Best Protos Learning Podcasts (2025)

1
Laura Spinney: rise of the proto-Indo-Europeans 1:01:18

18d ago1:01:18

1:01:18

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 T…

1
Paola De Santo and Caterina Mongiat Farina, (eds. and trans.) Isabella Andreini, "Letters" (Iter Press, 2023) 58:26

9m ago58:26

58:26

Isabella Andreini, Letters, ed. and trans. Paola De Santo and Caterina Mongiat Farina. The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe. Iter Press of the University of Toronto, 2023. Winner of the Josephine Roberts Award for a Scholarly Edition (2024) from the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender Welcome! My guest is Professor Paola Da San…

1
Ben Bayly: What is New Zealand food? 12:37

3h ago12:37

12:37

Chef, TV presenter and proud champion of Kiwi kai, Ben Bayly is back on our screens tonight with the fourth season of A New Zealand Food Story. The series has taken him all around the motu on a mission to answer the question "what is New Zealand food?".

1
Reading for pleasure with Kate de Goldi 14:38

3h ago14:38

14:38

Kate de Goldi is a novelist, children's writer, Arts Foundation Laureate, and the brand-new Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador.

1
Michelle Duff: Surplus Women 25:41

3h ago25:41

25:41

Weaving comedy and truth through her new collection of short stories, award-winning writer and journalist Michelle Duff's new novel Surplus Women explores power and patriarchy through women set in past, present and future Aotearoa.

1
Rob Sarkies: Pike River 19:30

4h ago19:30

19:30

Director Rob Sarkies' new film Pike River tells the story of the fight for justice after one of the worst mining disasters in New Zealand's history.

1
David Gress: Plato and NATO 25 years later

1h ago

—

Today Razib talks to David  Gress, a Danish historian. The son of an American literary scholar and a Danish writer, he grew up in Denmark, read Classics at Cambridge, and then earned a Ph.D. in medieval history from Bryn Mawr College in the US in 1981. During a fellowship form 1982-1992 at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, he published on C…

1
Astrophysicist Dr Michelle Thaller 24:54

3h ago24:54

24:54

Matariki is just around the corner, and flying in for the event is renowned NASA science communicator Dr Michelle Thaller.

1
John Boyne: overcoming trauma to be a better parent 24:41

3h ago24:41

24:41

Multi award-winning Irish author John Boyne is famed for the global phenomenon The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas, which sold more than 11 million copies. His latest is an interlinked quartet of novellas based around the elements.

1
Auckland's Cabaret Festival: Songs from the Factory 7:44

2h ago7:44

7:44

Auckland's Cabaret Festival is on at The Civic until next Friday. The final show will be Songs from the Factory directed by Anapela Polata'ivao.

1
Trump vs Musk - what's going on? 17:12

2h ago17:12

17:12

An extraordinary public feud has erupted between President Donald Trump and his former ally Elon Musk. Simon Marks is our correspondent in Washington DC and speaks with Mihi.

1
Unmanned military tech: Julia Macdonald 20:42

2h ago20:42

20:42

Mines, guided missiles, satellites and more recently drones, are just some of the military tech that have been developed over the last few hundred years. A new book The Hand Behind Unmanned explores the factors and beliefs that led to the contemporary American arsenal and asks where it's headed in the future.…

1
3D animal scanning app up for award at Fieldays 6:17

2h ago6:17

6:17

Fieldays is back for another year, kicking off next week at Hamilton's Mystery Creek. It's the Southern Hemisphere's largest agricultural event and is well known for launching cutting edge technology in the farming sector.

1
The pressure of home premiums 8:19

2h ago8:19

8:19

House insurance is something all homeowners need. It's meant to provide peace of mind, yet rising premiums are making it increasingly difficult to access.

1
Exercise reduces risk cancer patients dying by third - study 5:01

3h ago5:01

5:01

It's common knowledge that exercise is good for us, but for the first time, a study has found that exercise can reduce the risk of cancer patients dying by a third.

1
Triple murder accused takes stand in poisonous mushroom trial 6:09

3h ago6:09

6:09

The Australian trial involving death cap mushrooms in a beef wellington has captured the world. This week triple murder accused Erin Patterson took the stand for the first time.

1
Collecting the stories on the ground in Ukraine 6:39

3h ago6:39

6:39

Several people have been killed and dozens wounded in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv overnight as Russia launched drone and missile attacks.

1
The longest suspension in Parliament ever 10:21

3h ago10:21

10:21

This week parliament took the unprecedented step of suspending both Te Pati Maori leaders, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, and Rawiri Waititi for a record-setting 21 days.

1
Eyevolution 2 Eyelectric Boogeyeloo & Digital Piracy 1:49:36

2d ago1:49:36

1:49:36

How many eyes do these animals have, and more importantly what are they doing with them? And how long has copyright piracy been around, and would YOU download a car? Also Ella finally drops her fake british accent. Images we Talk About: Bullfrog Parietal Eye Bumble Bee Ocelli Scallop Eyes Scallop Eye Mirrors The Home Taping is Killing Music Logo Ti…

1
Is Beach Safety Signage Fit For Purpose? 31:08

40m ago31:08

31:08

We often take the meaning of signs for granted but that's far from the case in a linguistically and culturally diverse society. The instruction to "Swim between the flags!" can be interpreted in multiple ways - some of which may actually heighten rather than reduce risk. In this episode of Language on the Move Podcast, Dr Agnes Bodis talks to Dr Ma…

1
The fight for clean air in NZ schools 21:27

4d ago21:27

21:27

As winter approaches, so do the germs, and as every parent knows schools are prime breeding grounds for winter illnesses. Dr Amanda Kvalsvig is one of New Zealand's top epidemiologosts, with a background in clinical paediatrics.

1
Grace Curtis: The Best is Yet to Come 30:25

6d ago30:25

30:25

It's often described as the silent killer - on average, about 500 New Zealanders die each year by suicide, more than in motor accidents and drownings combined.

1
More than hockey - Ruamata 11:35

4d ago11:35

11:35

Ruamata: It's More Than Hockey was a remarkable story capturing the journey of Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Ruamata's rise to the upper echelons of hockey in Aotearoa. Now, it's back.

1
Living next to an active volcano 16:05

4d ago16:05

16:05

Taranaki Mounga is one of New Zealand's about a dozen active volcanos - but what does that actually mean for locals?

1
Digital Twin: Liann Zhang, Julie Chan is Dead 18:58

4d ago18:58

18:58

Psychological thriller writer Liann Zhang's debut novel Julie Chan is Dead satirises Instagram and Tiktok stars, social media, status and obsession.

1
Ethan Strauss: sports and the end of the culture wars

4d ago

—

On this episode of the Unsupervised Learning podcast, Razib welcomes back Ethan Strauss, a writer who has covered sports and culture for the past decade, including in the book The Victory Machine: The Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty. More recently his writing is to be found at his Substack, House of Strauss, which is notable for offerin…

1
Māori and Pasifika art takes the MET 14:43

4d ago14:43

14:43

A delegation of seven Māori and Pasifika artists are at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, for the grand reopening of the Arts of Oceania Galleries.

1
Proto: an ancient language, mother to many tongues 31:36

4d ago31:36

31:36

Thousands of miles apart, people who speak English, Icelandic or Iranic use more or less the same words: star, stjarna, stare. All three of these languages - and hundreds more - share a single ancient ancestor, spread by ancient peoples far and wide.

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Protos Learning Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen