Description

Presented by Stephen Fry, as heard on BBC Radio 4.

1. Rhetoric: It was once a noble oratorical art. Now, rhetoric means the misleading language of politicians and dictators. Stephen tries to restore its original meaning, with the help of three very different speeches.

2. Spelling: English spelling is famously irregular. As Stephen puts it: 'I before e except after c. Weird ' The history of spelling is strewn with attempts to simplify it. How did it get so difficult?

3. Words Without End: Have you been 'bangalored' at work? Bangalored is one of the many new words absorbed by English. Our lexicon is getting bigger and bigger. Will the growth of the language ever slow down?

4. WTF?: What the ? The F Word - its history, culture, and legality. Stephen invites Denis Norden, Kathy Burke, Graham Linehan and Geoffrey Robertson QC to ponder its power. Is its taboo on the wane? Do we still use it sexually?

Warning: Contains some swear words.