What does the word “meme” have to do with evolutionary biology? And why do we call it “Spanish flu” when it was never Spanish? Science Diction is a podcast about words—and the science stories within ...

Science Diction is a bite-sized podcast about words—and the science stories behind them. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and sign up for our newsletter. Over the past year, you’ve sent us ...

In 1887, Julius Petri invented a simple pair of nesting glass dishes, ideal for keeping specimens of growing bacteria sterile—the 'Petri dish.' Science historian Howard Markel recounts the history of ...

In my writing and teaching, I’ve come to understand the value of the word “diction” in solving some of my most important language problems. It comes from the Latin word for “oratory” and “speech” and ...

Diction is an act of speaking in a distinctive way, the choice of picking words, pronouncing correctly, and the level of articulation. Speaking in the right diction and pronouncing each word according ...

Each episode of Science Diction takes a word or phrase, and with the help of historians, authors, etymologists, and scientists, serves up language with a side of science. It’s been wonderful to have ...