Glasgow, which James reads out during this episode. Why do U.S. and Canadian homes have extremely long numbers and how can you use this to find cro

A Detached View of Living

Nov 15th, 2021 12m 23s

Panelist Chris Phin asked the innocent question, “What’s a duplex?” We went off half-cocked, then fully loaded as we discussed the difference between American duplexes and triplexes, townhouses, UK semi-detached housing, and a “two flat” in New

This'll Floor You

Nov 1st, 2021 20m 30s

We quake with fear as we address the tricky question of floor numbering. If the ground floor is the floor that is level with the ground, what’s the first floor? What if your ground floor is a flight of stairs up? Why does James have shops in hi

Factor in the Coopetition

Oct 18th, 2021 21m 50s

Now for the most exciting of all topics: real-estate ownership! Americans try to explain condos and coops, Scots tell us about mysterious “factors” and trying to talk your neighbo(u)rs into things like spending huge sums to repair holes in the

We Get Sharp about Flats

Oct 4th, 2021 19m 55s

An off-handed remark from James that he lived in—nay, owned—a “tenement flat” led to an extended discussion about flats, apartments, and tenements, and about how we refer to the kind of sub-building dwelling we live in. Glenn Fleishman wit

Get a Load of This Bench

Sep 20th, 2021 15m 58s

We thought we’d start a run of episodes continuing our theme of things around the house with a simple topic: bench or counter/countertop. It turns out after finishing a meal, we need to sidle into the bathroom, find the pocket door. We also lea

That Takes the Biscuit

Jun 4th, 2021 18m 35s

A buttermilk biscuit is one of humanity’s greatest inventions. But it is somehow different from an English or Scottish (or New Zealand) scone, whether you pronounce it skown or skon. In this episode, we tear biscuits apart, peer inside sausages

Do You Want a Piece of Me?

May 21st, 2021 12m 35s

We wade into the contentious debate of what constitutes a sandwich in this episode, but fortunately get sidetracked into whether a chicken patty is a burger or a sandwich, and then start remembering chip butties fondly, we discuss “the bits” of

A Cup or Two Will Benefit You

May 7th, 2021 8m 24s

Welcome to tea or not! A podcast in which we…never mind. This episode, we discuss a cuppa, a fly cup, broken orange pekoe, tea bags, tea with toasted brown rice, and what is absolutely not tea. Bonus content at the end.

Are You Mocha-ing Me?

Apr 23rd, 2021 15m 3s

A flat white isn’t just a boring person who frequents Starbucks, but a drink invented in New Zealand. Fortunately, we have a Kiwi on this episode to talk about that and other coffee we drink out in the best of times (and, in New Zealand, right