Episode 48

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Published on:

4th Oct 2026

Episode 48: cyber

Our era is defined by technological development: artificial intelligence, speedy data connections, the very Internet itself. In this episode, we consider a word at the heart of modern technology: cyber. It's a word with a strange-sounding Greek ancestor (κυβερνήτης), whose widely used derivatives are hiding in plain sight in modern English. "Cyber" is also a welcome opportunity to revisit Patricia Lockwood's 2021 novel No One Is Talking About This, in which the narrator finds herself celebrated in cyberspace in ways that escape her control.

Suggest a word for a future episode or support this podcast at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wordswordswords

Music: Adapted from Sonatine by Maurice Ravel, performed by Irene Posviatovska (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

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About the Podcast

Original Public Meaning
Exploring the ancient roots of modern words
Where do our modern English words come from? And what do their long histories tell us about the wider world today? On Original Public Meaning, we unearth ancient etymology and consider how our vast, rich literature—fiction, essays, science, and more—can help us savor our words today.
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Charles McNamara

Assistant Professor of Classics, University of Georgia