Transatlantically Speaking

Fair warning: this episode is going to bum you out, and I’m profoundly sorry for that. I wish more than anything that I wasn’t posting this; in fact, I thought for a long while about not post...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2017/05/16/give-my-regards-to-broadchurch/

See? We’re just like London buses: you wait for ages, and then two come along at once. This week, we discuss my m(o)ustache discoveries, and then (after a rude interruption) we talk about choco...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2016/10/22/nootella/

After a little gap (let’s call it a hiatus) we’re back to talk about the curious case of two battery rabbits. Then we discuss dumplings in all their forms, and I relate the world’s first an...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2016/10/15/battling-battery-bunnies/

Groveling apologies for the gap between episodes, but that should make this one all the more sweet! Ha! Heh! Ahem. Anyway. This week, we discuss molasses, treacle, and the unfortunate slave-trade...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2016/08/19/treacle/

This episode, we inadvertently enter the wacky realm of spoons, which aren’t just for drugs anymore. Then we hear some listener mail from Raphael, Chris Morris, Jochen and Jeff – everything f...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2016/07/07/actually-there-are-lots-of-spoons/

This week we discuss “The Tilted Kilt,” a pub, eatery and affront to Celts everywhere. Then we ponder why time itself is pretending to be Irish, which gets us onto Will-o-the-Wisp. Then we ch...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2016/06/07/tilted-kilts-alphabetti-spaghetti/

This week, we catch up on listener mail from Jeff, Beth, Jochen, John K and my dad; we learn everything from how foreigners decide which “English” they want to speak, to why British soldiers ...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2016/05/23/how-to-speak-american/

This week, I make Johnson try various British sodas, and along the way we learn about e-numbers, tidy man and dwarf suicide. Then, we compare Captain Birdseye and the Gorton’s Fisherman to see ...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2016/04/24/soda-sommeliers/

This week, we talk about the outrageous British Surrender Quarter, then make some startling discoveries about Teddy Bears. Then, I have a hankering for some Banoffee Pie, and we get listener comm...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2016/04/02/quarterly-losses/

This week, we discuss the lie that is the open-faced sandwich, and hear about its scandalous legal troubles. Then, we imagine having entire theme parks named after us, and hear about familiar pro...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2016/03/21/the-people-vs-open-faced-sandwich/

A packed show this week! Firstly, we have a guest called Patti, so I explain why I have trouble saying her name. Then I show off my “black man’s pinch,” which gets us into the wacky world o...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2016/02/28/dandelion-burdock/

This week, an extremely late but packed episode! First we hear about some recent problems I had with my caulk (ooer), and then listeners John Killey, Randy, Ed and Raphael get in touch about ever...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2016/02/01/future-sex-math/

In our quickie holiday post-mortem show, we discuss the American habit of putting family portraits on their christmas cards; then Johnson goes below the waist with something called a Yankee Swap....

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2016/01/06/knee-cymbals/

It’s Christmas, which means it’s time for Johnson and I to pull crackers again (with predictable results.) Then we chat about something Americans don’t have (“specterly locomotives”) an...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/12/23/have-a-meowy-catmas/

A short and embarrassingly late episode (there’s another one coming right behind it though) in which we discuss the difference (if any) between icing and frosting – and likewise britches and ...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/12/08/i-see-london-i-see-france/

This episode, my wife steps in to chat about the Queen’s big milestone, and what “knocking someone up” and “going potty” mean in the UK. Then I explain “999 Letsby Avenue” and other...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/10/30/999-letsby-avenue/

This week, Johnson tries a “Crunchie” to resolve last episode’s important honeycomb story. Then, we talk about companies in American films that may or may not have been real, and I confess ...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/10/03/one-each-end-and-steady-as-we-go/

This week, Ed Lee writes in about Jamie Foxx, code-switching, and the correct use of the word “fishes;” John Killey corrects me on the commonwealth and South African racism; we chat about the...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/09/05/honeycomb-and-other-lies/

This week, my plan to entrap Johnson with the word “Aunt” backfires. Then we argue about whether Canadians ever say the name of their country wrong, and Beth Kent sends us a letter about the ...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/08/15/extracting-the-michael/

This week, Jamie Foxxx(xx?) gets us into the wacky world of stage names, where we learn the difference between Marion Morrison and Maurice Micklewhite. Then we discuss the Hokey Cokey (or Pokey),...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/08/02/the-art-of-blending-in/

This week, it’s Transatlantically Speaking “After Dark” which, sadly, just means that we recorded later than normal. We do a wrap-up of the women’s World Cup, and get a letter from Kevin ...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/07/18/the-goode-olde-dayse/

This week, Jochen writes in about how well the England and Germany women’s football teams are doing (unfortunately, a week is a long time in football, and they’ve since both been eliminated.)...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/07/04/from-my-cold-dead-van/

This week, Johnson hijacks the show; firstly with something called “Periscope” that, apparently, those crazy kids are into. And later, after me griping about how everyone gets me name wrong, ...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/06/23/the-one-drop-rule/

Very, ridiculously late with this one, but finally, we get to hear the Belize trip debrief. Caves! Cash! Crabs! Crashes! This episode has them all. Then we chat about the fall of the British empi...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/06/13/johnson-tubes-your-cave/

Very late with this one, but we talk about the (at the time unnamed) new princess, and then I make the Kentucky Derby sound more British, which is to say, better. Then, it’s time for another ro...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/05/13/johnsons-big-blue-hole/

