Podcasts about Linguistics

Episode: 1381 Naming our machines - finding out who they are!  Today, we name a new machine.

How weird is it to make your own language? Find out as we discuss J.R.R. Tolkien's "A Secret Vice", in which he describes his own evolution in making languages, the beauty in such a hobby, and language itself being an art form. Follow us on X! Give us your opinions here!

Ten years ago, on the fourth episode of the show, I investigated why the C-word is considered a worse swear than the others. Since then - well really just in the last three years or so - there has been a huge development: the word has hit the mainstream as a compliment. Linguists Nicole Holliday and Kelly Elizabeth Wright discuss this use of the word originating in the ballroom culture of New York City in the 1990s, and what it means to turn such a strong swear into praise.Related to this: the Allusionist live show Souvenirs! Which is about, among other things, some of the tech problems today's word causes, and how being one can wreck a friendship and a printing press. See Souvenirs in Toronto 1 June and Montréal 9 June; find ticket links and venue info at theallusionist.org/events.Visit theallusionist.org/serving for a transcript of this episode, plus links to more information about topics in the episode, and the rest of Four Letter Word season.Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get behind-the-scenes glimpses about every episode, fortnightly livestreams with me and my dictionaries, and the Allusioverse Discord community.This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman, on the unceded ancestral and traditional territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. The music is by Martin Austwick. Download his songs at palebirdmusic.com and listen to his podcasts Song By Song and Neutrino Watch.Find the Allusionist at youtube.com/allusionistshow, instagram.com/allusionistshow, facebook.com/allusionistshow, @allusionistshow.bsky.social… If I'm there, I'm there as @allusionistshow. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you want me to talk compellingly about your product, sponsor an episode: contact Multitude at multitude.productions/ads. This episode is sponsored by:• Squarespace, your one-stop shop for building and running your online forever home. Go to squarespace.com/allusionist for a free 2-week trial, and get 10 percent off your first purchase of a website or domain with the code allusionist.• Rosetta Stone, immersive and effective language learning. Allusionist listeners get 50% off unlimited access to all 25 language courses, for life: go to rosettastone.com/allusionist.• Home Chef, meal kits that fit your needs. For a limited time, Home Chef is offering Allusionist listeners fifty per cent off and free shipping on your first box, plus free dessert for life, at HomeChef.com/allusionist.• Quince, luxurious clothing and homewares at prices 50-80% lower than comparable brands. Go to Quince.com/allusionist for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is it possible to make travel sports season feel like a vacation? Tune in for an inspiring discussion with Carolyn Antonini as she shares some of her best tips to help parents navigate their summer travel adventures for sporting events. Moments with Marianne airs in the Southern California area on KMET1490AM & 98.1 FM, an ABC Talk News Radio affiliate! Caryn Antonini is a multilingual entrepreneur, TEDx speaker, and media personality whose global upbringing sparked a lifelong passion for language and culture. A graduate of Georgetown University's School of Languages and Linguistics, she created the award-winning Early Lingo Language Learning System and later launched Cultivated by Caryn, a media brand and radio show focused on culture, cuisine, and comfort, airing on six stations. She previously ran Present Perfect, a luxury gift business serving A-list clients in Los Angeles, and co-produced the Town Dish series honoring First Responders. Caryn has been featured on CNN, ABC, Fox, CBS, and NBC as an expert in parenting, lifestyle, and cultural topics, and is an active member of the World Forum Foundation and the Global Chamber Advisory Board. www.ihg.com/youthsports For more show information visit: www.MariannePestana.com

Paris Marx is joined by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna to discuss the harms of generative AI, how the industry keeps the public invested while companies flounder under the weight of unmet promises, and what people can do to push back.Emily M. Bender is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics at University of Washington. Alex Hanna is Director of Research at the Distributed AI Institute. They are the authors of The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want.Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.Also mentioned in this episode:New York Magazine reported on the consequences of increasingly widespread use of ChatGPT in education.Support the show

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna to discuss some of the harms caused by generative AI, address the industry's ploys to keep the public invested while companies flounder under the weight of unmet promises, and what folks can do to push back.Emily M. Bender is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics at University of Washington. Alex Hanna is Director of Research at the Distributed AI Institute. They are the authors of The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

"I was born in the wrong language!" now ranks among perhaps one of the oddest phrases said during an active tornado warning. Join us as we discuss J.R.R. Tolkien's essay "English and Welsh", examining what makes a people a people and the beauty present in studying other languages! Follow us on X! Give us your opinions here!

  Today Razib talks to Laura Spinney, Paris-based British author of the forthcoming Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global. A science journalist, translator and author of both fiction and non-fiction, she has written for Nature, National Geographic, The Economist, New Scientist, and The Guardian. Spinney is the author of two novels, Doctor and The Quick, and a collection of oral history in French from Lausanne entitled Rue Centrale. In 2017, she published Pale Rider, an account of the 1918 flu pandemic. She also translated Swiss writer Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz's novel Derborence into English. Spinney graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Sciences from Durham University and did a journalism residency at Berlin's Planck Institute. First, Razib asks Spinney how difficult it was to integrate archaeology, linguistics and paleogenetics into her narrative in Proto, which traces the rise and proliferation of Indo-European languages from its ancestral proto-Indo-European. She talks about why this was the time to write a book like this for a general audience, as paleogenetics has revolutionized our understanding of recent prehistory, and in particular the questions around the origin of the Indo-Europeans. Razib and Spinney talk about various scenarios that have been bandied about for decades, for example, the arguments between linguistics and archaeologists whether proto-Indo-European was from the steppe or had an Anatolian homeland, and the exact relationship of the Hittites and their language to other Indo-European branches. They also delve into how genetics has helped shed light on deeper connections between some branches, like Balto-Slavic and Indo-Iranian, or Greek and Armenian. Spinney also addresses how writing a book like Proto involves placing fields like historical linguistics and archaeology with charged political associations in their proper historical context

Elias Makos caps the week off with Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor, and Andrew Caddell, a town councillor in Kamouraska, and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy. Elections Canada confirmed that five ballots arrived late in Quebec’s Terrebonne riding due to an envelope with an incorrect postal code Quebec Premier François Legault says he’s open to new pipeline projects in light of Donald Trump’s tariff threats Despite saying he’ll lead the CAQ into the 2026 election, François Legault may be weighing whether to step down The “Original Sin,” which describes the behind-the-scenes mental and physical decline of Joe Biden

Join us as we conclude our discussion on Tolkien's fantastic essay "On Fairy-stories"! In this episode, we discuss why fairy-stories are not just for children, what true fantasy really is, the proper attitude of escapism, and why the Gospels are at the heart of it all. Follow us on X! Give us your opinions here!

