Listen "It Is John McWhorter's Achilles' Heel"
Episode Synopsis
In this solo episode of Bald and Bloviating, host Mookie Spitz riffs on his linguistic pet peeve: the overuse of the passive voice. Prompted by a recent media blitz from linguist John McWhorter—whom Mookie once emailed with unsolicited writing advice—this episode dives into why phrases like "it is" and "there was" weaken prose. Drawing inspiration from a long-forgotten middle school teacher and Dickens’ famous opening, Mookie makes a passionate, funny case for active voice as the secret to strong, intentional writing. The blog emailed to John:https://medium.com/@mookiespitz/avoid-the-biggest-most-common-writing-mistake-dc859b9f8414Send the host a text! Let him know what you think Support the show
More episodes of the podcast Bald and Bloviating
The Cockroach as Critic
04/11/2025
Don't Be a Picassole!
13/10/2025
How I Almost Partied with Bari Weiss
07/10/2025
LA Comic Con 2025: View from Booksellers Row
30/09/2025
"Liars and Cowards and Thieves, Oh My!"
19/09/2025
Ode to My Big F@cking Mouth
15/09/2025
Mookie's Weekly Bloviation: 9/4/2025
05/09/2025
Writers, Stop the H.A.I.T.E.!
01/09/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.