129: They Started It: Children and Language Evolution (with Madeleine Beekman)
We've asked linguists about how language began, but what would an evolutionary biologist tell you? Prof Madeleine Beekman says it's part of a complex web of body, brain, and community, and at the heart of it is (perhaps surprisingly) childcare. Madeleine is the author of The Origin of Language: How We Learned to Speak and Why. Timestamps Cold open: 0:00 Intros: 0:42 News: 9:07 Related or Not: 30:02 Interview with Madeleine Beekman: 49:43 Words of the Week: 1:40:49 Comments: 2:01:30 The Reads: 2:08:07 Outtakes: 2:17:38
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2:25:50
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2:25:50
128: Across the Universe (with Natan Last)
Among so many great word games, crosswords still reign supreme. How have they survived — and even expanded — in our digital age? What goes into a good puzzle, and will computer techniques take over? Daniel chats with author Natan Last about his book Across the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of the Crossword Puzzle. Timestamps Intros: 0:35 News: 4:42 Related or Not: 22:13 Interview with Natan Last: 37:56 Words of the Week: 1:24:52 Comment: 1:53:37 The Reads: 1:55:31 Outtakes: 2:02:50
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2:07:26
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2:07:26
127: Oh (with Maia Chao, Kelly Wright, and Caitlin Green)
The "Oh" show was an experimental linguistics performance lecture. It happened in June 2025 at Creative Time HQ in New York City. Actors, musicians, and audience came together (with at least one linguist!) to act out dialogues from conversational analysis, and have fun with language. Are there more ways we can perform linguistics? We're talking with artist and linguistics fan Maia Chao. Timestamps Cold open: 0:00 Intros: 0:38 News: 7:16 Related or Not: 40:03 Interview with Maia Chao: 55:08 Words of the Week: 1:30:31 Bonus chat with Caitlin Green: groyper: 1:54:40 The Reads: 2:07:48 Outtakes: 2:14:59
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2:15:56
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2:15:56
125: Friends With Words (live with Martha Barnette and friends)
Martha Barnette is one half of the linguistics podcast A Way With Words, and author of the new book Friends With Words: Adventures in Languageland. Her lifelong love of language has led her through some of the toughest questions lexicography has to offer, and she's answering questions from our live listening audience. Why do we FALL pregnant? How can we use PRETTY to say something is "pretty ugly"? And once and for all, why do we really say "the whole nine yards"? Video for this episode: https://youtu.be/aPikLncj2xI Timestamps (audio) Start: 0:00 Cold open: 0:27 Intros: 2:02 Chat with Martha about Friends With Words: 5:42 On Martha's life and language: 11:10 Related or Not: 36:27 Questions for Martha: 56:25 The Reads: 1:25:40
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1:31:09
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1:31:09
124: Algospeak (with Adam Aleksic)
Creators have to be mindful of what to say and what not to say in their content. This affects the language we're exposed to — and what we say IRL. But it's part of an old process. Popular LingToker Adam Aleksic breaks it down. He's the author of the new book Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language. Timestamps Start: 0:00 Intros: 1:42 News: 12:25 Related or Not: 29:59 Interview with Adam Aleksic: 44:07 Words of the Week: 1:15:10 Comment: 1:37:56 The Reads: 1:39:56
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