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Society & Culture

The Idiom

by SBS
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Latest episodes

  • Introducing 'How Humans Talk'

    May 15, 2025 · 2 min

    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…

  • Kick the Bucket

    August 2, 2023 · 20 min

    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…

  • A weight off my shoulders

    July 26, 2023 · 21 min

    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.

  • Saving for a rainy day

    July 19, 2023 · 21 min

    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…

  • How ya goin'?

    July 12, 2023 · 19 min

    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…

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  • Spinning a yarn

    July 5, 2023 · 33 min

    We know that language shapes how we see the world, and storytelling has the power to preserve cultural knowledge from one generation to the next. Storytelling and yarning is at the heart of First Nations cultures and communities in…

  • Donkey Work

    June 28, 2023 · 16 min

    Ever noticed how many idioms there are about animals? They seem to breed like rabbits! And interestingly, different animals tend to have the same reputation across cultures. Lions are brave. Snakes are sneaky. And donkeys? Oh, poor donkeys.

  • The Elephant in the Room

    June 21, 2023 · 18 min

    Rune Pedersen just wants to talk about something he’s not supposed to talk about. Taboos! Idioms are a great way to approach taboos. They allow us to talk about something without saying it directly, but what and who gets cut out of the…

  • It's Raining Cats and Dogs

    June 14, 2023 · 22 min

    Danish import Rune Pedersen has a theory... Idioms hold the key to truly understanding other cultures. Can understanding more about idioms help him break the ice with anyone and their dog at the local pub? In this first episode of The…

  • Introducing The Idiom: How do words shape our world?

    May 25, 2023 · 2 min

    Can understanding different cultures' idioms help us see eye to eye? The Idiom is a new SBS podcast that explores weird and wonderful idioms from Australia and around the world.

Full episode archive on Apple Podcasts →

About the show

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.