108: Mailbag of Etymology (with Douglas Harper)
We're joined for the first time by Douglas Harper, proprietor of the world-renowned Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com). He's here to help us with our Mailbag questions, and even test us in a...
16 Nov 20241h 24min
107: Linguaphile (with Julie Sedivy and Matt Spike)
Language is a lot like love. You can enjoyably lose yourself in both. They can both be dangerous. And they both entail a responsibility to keep each other safe. A new book Linguaphile: A Life of Langu...
29 Okt 20242h 7min
106: What One Thing? (with Mark Ellison)
What one thing explains the most about language? Here to answer that question is linguist and friend of the pod Dr Mark Ellison — and many of our listeners and friends. It's one of our Deck Chats! Gra...
23 Sep 20241h 21min
105 or 500 (live with Kelly Wright and friends)
For our 500th episode, we got together with our great listeners for their words, stories, and inspiration. It's a look back at the show, a look at language from our friends' point of view, and a celeb...
15 Sep 20241h 36min
104: Dogwhistles (with Elin McCready, Lizzy Hanks, Jesse Egbert, and Rikker Dockum)
Can you hear them? Only if you're meant to. Political dogwhistles exploit lack of knowledge in one group to send a coded message to another group. But that's just the beginning. How are dogwhistles di...
26 Aug 20241h 44min
103: Unequal Englishes (with Ruanni Tupas and Nicole Holliday)
There are lots of Englishes out there, but the way we approach varieties of English sets learners up to fail. How do we combat language ideologies out there in the world — and in our own minds? Dr Rua...
3 Aug 20242h 20min
102: Signed Language Mailbag (with Adam Schembri, Christy Filipich, and Mark Ellison)
What do signed languages have in common? How do oral languages influence signed languages? How do they influence each other? Here to answer these questions and many more, it's Dr Adam Schembri of the ...
27 Jul 20242h 45min
101: Talkin' Chomsky (with Katie Martin and Abduweli Ayup)
Noam Chomsky is one of the world's foremost thinkers, and his impact on linguistics is incalculable. Yet many people are only familiar with his political activism. What are his linguistic ideas, and w...
8 Jul 20242h 27min