Is AI a big scam? In their co-authored new book, The AI Con, Emily Bender and Alex Hanna take aim at what they call big tech “hype”. They argue that large language models from OpenAI or Anthropic are merely what Bender dubs "stochastic parrots" that produce text without the human understanding nor the revolutionary technology that these companies claim. Both Bender, a professor of linguistics, and Hanna, a former AI researcher at Google, challenge the notion that AI will replace human workers, suggesting instead that these algorithms produce "mid" or "janky" content lacking human insight. They accuse tech companies of hyping fear of missing out (FOMO) to drive adoption. Instead of centralized AI controlled by corporations, they advocate for community-controlled technology that empowers users rather than exploiting them. Five Takeaways (with a little help from Claude)* Large language models are "stochastic parrots" that produce text based on probability distributions from training data without actual understanding or communicative intent.* The AI "revolution" is primarily driven by marketing and hype rather than groundbreaking technological innovations, creating fear of missing out (FOMO) to drive adoption.* AI companies are positioning their products as "general purpose technologies" like electricity, but LLMs lack the reliability and functionality to justify this comparison.* Corporate AI is designed to replace human labor and centralize power, which the authors see as an inherently political project with concerning implications.* Bender and Hanna advocate for community-controlled technology development where people have agency over the tools they use, citing examples like Teheku Media's language technology for Maori communities.Dr. Emily M. Bender is a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Washington where she is also the Faculty Director of the Computational Linguistics Master of Science program and affiliate faculty in the School of Computer Science and Engineering and the Information School. In 2023, she was included in the inaugural Time 100 list of the most influential people in AI. She is frequently consulted by policymakers, from municipal officials to the federal government to the United Nations, for insight into into how to understand so-called AI technologies.Dr. Alex Hanna is Director of Research at the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR). A sociologist by training, her work centers on the data used in new computational technologies, and the ways in which these data exacerbate racial, gender, and class inequality. She also works in the area of social movements, focusing on the dynamics of anti-racist campus protest in the US and Canada. She holds a BS in Computer Science and Mathematics and a BA in Sociology from Purdue University, and an MS and a PhD in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Hanna is the co-author of The AI Con (Harper, 2025), a book about AI and the hype around it. With Emily M. Bender, she also runs the Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 series, playfully and wickedly tearing apart AI hype for a live audience online on Twitch and her podcast. She has published widely in top-tier venues across the social sciences, including the journals Mobilization, American Behavioral Scientist, and Big Data & Society, and top-tier computer science conferences such as CSCW, FAccT, and NeurIPS. Dr. Hanna serves as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Applied Transgender Studies and sits on the advisory board for the Human Rights Data Analysis Group. She is also recipient of the Wisconsin Alumni Association's Forward Award, has been included on FastCompany's Queer 50 (2021, 2024) List and Business Insider's AI Power List, and has been featured in the Cal Academy of Sciences New Science exhibit, which highlights queer and trans scientists of color.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Professor Nick Enfield from University of Sydney's Department of Linguistics tells Suzanne Hill how our language of gratitude is evolving.

Elias Makos ends the week with Sue Smith, a Montreal journalist and broadcaster, and Andrew Caddell, a town councillor in Kamouraska, and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy. Yesterday in a historic and some say unexpected move, an American cardinal named Robert Francis Prevost, originally from Chicago has been elected pope A report in La Press this week that some new seniors’ homes were costing the Quebec government as much as $1.8 million dollars a unit, the Minister for Health and for Seniors The Quebec student cellphone ban walkout (strike?) is supposedly happening today

Join us for the first part of our discussion on one of the greatest essays ever written: J.R.R. Tolkien's On Fairy-stories! In this episode, we examine what is and is not a fairy-story, what is really meant by Faërie, how such stories are made, and much more!Follow us on X! Give us your opinions here!

It's episode 212 and time for us to talk about excellently complicate the non-fiction genre of Linguistics & Language! We discuss

Blake and Karen take a minute to catch their breath and talk about where things are in their lives and what's up next in MonsterTalk news.Links:Bitch: The Journey of a WordAdhesive Capsulitis Idiopathic IllnessesMechanical TurkSpeaking MachineReplica of Speaking Machine (YouTube)Wolfgang von KempelenDeep MindDeep BlueMarvin MinskyJohn McCarthyBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support.

