logo
episode-header-image
Jul 28
2h 2m

142: If This Be Magic (with Daniel Hahn)

Daniel Midgley, Ben Ainslie, and Hedvig Skirgård
About this episode
tail spinning
Up next
Jul 17
141: Why Q Needs U (with Danny Bate and Caitlin M. Green)
Each letter in our Latin alphabet tells a story. But what about spaces? Or writing direction? Should we get rid of some letters, or could we even do with more? Here to answer all these questions is Dr Danny Bate, author of Why Q Needs U: A History of Our Letters and How We Use Th ... Show More
2h 24m
Jun 30
140: These Strange New Minds (with Christopher Summerfield and Caitlin Green)
We created software that could generate human-like text output quickly and easily. Now we're dealing with the societal upheaval it's caused. What are the risks and rewards, and what can we learn about language from these large language models? Daniel — joined by Caitlin Green — h ... Show More
2h 1m
Jun 9
139: Magpie Syntax (with Stephanie Mason)
Australian magpies are even cleverer birds than we thought. New research from Dr Stephanie Mason shows that they do two language-like things we used to think only humans could do: learn their calls socially, and combine their calls in a way that looks a lot like syntax. So are we ... Show More
2h 47m
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2023
Ep28 "Does your language shape your thinking?"
Are there really dozens of words for snow in northern cultures? What did the movie Arrival have to do with language and cognition? Why are Russians better than Americans at distinguishing certain shades of blue? And what does any of this have to do with space, time, gender, and h ... Show More
33m 39s
Oct 2022
Watch Your Mouth
<p>If you're bilingual or multilingual, you may have noticed that different languages make you stretch in different ways. This week, we revisit a favorite 2018 conversation with cognitive scientist <a href="http://lera.ucsd.edu/">Lera Boroditsky</a>. She studies how the structure ... Show More
49m 45s
Feb 2024
This is What Language Means
Listen to Episode No.7 of All We Mean, a Special Focus of this podcast. All We Mean is an ongoing discussion and debate about how we mean and why. The guests on today's episode are Bill Cope and Mary Kalantzis, professors at the University of Illinois. In this episode of the Focu ... Show More
58m 2s
Feb 2022
Sopalin
Brand name or common words? Join Alexa and her co-stars to find out how brands are inflitrating our everyday language. 
30m 7s
Feb 2022
Mind Reading 2.0: Why Conversations Go Wrong
<p>Do you ever struggle to communicate with your mom? Or feel like you and your spouse sometimes speak different languages? In the final episode of our "Mind Reading 2.0" series, we bring back one of our favorite conversations, with linguist Deborah Tannen. She shows how our conv ... Show More
51m 56s
Feb 2025
922. Words of the Year 📖 (with Amber)
Amber joins me for a discussion of some words which reflect various cultural movements of the last 12 months or more. Learn some trending words and listen to discussions of topics such as the influence of online content on mental health, the Oasis concert ticket scandal, an explo ... Show More
1h 50m
Feb 2025
922. Words of the Year 📖 (with Amber)
<p>Amber joins me for a discussion of some words which reflect various cultural movements of the last 12 months or more. Learn some trending words and listen to discussions of topics such as the influence of online content on mental health, the Oasis concert ticket scandal, an ex ... Show More
1h 49m
Oct 2020
21. Words Matter: How to Make Your Communication Inclusive
tail spinning
20m 36s
May 2020
#119 - Slap me with a Word Fish
In this podcast we discuss that weird feeling you get when you worry, we talk about the best ways to remember words and becoming fluent in a language. We Of course we talk about learning Chinese and ways and means but also being slapped with a fish.Our Partner OCT - Mandarin Test ... Show More
58m 50s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami