Johanna Mayer is a podcast producer and hosts Science Diction from Science Friday. When she’s not working, she’s probably baking a fruit pie. Cherry’s her specialty, but she whips up a mean rhubarb streusel as well.
Johanna Mayer is the host of Science Diction from Science Friday, a series that digs into the scientific origin stories behind our words and language. She spends a lot of time with the Oxford English Dictionary.
Before joining Science Friday, she worked as a freelance writer and taught English in Japanese public schools for two years on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. In addition to her classroom duties, she once ate 52 pieces of sushi in a single sitting.
When she’s not working, she’s probably baking a fruit pie. Cherry’s her specialty, but she whips up a mean rhubarb streusel as well.
Johanna Mayer appears in the following:
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
The American Chestnut towered in forests, then disappeared. Now, it’s staging a comeback.
Tuesday, December 07, 2021
Vocal fry has been around for ages. So why are people suddenly so bothered by it?
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Jagannath Temple gave rise to the word “juggernaut.” But the ancient story of Jagannath is rather delightful.
Tuesday, November 02, 2021
Most people despise it. So why do we use it? And is all jargon bad?
Tuesday, October 19, 2021
When a high school student asked a question about algebra on TikTok, she unknowingly awoke an age-old debate in mathematics history.
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
The origin of the word, and why we name storms.
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
The origin of a superstitious phrase, and a Japanese word that’s staked its place in English.
Tuesday, August 31, 2021
The Myers-Briggs has arrived, but what does it tell us?
Tuesday, August 24, 2021
Isabel turns her mother’s philosophy into a marketable product.
Friday, August 20, 2021
In communities of color, the pandemic is leading to growing numbers of suicides. Plus, how the Myers-Briggs test was invented by a mother-daughter duo, and its complicated legacy.
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
A mother sets out to raise the perfect child.
Tuesday, August 03, 2021
After the neurochemical bonanza of the honeymoon period fades, are we doomed to inferior love?
Wednesday, July 07, 2021
Spatzle, clown, and sonic hedgehog. And those are just the ones fit to print.
Tuesday, June 22, 2021
Plus: What squid have to do with Instagram filters.
Tuesday, June 08, 2021
Irregardless, the dictionary’s got your back.
Tuesday, May 25, 2021
How syzygy saved the Suez ship, and how a country's name ended up inside the word "serendipity"
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
People used to eat it, too.
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
The world's first vaccination campaign involved a ship, some pus-filled sores, and 22 orphan boys.
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Let’s play a game: Guess the meaning or backstory of a word.
Saturday, March 20, 2021
It all started with a falling out between two famous psychologists.