Since May 8, 1792, European colonists have called the large volcano just off the coast of Puget Sound "Mount Rainier." It was given that name by a British explorer, Captain George Vancouver – a gift to his friend, Rear Admiral Peter Rainier. But prior to Vancouver’s arrival in what eventually became Washington state, the Indigenous peoples in and around the Salish Sea called it by many names. A recent linguistic paper from the Puyallup Tribe of Indians traced those many names for the mountain – where they came from, and what they mean. Guests: Zalmai ʔəswəli Zahir, linguist and Lushootseed language teacher Related Links: Puyallup Tribal Language - Analysis of the Many Names of the Mountain Puyallup Tribal language consultant publishes first comprehensive analysis of the many Native names for Mount Rainier - ʔuhuyəxʷ ti dᶻixʷ pipa ʔə tiiɫ qa sdadaʔ ʔə tiiɫ skʷatač, ʔux̌alad ti ʔəswəli | Puyallup Tribe Puyallup Tribal Language - Culture Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I've been in London this week talking to America watchers about the current situation in the United States. First up is Edmund Fawcett, the longtime Economist correspondent in DC and historian of both liberalism and conservatism. Fawcett argues that Trump's MAGA movement represents a kind of third way between liberalism and conservatism - a version of American populism resurrected for our anti-globalist early 21st century. He talks about how economic inequality fuels Trumpism, with middle-class income shares dropping while the wealthy prosper. He critiques both what he calls right-wing intellectual "kitsch" and the left's lack of strategic vision beyond its dogma of identity politics. Lacking an effective counter-narrative to combat Trumpism, Fawcett argues, liberals require not only sharper messaging but also a reinvention of what it means to be modern in our globalized age of resurrected nationalism. 5 Key Takeaways* European reactions to Trump mix shock with recognition that his politics have deep American roots.* Economic inequality (declining middle-class wealth) provides the foundation for Trump's political appeal.* The American left lacks an effective counter-narrative and strategic vision to combat Trumpism.* Both right-wing intellectualism and left-wing identity politics suffer from forms of "kitsch" and American neurosis.* The perception of America losing its position as the embodiment of modernity creates underlying anxiety. Full TranscriptAndrew Keen: Hello everybody, we are in London this week, looking westward, looking at the United States, spending some time with some distinguished Englishmen, or half-Englishmen, who have spent a lot of their lives in the United States, and Edmund Fawcett, former Economist correspondent in America, the author of a number of important books, particularly, Histories of Liberalism and Conservatism, is remembering America, Edmund. What's your first memory of America?Edmund Fawcett: My first memory of America is a traffic accident on Park Avenue, looking down as a four-year-old from our apartment. I was there from the age of two to four, then again as a school child in Washington for a few years when my father was working. He was an international lawyer. But then, after that, back in San Francisco, where I was a... I kind of hacked as an editor for Straight Arrow Press, which was the publishing arm of Rolling Stone. This was in the early 70s. These were the, it was the end of the glory days of Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, the anti-war movement in Vietnam. It was exciting. A lot was going on, a lot was changing. And then not long after that, I came back to the U.S. for The Economist as their correspondent in Washington. That was in 1976, and I stayed there until 1983. We've always visited. Our son and grandson are American. My wife is or was American. She gave up her citizenship last year, chiefly for practical reasons. She said I would always feel American. But our regular visits have ended, of course. Being with my background, my mother was American, my grandfather was American. It is deeply part of my outlook, it's part of my world and so I am always very interested. I read quite a bit of the American press, not just the elite liberal press, every day. I keep an eye on through Real Clear Politics, which has got a very good sort of gazetteer. It's part of my weather.Andrew Keen: Edmund, I know you can't speak on behalf of Europe, but I'm going to ask a dumb question. Maybe you'll give me a smarter answer than the question. What's the European, the British take on what's happening in America? What's happened in this first quarter of 2025?Edmund Fawcett: I think a large degree of shock and horror, that's just the first reaction. If you'll allow me a little space, I think then there's a second reaction. The first reaction is shock and terror, with good reason, and nobody likes being talked to in the way that Vance talked to them, ignorantly and provocatively about free speech, which he feels he hasn't really thought hard enough about, and besides, it was I mean... Purely commercial, in largely commercial interest. The Europeans are shocked by the American slide from five, six, seven decades of internationalism. Okay, American-led, but still internationalist, cooperative, they're deeply shocked by that. And anybody who cares, as many Europeans do, about the texture, the caliber of American democracy and liberalism, are truly shocked by Trump's attacks on the courts, his attacks on the universities, his attack on the press.Andrew Keen: You remember, of course, Edmund, that famous moment in Casablanca where the policeman said he was shocked, truly shocked when of course he wasn't. Is your shock for real? Your... A good enough scholar of the United States to understand that a lot of the stuff that Trump is bringing to the table isn't new. We've had an ongoing debate in the show about how authentically American Trump is, whether he is the F word fascist or whether he represents some other indigenous strain in US political culture. What's your take?Edmund Fawcett: No, and that's the response to the shock. It's when you look back and see this Trump is actually deeply American. There's very little new here. There's one thing that is new, which I'll come to in a moment, and that returns the shock, but the shock is, is to some extent absorbed when Europeans who know about this do reflect that Trump is deeply American. I mean, there is a, he likes to cite McKinley, good, okay, the Republicans were the tariff party. He likes to say a lot of stuff that, for example, the populist Tom Watson from the South, deeply racist, but very much speaking for the working man, so long as he was a white working man. Trump goes back to that as well. He goes back in the presidential roster. Look at Robert Taft, competitor for the presidency against Eisenhower. He lost, but he was a very big voice in the Republican Party in the 1940s and 50s. Robert Taft, Jr. didn't want to join NATO. He pushed through over Truman's veto, the Taft-Hartley bill that as good as locked the unions out, the trade unions out of much of the part of America that became the burgeoning economic America, the South and the West. Trump is, sorry, forgive me, Taft, was in many ways as a hard-right Republican. Nixon told Kissinger, professors are the enemy. Reagan gave the what was it called? I forget the name of the speech that he gave in endorsing Barry Goldwater at the 1964 Republican Convention. This in a way launched the new Republican assault on liberal republicanism. Rockefeller was the loser. Reagan, as it were, handed the palm to Rocket Goldwater. He lost to Johnson, but the sermon they were using, the anti-liberal went into vernacular and Trump is merely in a way echoing that. If you were to do a movie called Trump, he would star, of course, but somebody who was Nixon and Reagan's scriptwright, forgive me, somebody who is Nixon and Reagan's Pressman, Pat Buchanan, he would write the script of the Trump movie. Go back and read, look at some of Pat Buchanan's books, some of his articles. He was... He said virtually everything that Trump says. America used to be great, it is no longer great. America has enemies outside that don't like it, that we have nothing to do with, we don't need allies, what we want is friends, and we have very few friends in the world. We're largely on our, by our own. We're basically a huge success, but we're being betrayed. We're being ignored by our allies, we're being betrayed by friends inside, and they are the liberal elite. It's all there in Pat Buchanan. So Trump in that way is indeed very American. He's very part of the history. Now, two things. One is... That Trump, like many people on the hard right in Europe, is to some extent, a neurotic response to very real complaints. If you would offer a one chart explanation of Trumpism, I don't know whether I can hold it up for the camera. It's here. It is actually two charts, but it is the one at the top where you see two lines cross over. You see at the bottom a more or less straight line. What this does is compare the share of income in 1970 with the share of the income more or less now. And what has happened, as we are not at all surprised to learn, is that the poor, who are not quite a majority but close to the actual people in the United States, things haven't changed for them much at all. Their life is static. However, what has changed is the life for what, at least in British terms, is called the middle classes, the middle group. Their share of income and wealth has dropped hugely, whereas the share of the income and wealth of the top has hugely risen. And in economic terms, that is what Trumpism is feeding off. He's feeding off a bewildered sense of rage, disappointment, possibly envy of people who looked forward, whose parents looked forward to a great better life, who they themselves got a better life. They were looking forward to one for their children and grandchildren. And now they're very worried that they're not those children and grandchildren aren't going to get it. So socially speaking, there is genuine concern, indeed anger that Trump is speaking to. Alas, Trump's answers are, I would say, and I think many Europeans would agree, fantasies.Andrew Keen: Your background is also on the left, your first job was at the New Left Reviews, you're all too familiar with Marxist language, Marxist literature, ways of thinking about what we used to call late-stage capitalism, maybe we should rename it post-late-stage-capitalism. Is it any surprise, given your presentation of the current situation in America, which is essentially class envy or class warfare, but the right. The Bannonites and many of the others on the right fringes of the MAGA movement have picked up on Lenin and Gramsci and the old icons of class warfare.Edmund Fawcett: No, I don't think it is. I think that they are these are I mean, we live in a world in which the people in politics and in the press in business, they've been to universities, they've read an awful lot of books, they spend an awful lot of time studying dusty old books like the ones you mentioned, Gramsci and so. So they're, to some extent, forgive me, they are, they're intellectuals or at least they become, they be intellectualized. Lenin called one of his books, What is to be Done. Patrick Deneen, a Catholic right-wing Catholic philosopher. He's one of the leading right-wing Catholic intellectuals of the day, hard right. He named it What is To Be Done. But this is almost kitsch, as it were, for a conservative Catholic intellectual to name a book after Vladimir Lenin, the first Bolshevik leader of the Russian Revolution. Forgive me, I lost the turn.Andrew Keen: You talk about kitsch, Edmund, is this kitsch leftism or is it real leftism? I mean if Trump was Bernie Sanders and a lot of what Trump says is not that different from Sanders with the intellectuals or the few intellectuals left in. New York and San Francisco and Los Angeles, would they be embracing what's happening? Thanks, I've got the third again.Edmund Fawcett: No, you said Kitsch. The publicists and intellectuals who support Trump, there is a Kitsch element to it. They use a lot of long words, they appeal to a lot of authorities. Augustine of Hippo comes into it. This is really kind of intellectual grandstanding. No, what matters? And this comes to the second thing about shock at Trump. The second thing is that there is real social and economic dysfunction here that the United States isn't really coping with. I don't think the Trumpites, I don't think the rather kitschy intellectuals who are his mature leaders. I don't think they so much matter. What I think matters here is, put it this way, is the silence of the left. And this is one of the deep problems. I mean, always with my friends, progressive friends, liberal friends, it's terribly easy to throw rocks at Trump and scorn his cheerleaders but we always have to ask ourselves why are they there and we're here and the left at the moment doesn't really have an answer to that. The Democrats in the United States they're strangely silent. And it's not just, as many people say, because they haven't dared to speak up. It's not that, it's a question of courage. It's an intellectual question of lacking some strategic sense of where the country is and what kinds of policy would help get it to a better place. This is very bleak, and that's part of, underlies the sense of shock, which we come back to with Trump after we tell ourselves, oh, well, it isn't new, and so on. The sense of shock is, well what is the practical available alternative for the moment? Electorally, Trump is quite weak, he wasn't a landslide, he got fewer percentage than Jimmy Carter did. The balance in the in the congress is quite is quite slight but again you could take false comfort there. The problem with liberals and progressives is they don't really have a counter narrative and one of the reasons they don't have a counter-narrative is I don't sense they have any longer a kind of vision of their own. This is a very bleak state of affairs.Andrew Keen: It's a bleak state of affairs in a very kind of surreal way. They're lacking the language. They don't have the words. Do they need to reread the old New Left classics?Edmund Fawcett: I think you've said a good thing. I mean, words matter tremendously. And this is one of Trump's gifts, is that he's able to spin old tropes of the right, the old theme music of the hard right that goes back to late 19th century America, late 19th century Europe. He's brilliant at it. It's often garbled. It's also incoherent. But the