This week, my recent dental surgery gets us into Niki Lauda jokes, stealth Australians and Ken Branagh’s lips. Then we talk about Hot Cross Buns: what they are, how much they cost, and why Puff...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/04/14/je-vais-chez-le-dentiste/

This week, I prove that, though they don’t know it, most Americans have heard the voice of one Magnus Pyke. Then we chat about some conspicuously British Bingo calls, and something in British n...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/03/29/these-go-to-legs-11/

This week, we talk about our recent one-hour jet lag, and I frighten Americans by telling them it’s Mother’s Day. Then, I play a clip of someone trying to identify individual members of the ...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/03/16/guns-and-hair-pins/

This week, a letter from our Kansas chum Jeff gets us arguing over who should be allowed to call their sport “football.” Then, I give Johnson chocolate spiked with something, and share one of...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/02/27/like-a-diamante-cowboy/

This week, we talk about Black History Month — what it used to be called, and which month they went with in the UK. Then we discuss the latest British chocolate drama, and read some mail from t...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/02/13/mail-enhancement/

A packed episode this week: First, we talk about the “New” versions of lots of places, then I confess to over-thinking the way to say a colleague’s name. Then, I compare the British “Wago...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/01/30/lets-talk-dangly-things/

It’s our 100th episode, and Johnson celebrates by becoming a woman! Not really, but he does have more holes in him than he used to. We discuss what Brits call “styrofoam,” which gets us ont...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/01/19/were-100/

Seriously, look at the size of that television! And you can hang it on the wall! Yes, it’s 2015, so we take the opportunity to discuss which predictions in “Back To The Future 2” came true,...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2015/01/09/the-future-is-now/

This week, despite a crippling hangover, Johnson bravely pulls some christmas crackers, so we naturally tell bad jokes, wear paper crowns, and discuss the noises made by animals in foreign countr...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2014/12/31/a-christmas-quickie/

A packed episode! First we talk about rain, vol-au-vents, and what color liquorice should be. Then we read some listener mail about Where’s Waldo (and various other people), and the ongoing feu...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2014/12/23/kicked-in-the-bunyans/

Johnson’s back, and after discussing whether or not Yosemite and Yellowstone exist outside of cartoons, we chat about Thanksgiving football and the correct way to say “Detroit.” Then Johnso...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2014/12/08/lens-flare-edition/

It’s Thanksgiving week, and them’s my wife’s first ever attempt at Yorkshire Pud. Not bad, eh? We also chat about Sirie’s confusion about the Home Depot, and dissect the 1960 Max Bygraves...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2014/11/28/happy-yorksgiving/

Sorry again for the delay in posting, but here it is: the big post-trip debrief. We talk about what a great time we had, plus cabbies, toilets, clocks, road safety, pumpkins, toilets, coffee, toi...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2014/11/17/englathonocalypseborough-2014/

Apologies for the late posting of this show, but as regular listeners will know, we’re in the UK at the moment. In this show, Johnson and I chat about our (then) impending trip, after which the...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2014/11/02/french-barbarian-comics/

This week, Jennifer and I discuss the word “downtown,” after which I complain about how Americans mispronounce the word “voila.” Then I play a clip of “The Young Ones” parodying the T...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2014/10/24/earth-neutral-live/

…instead, we made this exciting movie trailer where we finally eat the delicious, and highly illegal, Kinder Egg Surprise. Neither death nor legal action ensues. Enjoy!

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2014/10/17/no-show-this-week-but/

This week, after hearing Johnson’s harrowing story about his adventures in Mexico, we discuss my huge voltage adaptor (that’s not a euphemism.) Then I reveal that we’re away for the all-imp...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2014/10/10/like-totally-bitchin/

Sorry about this, but I’m shamelessly re-posting our clip show from July of 2013. I’m not even changing the intro, so when I say “out of town” please substitute “a bit poorly and very b...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2014/10/03/phoning-it-in/

A shorter than usual show this week, because I was, well, not well. But it’s still a good one: we talk about the Scottish referendum result, and get letters from listeners Amy and LaToya. Amy t...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2014/09/26/did-i-mention-im-sick/

Inevitably, this week we discuss Scottish independence, which at time of posting is still undecided. We talk about how sad it’ll be, and how it’ll ruin the lovely British flag. Then we dip in...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2014/09/18/whatever-scotland/

This week, the listeners single-handedly prop up the show. First, Chris Morris sends us some observations and a poem. Then, Beth Kent gives some suggestions for Johnson’s upcoming trip to Londo...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2014/09/12/the-delicious-bald-eagle/

It was a holiday weekend in the United States, and we decided to take that literally. So I now have a suntan shaped like a string vest and knotted hankie. See you next week!

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2014/09/03/no-show-this-week/

This week, after I complain about an odd inconsistency with our old friend the letter zed, we enjoy listening to some Americans arguing amongst themselves about an unusual American term. Then we ...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2014/08/29/where-fish-go-in-the-summer/

This week, after I complain about some over-flexibility in American pronunciations, listener Andrea asks how to blend in while on vacation in the UK. Then, we listen to some Irish people trying A...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2014/08/22/snacks-the-great-divide/

This week, Johnson makes an observation on the British version of the magical negro, after which we discover how much (or little) Americans know about Canada. Then, Johnson fields some searching ...

https://www.transatlanticallyspeaking.com/2014/08/15/our-friends-to-the-north/