8 Apr 2026
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Most slang words come and go, but there’s one undisputed king that’s over 100 years old and still as relevant as ever… and that’s cool.

Otherwords is a PBS web series on Storied that digs deep into this quintessential human trait of language and finds the fascinating, thought-provoking, and funny stories behind the words and sounds we take for granted. Incorporating the fields of biology, history, cultural studies, literature, and more, linguistics has something for everyone and offers a unique perspective on what it means to be human.

Host: Erica Brozovsky, Ph.D.
Creator/Director: Andrew Matthews & Katie Graham
Writer: Andrew Matthews
Producer: Katie Graham
Editor/Animation: Dano Johnson
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Fact Checker: Yvonne McGreevy

Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing
Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell

Stock Images from Shutterstock
Music from APM Music
Otherwords is a production of Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.
© 2026 PBS. All rights reserved.

sources:
https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2014/j…
https://slate.com/human-interest/2013…
https://read.dukeupress.edu/american-…
https://read.dukeupress.edu/american-…
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/op…
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2015-2…
https://bloggersbeowulf.com/2014/02/#….
https://archive.org/details/jstor-291…
https://dissentmagazine.org/online_ar…
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cool-sta…

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