intellectuals, particularly liberals and progressives can mishear this. They can miss the point. They say, ah, it doesn't, it's not grammatical. It's incoherent. It is word salad. That's not the point. A paragraph of Trump doesn't make sense. If you were an editor, you'd want to rewrite it, but editors aren't listening. It's people in the crowd who get his main point, and his main point is always expressed verbally. It's very clever. It's hard to reproduce because he's actually a very good actor. However, the left at the moment has nothing. It has neither a vocabulary nor a set of speech makers. And the reason it doesn't have that, it doesn't have the vocabularies, because it doesn't have the strategic vision.Andrew Keen: Yeah, and coming back to the K-word you brought up, kitsch. If anything, the kitsch is on the left with Kamala Harris and her presentation of herself in this kitschification of American immigration. So the left in America, if that's the right word to describe them, are as vulnerable to kitsch as the right.Edmund Fawcett: Yes, and whether it's kitsch or not, I think this is very difficult to talk to on the progressive left. Identity politics does have a lot to answer for. Okay, I'll go for it. I mean, it's an old saying in politics that things begin as a movement, become a campaign, become a lobby, and then end up as a racket. That's putting it much too strongly, but there is an element in identity politics of which that is true. And I think identity politics is a deep problem for liberals, it's a deep problem for progressives because in the end, what identity politics offers is a fragmentation, which is indeed happened on the left, which then the right can just pick off as it chooses. This is, I think, to get back some kind of strategic vision, the left needs to come out of identity politics, it needs to go back to the vision of commonality, the vision of non-discrimination, the mission of true civic equality, which underlay civil rights, great movement, and try to avoid. The way that identity politics is encouraged, a kind of segmentation. There's an interesting parallel between identity politics and Trumpism. I'm thinking of the national element in Trumpism, Make America Great Again. It's rather a shock to see the Secretary of State sitting beside Trump in the room in the White House with a make America it's not a make America great cap but it says Gulf of America this kind of This nationalism is itself neurotic in a way that identity politics has become neurotic.Andrew Keen: Yeah, it's a Linguistic.Edmund Fawcett: Neurosis. Both are neurotic responses to genuine problems.Andrew Keen: Edmund, long-time viewers and listeners to the show know that I often quote you in your wonderful two histories of conservatism and liberalism when you, I'm not sure which of the books, I think it may have been in conservatism. I can't remember myself. You noted that this struggle between the left and the right, between liberalism and conservatives have always be smarter they've always made the first move and it's always been up to the liberals and of course liberalism and the left aren't always the same thing but the left or progressives have always been catching up with conservatives so just to ask this question in terms of this metaphorical chess match has anything changed. It's always been the right that makes the first move, that sets the game up. It has recently.Edmund Fawcett: Let's not fuss too much with the metaphor. I think it was, as it were, the Liberals made the first move for decades, and then, more or less in our lifetimes, it has been the right that has made the weather, and the left has been catching up. Let's look at what happened in the 1970s. In effect. 30-40 years of welfare capitalism in which the state played ever more of a role in providing safety nets for people who were cut short by a capitalistic economy. Politics turned its didn't entirely reject that far from it but it is it was said enough already we've reached an end point we're now going to turn away from that and try to limit the welfare state and that has been happening since the 1970s and the left has never really come up with an alternative if you look at Mitterrand in France you look at Tony Blair new Labor in you look at Clinton in the United States, all of them in effect found an acceptably liberal progressive way of repackaging. What the right was doing and the left has got as yet no alternative. They can throw rocks at Trump, they can resist the hard right in Germany, they can go into coalition with the Christian Democrats in order to resist the hard right much as in France but they don't really have a governing strategy of their own. And until they do, it seems to me, and this is the bleak vision, the hard right will make the running. Either they will be in government as they are in the United States, or they'll be kept just out of government by unstable coalitions of liberal conservatives and the liberal left.Andrew Keen: So to quote Patrick Deneen, what is to be done is the alternative, a technocracy, the best-selling book now on the New York Times bestseller list is Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson's Abundance, which is a progressive. Technocratic manifesto for changing America. It's not very ideological. Is that really the only alternative for the left unless it falls into a Bernie Sanders-style anti-capitalism which often is rather vague and problematic?Edmund Fawcett: Well, technocracy is great, but technocrats never really get to do what they say ought to be done, particularly not in large, messy democracies like Europe and the United States. Look, it's a big question. If I had a Leninist answer to Patrick Deneen's question, what is to be done, I'd be very happy to give it. I feel as somebody on the liberal left that the first thing the liberal left needs to do is to is two things. One is to focus in exposing the intellectual kitschiness, the intellectual incoherence on the one hand of the hard right, and two, hitting back in a popular way, in a vulgar way, if you will, at the lies, misrepresentations, and false appeals that the hard-right coasts on. So that's really a kind of public relations. It's not deep strategy or technocracy. It is not a policy list. It's sharpening up the game. Of basically of democratic politics and they need to liberals on the left need to be much tougher much sharper much more vulgar much more ready to use the kinds of weapons the kinds of mockery and imaginative invention that the Trumpites use that's the first thing the second thing is to take a breath and go back and look at the great achievements of democratic liberalism of the 1950s, 60s, 70s if you will. I mean these were these produced in Europe and the United States societies that by any historical standard are not bad. They have terrible problems, terrible inequities, but by any historical standard and indeed by any comparative standard, they're not bad if you ask yourself why immigration has become such a problem in Western Europe and the United States, it's because these are hugely desirable places to live in, not just because they're rich and make a comfortable living, which is the sort of the rights attitude, because basically they're fairly safe places to live. They're fairly good places for your kids to grow up in. All of these are huge achievements, and it seems to me that the progressives, the liberals, should look back and see how much work was needed to create... The kinds of politics that underpinned that society, and see what was good, boast of what was and focus on how much work was needed.Andrew Keen: Maybe rather than talking about making America great again, it should be making America not bad. I think that's too English for the United States. I don't think that should be for a winner outside Massachusetts and Maine. That's back to front hypocritical Englishism. Let's end where we began on a personal note. Do you think one of the reasons why Trump makes so much news, there's so much bemusement about him around the world, is because most people associate America with modernity, they just take it for granted that America is the most advanced, the most modern, is the quintessential modern project. So when you have a character like Trump, who's anti-modernist, who is a reactionary, It's bewildering.Edmund Fawcett: I think it is bewildering, and I think there's a kind of bewilderment underneath, which we haven't really spoken to as it is an entirely other subject, but is lurking there. Yes, you put your absolutely right, you put your finger on it, a lot of us look to America as modernity, maybe not the society of the future, but certainly the the culture of the future, the innovations of the future. And I think one of the worrying things, which maybe feeds the neurosis of Make America Great Again, feeds the neurosis, of current American unilateralism, is a fear But modernity, talk like Hegel, has now shifted and is now to be seen in China, India and other countries of the world. And I think underlying everything, even below the stuff that we showed in the chart about changing shares of wealth. I think under that... That is much more worrisome in the United States than almost anything else. It's the sense that the United States isn't any longer the great modern world historical country. It's very troubling, but let's face it, you get have to get used to it.Andrew Keen: The other thing that's bewildering and chilling is this seeming coexistence of technological innovation, the Mark Andreessen's, the the Musk's, Elon Musk's of the world, the AI revolution, Silicon Valley, who seem mostly in alliance with Trump and Musk of course are headed out. The Doge campaign to destroy government or undermine government. Is it conceivable that modernity is by definition, you mentioned Hegel and of course lots of people imagine that history had ended in 1989 but the reverse was true. Is it possible that modernity is by-definition reactionary politically?Edmund Fawcett: A tough one. I mean on the technocracy, the technocrats of Silicon Valley, I think one of their problems is that they're brilliant, quite brilliant at making machines. I'm the machinery we're using right here. They're fantastic. They're not terribly good at. Messy human beings and messy politics. So I'm not terribly troubled by that, nor your other question about it is whether looming challenges of technology. I mean, maybe I could just end with the violinist, Fritz Kreisler, who said, I was against the telegraph, I was against the telephone, I was against television. I'm a progressive when it comes to technology. I'm always against the latest thing. I mean, I don't, there've always been new machines. I'm not terribly troubled by that. It seems to me, you know, I want you to worry about more immediate problems. If indeed AI is going to take over the world, my sense is, tell us when we get there.Andrew Keen: And finally, you were half-born in the United States or certainly from an American and British parent. You spent a lot of your life there and you still go, you follow it carefully. Is it like losing a lover or a loved one? Is it a kind of divorce in your mind with what's happening in America in terms of your own relations with America? You noted that your wife gave up her citizenship this year.Edmund Fawcett: Well, it is. And if I could talk about Natalia, my wife, she was much more American than me. Her mother was American from Philadelphia. She lived and worked in America more than I did. She did give up her American citizenship last year, partly for a feeling of, we use a long word, alienation, partly for practical reasons, not because we're anything like rich enough to pay American tax, but simply the business of keeping up with the changing tax code is very wary and troublesome. But she said, as she did it, she will always feel deeply American, and I think it's possible to say that. I mean, it's part of both of us, and I don't think...Andrew Keen: It's loseable. Well, I have to ask this question finally, finally. Maybe I always use that word and it's never final. What does it mean to feel American?Edmund Fawcett: Well, everybody's gonna have their own answer to that. I was just... What does it mean for you? I'm just reading. What it is to feel American. Can I dodge the question by saying, what is it to feel Californian? Or even what is to be Los Angelino? Where my sister-in-law and brother-in-law live. A great friend said, what it is feel Los Angeles you go over those mountains and you put down your rucksack. And I think what that means is for Europeans, America has always meant leaving the past behind.Edmund Fawcett was the Economist‘s Washington, Paris and Berlin correspondent and is a regular reviewer. His Liberalism: The Life of an Idea was published by Princeton in 2014. The second in his planned political trilogy – Conservatism: The Fight for a Tradition – was published in 2020, also by Princeton University Press. The Economist called it ‘an epic history of conservatism and the Financial Times praised Fawcett for creating a ‘rich and wide-ranging account' that demonstrates how conservatism has repeated managed to renew itself.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Linguists at Work! This is a special mini-podcast of the Linguistics Careercast called Linguists at Work. It's a series of 5-minute interviews with career linguists, conducted by grad students in the Georgetown Linguistics program, in which they ask the question: “What’s your job and how did you get it?” Every interview focuses on a job that a linguist not only can do, but adds value to based on the unique skillset we develop as language scientists. Today’s pod features Lexi Slome, who is an associate trial consultant. She earned her Ph.D. in Linguistics from Georgetown University in 2024, where she focused on discourse analysis of courtroom language, including research examining the role of identity construction in telling persuasive opening statement narratives. In her current role as a trial consultant, she uses both her linguistic knowledge and research skills to provide data-driven analysis of juror reactions to complex legal cases through research exercises such as mock trials and focus groups. The interview is conducted by Joana Fehr, a graduate student from Germany in the MLC program at Georgetown University. She has lived and studied in seven countries across Europe, North America, and South America, and brings a global perspective to her work. Lexi Slome on LinkedIn Joana Fehr on LinkedInThe post Mini-pod: Linguists At Work with Lexi Slome first appeared on Linguistics Careercast.

