Host Rune Pedersen dives into the fascinating world of everyday language in How Humans Talk—a series about how we connect, persuade, and make sense of each other through conversation. From subtle word choices to cultural quirks, each episode explores how language shapes who we are, how we relate, and the world we live in. Hear from communication pros, cultural observers, and wonderfully curious guests as they unpack the hidden layers of how humans talk.
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2:01
Kick the Bucket
Well, this is it. The last episode of The Idiom. It feels like we should talk about the biggest topic of all, the one we put off until the end (the real end). Death! There are oodles of idioms about death. From pushing up daisies to hitting a deadline, it seems our language is peppered with them. Which makes sense, death is one of the few truly universal experiences across all cultures.
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20:05
A weight off my shoulders
Here in Australia, we’ve been slowly getting better at talking about mental health. But it’s not the same story across all cultures. For many, discussion of mental fitness remains cloaked in idioms, or worse, silence.
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20:49
Saving for a rainy day
We’re not comfortable talking about money in Australia. You don’t go to a dinner party and ask people their salary. But why not? Money is something we all need and want. We've all got money on our minds, so why not share? Rune goes in search of answers, and the idioms we use to skirt around money talk.
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18:52
How ya goin'?
Do idioms and language get in the way when you’re trying to participate in a new culture? Idioms add spice to the meal of conversation and Australians use them a lot in daily conversation, but they depend on a shared cultural understanding. In a society as multicultural as Australia, is that a problem?
The Idiom is a podcast that explores weird and wonderful idioms from Australia and around the world. Join host Rune Pedersen on a journey of cultural discovery through the quirky little phrases that pepper our everyday speech. We’ll chat with language professionals, cultural experts, and self-professed language nerds to find out how our words shape the world around us. So sit tight, bite the bullet, and jump on the bandwagon with The Idiom, produced by Think HQ CultureVerse and SBS Audio.
Colombia