Elias Makos caps off the week with Andrew Caddell, a town councillor in Kamouraska, and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy, and Political analyst Karim Boulos. The Conservative caucus will meet on Tuesday, to go over their election defeat and figure out who will lead the party in the interim while Pierre Poilievre waits to win a bye-lection The Globe and Mail reports that the Liberals are mounting efforts to convince both Conservative and NDP MPs to cross the floor. Quebec’s Education Minister Bernard Drainville has announced new measures to promote respect and civility in schools During a debate on the deteriorating state of Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, François Legault lost his temper and lashed out at Québec solidaire

Conversations with final-year university students has brought back all the fears that I had in my mid- to late twenties about having to be a grown up. The secret to soothing those fears for me was… studying linguistics. More specifically, it was ‘like' and stuff like that (discourse markers and general extenders). If you're curious … Continue reading Episode 108 Adulting, and stuff like that

In this episode, we continue our discussion focused on multilingual learners, diving deep into why linguistic mobility isn't just academic—it's the key to true community inclusion! Maria Underwood, Senior Professional Development Advisor at CPET, and Vince Mou, CPET Professional Development Coach, and Teachers College Zankel Fellow, join Roberta to discuss: -Why multilingual teaching creates explosive learning opportunities for ALL students -How understanding language history can revolutionize your classroom -Practical, ready-to-use strategies for celebrating language diversity -The hidden social dynamics that make or break multilingual learners' success This isn't just talk—it's a vital addition to your toolkit for creating a classroom where EVERY language is valued and EVERY student can thrive! We're proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

Right-wing authoritarian and extremist movements are on the march worldwide. This podcast will host some of the globe's leading experts on the radical right to help us understand the development of these extremists. Each episode, hosts and guests bring their specialist insights to break down the critical people, places, organizations, actions, and ideas of the radical right. Produced by the Far Right Analysis Network Special Guests: Catherine Tebaldi and Scott Burnett.

This episode features an interview with Dr. Zoe Wai-Man Lam, a lecturer in Cantonese at the University of British Columbia and the main instructor and curriculum advisor for the Cantonese Saturday School at the Mon Keang School in Vancouver's historic Chinatown. Dr. Lam has a PhD in Linguistics from the University of British Columbia as well as both a masters and bachelors from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Our conversation focuses on Zoe's experiences with teaching Cantonese within the Vancouver community and how language learning can help bring people together across cultures and generations.Resources and organizations mentioned in this episode:Cantonese Saturday School by the Youth Collaborative for ChinatownMong Keang SchoolWong Benevolent Association of CanadaUBC Cantonese Language ProgramRooted: Chinese Canadian Stories in BurnabyChinese Canadian MuseumThe Stephen Au ShowThe Hanmoji HandbookEpisode transcript and vocabulary

A UCSB professor has won the Conference of College Composition and Communication's Richard Braddock Award for her work on bringing Black linguistic justice into the classroom. Dr. Michelle Petty says the article, which she co-authored, focuses on the research behind and the details of a website with guides for Black students to advocate for themselves in the classroom and for writing instructors to better evaluate students' work. From the Independent and KCSB News, Christina McDermott has this story.

It's over a week since many of us would have first heard that Pope Francis had “sadly died”.And this particular phrasing may have reminded those of you who are more grammatically minded of the much slower demise of something else; the adverb.So, why have they gone out of fashion?Stephen Lucek is Assistant Professor in Linguistics at UCD. He joins Seán to discuss.

We're back and it looks like 'monthly' is our new for-real schedule! WOO! In this episode, Amy pays the unscrupulous rent with "blackmail", while Ryan communes with a Hindu effigy known as "Juggernaut". Lexitecture is a podcast about etymology (the linguistics study of the origin and history of words). In each normal, increasingly infrequent episode, a Canadian (Ryan) and a Scot (Amy) each present their current favourite word and talk about its origins, current use, and try to puzzle out how it may have gone from A to B. If you love thinking and talking about words, word origins, or just random bits of head-scratching language trivia, this may be the show for you! Please subscribe to us on Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts!   Find us on Facebook, or on Twitter, or on Reddit, or join our Word Nerd HQ Facebook group!   Also, if you enjoy what we do, please give us a great rating wherever you can - it's a huge help in letting other people know we're worth listening to.   Finally, to support the podcasting work we do, please consider becoming a Patreon sponsor at www.patreon.com/lexitecture   Thanks!

The letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3 are possibly some of the best known parts of the apocalypic book, mainly due to their accessibility compared to the rest of it. But how should we read these seven letters? Are they examples of the history or eras of the church? Are they addressed to different types of church today? Are they symbolic? And why all the Old Testament references?Join Alex, Chris & Jo as they discuss these significant chapters, give some good background information that help make sense of what John is writing, and then talk aboput how we might be able to bring some meaning to us today. For the one who has ears to hear...Resources"Revelation (NIV Application Commentary)" by Dr Craig Keener– A detailed analysis that bridges the historical-cultural context and application for today."The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament" by Dr Craig Keener – Offers essential historical and cultural insights on the New Testament, including Revelation."Discipleship on the Edge" by Darrell W. Johnson – A study on Revelation that considers its relevance for Christian discipleship."Reading Revelation Responsibly" by Michael J. Gorman – A user-friendly guide to understanding the apocalyptic message of Revelation without fear or misinterpretation.Big thanks to Tim Whittle for editing and extra production on this podcast. Get more info at Riverlife Church, and find us on Facebook and Instagram.Subscribe to Bible Streams on Apple, Spotify, Google, and Amazon.

Today's slow drag is with “Uncomplicated” from “Blood & Chocolate,” released in 1986. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello's birth name. . . . Show Notes: Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA,MFA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_remedy/ Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/slowdragwithremedy.com Email: slowdragwithremedy@gmail.com   “Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, Podcasts” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Podcasts Transcription: https://slowdragwithremedy.weebly.com Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag Slow Drag with Remedy on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1f521a34-2ed9-4bd4-a936-1ad107969046/slow-drag-with-remedy-an-elvis-costello-appreciation   References:   Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, “Uncomplicated” https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Uncomplicated   “Uncomplicated” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a91_uGPR9_o A bit more about prosody: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DUCCSepMbs Heart Murmur: https://www.vulture.com/article/elvis-costello-profile.html Clever Hans: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Clever-Hans The difference between opposition and contradiction: https://jordantimes.com/opinion/ahmad-y-majdoubeh/opposition-vs-contradiction#:~:text=Opposition%20is%20both%20natural%20and,to%20countless%20damages%20and%20crises. Purchase “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday” Listen to the audiobook of “The Most Terrible Time in My Life…Ends Thursday” for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7n1pN8D1Y

This episode explores how the language we use—like “the migraine” vs. “my migraine” or “autistic” vs. “person with autism”—shapes identity, perception, and even the experience of chronic pain. Drawing from personal reflections, research, and tools like the Curable app, we dive into the impact of word choice on neurodivergence, stigma, and healing. Ultimately, we examine how thoughtful language can create distance from suffering, foster empowerment, and reflect the complex ways we define ourselves.Links for articles: https://disabilityrightstx.org/en/2023/04/13/identity-first-language-vs-people-first-language/?utm_source=chatgpt.comhttps://autisticadvocacy.org/about-asan/identity-first-language/?utm_source=chatgpt.comhttps://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900%2823%2900654-5/fulltext?utm_source=chatgpt.comhttps://www.psypost.org/neuroscience-study-reveals-how-language-affects-pain-processing-among-bilingual-individuals/?utm_source=chatgpt.com#google_vignettehttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34462809/Link for Pateron:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ patreon.com/LivingWithAnInvisibleLearningChallenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link for BetterHelp sponsorship: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3A15Ac1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Links for new podcasts:Shero: Be Your Own Hero Trailer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/1O7Mb26wUJIsGzZPHuFlhX?si=c3b2fabc1f334284⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chats, Barks, & Growls: Convos With My Pet Trailer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/74BJO1eOWkpFGN5fT7qJHh?si=4440df59d52c4522⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Think Out: Free Your Imagination

Jeremy Coburn has a PhD in Linguistics with a concentration on African languages and linguistics. He has focused his research on the Hadzabe Hunter gatherers of Tanzania, East Africa. Cole and Joel dive into the unique click like language of the Hadza as well as all the challenges they face with the decline of their historical hunting grounds.  https://bushsurvivaltraining.com/ Visit Folsompointnutrition.com and use code INTHEBUSH on checkout to receive a 20% discount on 100% grass fed Bison supplements. Please support them to support us.

This week, Misha chats with Robert Hawkins, Assistant Professor of Linguistics at Stanford University. Robert directs the Social Interaction Lab where he studies the cognitive mechanisms that enable human communication and collaboration. His interdisciplinary work combines interactive experiments with computational models to uncover how people flexibly coordinate with one another.In this episode, we discuss his recent paper on communication in reference games, exploring how lexical search and social reasoning work together when we try to help others understand what we're talking about. They also dive into Robert's academic journey, his vision for the Social Interaction Lab, and how he successfully navigates the interdisciplinary landscape of cognitive science.If you found this episode interesting, subscribe to our Substack and consider leaving us a good rating! It just takes a second, but it will allow us to reach more people and excite them about psychology.Links: Robert's paper on lexical search and social reasoning: https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2026-03739-001.html Robert's website: https://rdhawkins.com/ Robert's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rdhawkins.bsky.social Misha's website: https://www.mishaokeeffe.com/ Podcast Twitter: @StanfordPsyPod Podcast Bluesky: @stanfordpsypod.bsky.socialPodcast Substack: https://stanfordpsypod.substack.com/ Let us know what you think of this episode or the podcast! :) stanfordpsychpodcast@gmail.com

What does ‘woke' actually mean? Guest: Dr. Valerie Fridland, Professor of Linguistics at the University of Nevada and Author of “Like, Literally, Dude” Which federal party has the most viable health care plan? Guest: Lindsay Hadden, Applied Health Services Researcher, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar, and a Principal Investigator for the Health Systems Research Lab at SFU Can burger sales predict the new Prime Minister? Guest: Chris Geib, Manager at Burger Heaven in New Westminster What would living on Mars do to the human body? Guest: Dr. Kelly Weinersmith, Adjunct Faculty in the BioSciences Department at Rice University and Author of “City on Mars” Should the US ban artificial food dyes? Guest: Dr. Kathleen Melanson, Nutritional Scientist at the University of Rhode Island Why does BC need to reform its Police Act? Guest: Adam Olsen, Member of the Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act and Former Member of the Legislative Assembly for Saanich North Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elias Makos is joined by Andrew Caddell, a town councillor in Kamouraska, and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy, and Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS. Quebec’s language watchdog has told Montreal’s transit agency to stop displaying English phrases like “Go! Canadiens Go!” on bus displays, citing the need to uphold French-language standards under Bill 96 The Globe and Mail, citing Ontario PC and federal Liberal sources, that Pierre Poilievre might lose his riding Reddit: “The drug use in Montreal is getting so out of control”

What does ‘woke' actually mean? Guest: Dr. Valerie Fridland, Professor of Linguistics at the University of Nevada and Author of “Like, Literally, Dude” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is Sir Gawain underappreciated as a Catholic story? How did 14th-century English poets reconcile courtly honor and Christian love? Find out as we discuss Tolkien's essay on the great Middle English poem, as well as our thoughts on people's misconceptions about the pope!Follow us on X! Give us your opinions here!

In the news today: For our first story of the day focusing on campus news, bottleneck delays payments to military students. For our final story of the day focusing on community news, 'brilliance is not determined by your language': MSU professor teaches power of AAVE.

1075. People often confuse "i.e." and "e.g." We'll help you get them right — no Latin required. Then, in honor of Shakespeare's birthday, we look at five common myths about his contributions to the English language, including whether he coined thousands of words and how much Latin he actually knew.The "Shakespeare" segment was by Jonathan Culpeper, a chair professor in English Language and Linguistics at Lancaster University, and Mathew Gillings, an assistant professor at the Vienna  University of Economics and Business. It originally appeared in The Conversation and appears here through a Creative Commons license.

“In tech, I feel like I’m giving a sociolinguistics 101 course once a month” This episode is a recording of a special live episode of the Linguistics Careercast podcast. Our panel of linguists discusses how artificial intelligence (especially Gen AI) is impacting linguistics as a field. We'll cover topics like AI bias, challenges in training data curation, and implications of GenAI on online language data collection. These are conversations that linguists are having behind the scenes about the future of this changing technical landscape. The panel was held on April 12, 2025, during LingFest, a part of LingComm 2025 Panelists: Aubrie Amstutz, Responsible AI Research Scientist at Grid Dynamics Alicia Beckford Wassink, Director of the Sociolinguistics Laboratory and Professor of Linguistics at the University of Washington Katie Swindler, Content Management for Generative AI at Mother Tongue AI Producer: Alex Johnston, MLC Director, Georgetown University Topics include – generative AI – large language models (LLM) – ethics – trust and safety – minoritized dialects – language bias – automatic speech recognition – discourse analysis – product policyThe post Episode #69: Live at LingFest 2025 first appeared on Linguistics Careercast.

This show has been flagged as Explicit by the host. Elsbeth talks about how she got started with technology, the issues she has faced as a female geek and gamer, aspects of her career with building computers and software quality assurance as well as other hobbies such as reading and yoga. Links: Light aircraft: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna World War II Coding: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enigma_machine Gaming: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_and_video_games https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retro_gaming https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EarthBound https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallout_(video_game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leisure_Suit_Larry Other Interests: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_as_therapy Meta-verse / multiplayer virtual worlds: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIV Mental Health Awareness: https://www.nami.org/get-involved/awareness-events/mental-health-awareness-month/ https://mentalhealth-uk.org/get-involved/mental-health-awareness-days/ https://twloha.com/ https://www.projectsemicolon.com/ Role models: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felicia_Day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie Provide feedback on this episode.

Episode: 1358 William Minor helping us to understand language from an insane asylum.  Today, a great dictionary and an asylum for the criminally insane.

If you spend any time chatting with a modern AI chatbot, you've probably been amazed at just how human it sounds, how much it feels like you're talking to a real person. Much ink has been spilled explaining how these systems are not actually conversing, not actually understanding — they're statistical algorithms trained to predict the next likely word. But today on the show, let's flip our perspective on this. What if instead of thinking about how these algorithms are not like the human brain, we talked about how similar they are? What if we could use these large language models to help us understand how our own brains process language to extract meaning? There's no one better positioned to take us through this than returning guest Laura Gwilliams, a faculty scholar at the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute and Stanford Data Science Institute, and a member of the department of psychology here at Stanford.Learn more:Gwilliams' Laboratory of Speech NeuroscienceFireside chat on AI and Neuroscience at Wu Tsai Neuro's 2024 Symposium (video)The co-evolution of neuroscience and AI (Wu Tsai Neuro, 2024)How we understand each other (From Our Neurons to Yours, 2023)Q&A: On the frontiers of speech science (Wu Tsai Neuro, 2023)Computational Architecture of Speech Comprehension in the Human Brain (Annual Review of Linguistics, 2025)Hierarchical dynamic coding coordinates speech comprehension in the human brain (PMC Preprint, 2025)Behind the Scenes segment:By re-creating neural pathway in dish, Sergiu Pasca's research may speed pain treatment (Stanford Medicine, 2025)Bridging nature and nurture: The brain's flexible foundation from birth (Wu Tsai Neuro, 2025)Get in touchWe want to hear from your neurons! Email us at at neuronspodcast@stanford.edu if you'd be willing to help out with some listener research, and we'll be in touch with some follow-up questions.Episode CreditsThis episode was produced by Michael Osborne at 14th Street Studios, with sound design by Morgan Honaker. Our logo is by Aimee Garza. The show is hosted by Nicholas Weiler at Stanford's Send us a text!Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

 It's episode 211 and we're talking about books and other media we've enjoyed recently! We discuss early internet chatrooms, shuttlecocks, haunted dolls, what constitutes a “banger”, and more! You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system. In this episode Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray

The Advanced Placement exams represent some of the most challenging subject-specific standardized tests a high schooler might ever take, and the various AP World Language and Culture exams are no exception. Amy and Mike believe that every test warrants smart, serious preparation, so we invited educator Milton Alan Turner to share valuable strategies, insights, and resources for getting ready for AP World Language exams. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What is tested on AP World Language and Culture exams? How do students score points on AP Language exams? What are the highest priority topics on AP Language exams? How should students prepare for AP Language exams? What are the best prep materials for AP Language exams? MEET OUR GUEST Milton Alan Turner has taught French, Spanish, and now AP African American Studies at Saint Ignatius High School since 1987. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in French and Linguistics from Georgetown University and master's degrees from Cleveland State University in Educational Technology and in Global Interactions.   Alan currently serves on the Board of Directors at ACTFL as its President, on the Shaker Heights Public Library Board of Trustees, on the AATF Commission on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, is a member of La Maison Française de Cleveland's Board of Directors and is an NAACP Silver Life member. He has participated in two Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminars Abroad in Morocco & Tunisia and Thailand & Vietnam and in three National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Seminars and Institutes studying world literature, Arabic language & culture, and US foreign policy.   Alan has served as a Reader, Table Leader, and Question Leader at the AP French Reading and is an AP Workshop consultant. He has been a member of the SAT French Development Committee, the AATF Standards Task Force, the Ohio Seal of Biliteracy Expert Advisory Group, co-chair of the Ohio World Languages Standards Revision Advisory Committee, and president of the Ohio Foreign Language Association.  He was awarded a 2000 MBNA Excellence in Education Grant, named a 2011 Microsoft US Innovative Educator, chosen the 2014 Ohio World Language Teacher of the Year, listed in the 2017 Who's Who in Black Cleveland, and won the Saint Ignatius High School Trailblazer Award in 2020. This summer, he will be one of 14 educators selected to participate in the AATF Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad to Côte d'Ivoire to study West African storytelling traditions.  Since 2021, Alan has hosted the podcast Milton Alan Turner: Worldviews. Find Milton at maturner@me.com. LINKS AP French Language and Culture AP German Language and Culture AP Italian Language and Culture AP Spanish Language and Culture RELATED EPISODES Big Changes to AP Tests in 2025 Getting Ready For The AP Literature Exam Getting Ready For The AP Language Exam ABOUT THIS PODCAST Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page. ABOUT YOUR HOSTS Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros and LEAP. If you're interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.

Between the study of specific languages and the philosophy of language lies what Ryan Nefdt calls a “Goldilocks zone” of theoretical issues related to language. In The Philosophy of Theoretical Linguistics (Cambridge University Press, 2024), Nefdt introduces and explores the elements in this zone, including different theories of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, and differing views of how language evolved, which languages are possible, and what defines language. Nefdt, a professor of philosophy at the University of Cape Town, shows where dominant linguistic theories, such as Chomskian syntactic theory and truth-conditional semantics, fit in a generalized framework where a key theoretical dimension is the role of social context. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Between the study of specific languages and the philosophy of language lies what Ryan Nefdt calls a “Goldilocks zone” of theoretical issues related to language. In The Philosophy of Theoretical Linguistics (Cambridge University Press, 2024), Nefdt introduces and explores the elements in this zone, including different theories of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, and differing views of how language evolved, which languages are possible, and what defines language. Nefdt, a professor of philosophy at the University of Cape Town, shows where dominant linguistic theories, such as Chomskian syntactic theory and truth-conditional semantics, fit in a generalized framework where a key theoretical dimension is the role of social context. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/philosophy

John McWhorter, Columbia University linguistics professor, host of the Lexicon Valley podcast, opinion writer at The New York Times, and the author of Pronoun Trouble: The Story of Us in Seven Little Words (Avery, 2025), talks about his new book that digs into the cultural and linguistic history of pronoun usage in English and what light that sheds on today's controversies.

Back in 1923, Claude Hopkins wrote the definitive book on advertising. David Ogilvy said the book “changed his life,” and over eight million copies of the book have been sold. But are the 102-year-old tips still accurate today? In this episode of Nudge, I find out.  You'll learn: Why the phrase “Food Shot Through Guns” helped sell more cereal.  How a sewing machine manufacturer increased his sales 9-fold.  The four predictions Hopkins got wrong.  And evidence-backed studies that reveal what he got right.  ---- Download the Reading List: https://nudge.kit.com/readinglist Sign up to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/  ---- Sources: BBC. (2016). Corsodyl: How an unnerving ad campaign works. BBC News. Behavioural Insights Team. (2013). Applying behavioural insights to charitable giving. Government & Society. Berger, J., Moe, W. W., & Schweidel, D. A. (2023). What holds attention? Linguistic drivers of engagement. Journal of Marketing, 87(5). https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429231152880 Berger, J., Sorensen, A. T., & Rasmussen, S. J. (2010). Positive effects of negative publicity: When negative reviews increase sales. Marketing Science, 29(5). https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.1090.0557 Harris, K. [Kamala Harris]. (2024, March 1). Enemy Within | Harris-Walz 2024 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQnugO8SEx0 Hopkins, C. (1923). Scientific advertising. Printers' Ink Publishing Company. Hüttel, B. A., Schumann, J. H., & Wagner, C. J. (2018). How consumers assess free e-services: The role of benefit-inflation and cost-deflation effects. Journal Name, 21(3). Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Monnier, A., & Thomas, M. (2022). Experiential and analytical price evaluations: How experiential product description affects prices. Journal of Consumer Research, forthcoming. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4046802 Pick, D. F., Sweeney, J., & Clay, J. A. (1991). Creative advertising and the von Restorff effect. Psychological Reports, 69(3, Pt 1), 923–926. https://doi.org/10.2466/PR0.69.7.923-926 Rogers, T., & Lasky-Fink, J. (2023). Writing for busy readers: Communicate more effectively in the real world. Schindler, R. M., & Yalch, R. (2006). It seems factual, but is it? Effects of using sharp versus round numbers in advertising claims. Advances in Consumer Research, 33, 586-590. Association for Consumer Research. Sutherland, S. (1992). Irrationality. Pinter Publishers. Trump, D. J. [Donald J Trump]. (2023, September 12). Wolves [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/pxz9sxUqgsE Weiner, M. (Writer), & Draper, M. (Director). (2008). Mad Men (Season 1, Episode 11) [TV series episode]. In M. Weiner (Producer), Mad Men. Lions Gate Television.

In this episode of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Susan Lambert is joined by Young-Suk Grace Kim, a professor at University of California at Irvine's School of Education. Dr. Kim begins by defining a theoretical model, outlining its value to teachers as it pertains to literacy instruction. She describes her own interactive dynamic literacy (IDL) model, which seeks to more fully explain reading and writing connections. Dr. Kim emphasizes how reading and writing function as a powerful and closely related system, and examines how this system interacts with developmental phases, linguistic grain size, and reading and writing difficulties, including dyslexia. After navigating the complexities of this conversation, Susan ends the episode by sharing her unique insights and takeaways from her time with Dr. Kim.Show notes:Connect with Young-Suk Grace Kim:X: @YoungSukKim19ResourcesRead: Enhancing Reading and Writing Skills through Systematically Integrated InstructionRead: Reading and Writing Relations Are Not Uniform: They Differ by the Linguistic Grain Size, Developmental Phase, and MeasurementJoin our community Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/scienceofreadingConnect with Susan Lambert: www.linkedin.com/in/susan-lambert-b1512761/Want to hear more of Dr. Kim? Join us for our upcoming Spring Science of Reading Summit where she'll be giving the keynote address on the relationship between reading, writing, and language. Save your spot: amplify.com/springsorsummitQuotes:“Lower order skills are necessary for higher order skills; that means skills and knowledge have a series of causal effects. So if you flip it the other way, any challenges or weaknesses in lower order skills, it's going to have a series of impacts on higher order skills.” —Young-Suk Grace Kim, Ed.D.“Theory is an explanation about how things work. …It's a structured framework, a mental framework, that helps us explain, and predict, and understand phenomena.” —Young-Suk Grace Kim, Ed.D.“If an educator goes to a professional development and learns about something like phoneme awareness…but you don't have a framework in which to attach it, you can sort of go down a rabbit trail on one thing instead of thinking about how it relates to the whole.” —Susan LambertEpisode timestamps*03:00 Introduction: Who is Young-Suk Grace Kim?05:00: Defining a theoretical model07:00 Origins of Young-Suk's model08:00 Interactive Dynamic Literacy Model Overview14:00 Why interactive and why dynamic15:00 Hierarchical relations between low order skills and high order skills18:00 Breaking down “Interactive”19:00 Young-Suk's ideal classroom20:00 Breaking down “Dynamic”21:00 Linguistic grain size22:00 Why linguistic grain size matters for teachers26:00 Why word reading and spelling are more strongly related than reading comprehension and writing composition29:00 Dynamic relationship of developmental phases30:00 Measuring reading and writing33:00 Interactive Dynamic Literacy Model summarized35:00 Understanding reading and writing difficulty, including dyslexia42:00 Dr. Kim's Final Thoughts44:00 Susan's takeaways from the conversation*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute