Best Protos Learning Podcasts (2025)

1
Zev J. Handel, "Chinese Characters Across Asia: How the Chinese Script Came to Write Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese" (U Washington Press, 2025) 45:26

40m ago45:26

45:26

While other ancient nonalphabetic scripts—Sumerian cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Mayan hieroglyphs—are long extinct, Chinese characters, invented over three thousand years ago, are today used by well over a billion people to write Chinese and Japanese. In medieval East Asia, the written Classical Chinese language knit the region together in …

1
The Case for ASL Instruction for Hearing Heritage Signers 33:27

4d ago33:27

33:27

In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Emily Pacheco speaks with Associate Professor Su Kyong Isakson (Community College of Baltimore County, USA) about her 2018 paper, The Case for Heritage ASL Instruction for Hearing Heritage Signers. The conversation focuses on heritage signers, differentiated instruction, and sign language interpr…

1
Laura Spinney, "Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global" (Bloomsbury, 2025) 55:44

5d ago55:44

55:44

Star. Stjarna. Setareh. Thousands of miles apart, humans look up at the night sky and use the same word to describe what they see. Listen to these English, Icelandic, and Iranian words, and you can hear echoes of one of history's most unlikely, miraculous journeys. For all of these languages – and hundreds more – share a single ancient source. In a…

1
Lorna Gibb, "Rare Tongues: The Secret Stories of Hidden Languages" (Princeton UP, 2025) 39:47

6d ago39:47

39:47

An enthralling tour of the world’s rarest and most endangered languages Languages and cultures are becoming increasingly homogenous, with the resulting loss of a rich linguistic tapestry reflecting unique perspectives and ways of life. Rare Tongues: The Secret Stories of Hidden Languages (Princeton University Press, 2025) tells the stories of the w…

1
Christian Ilbury, "Researching Language and Digital Communication" (Routledge, 2025) 44:32

12d ago44:32

44:32

Brynn Quick speaks with Dr Christian Ilbury about his new book, Researching Language and Digital Communication: A Student Guide, published by Routledge. The book is an introduction to research on language and digital communication, providing an overview of relevant sociolinguistic concepts, analytical frameworks, and methodological approaches commo…

1
Yellowlees Douglas, "Writing for the Reader's Brain: A Science-Based Guide" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 1:01:55

16d ago1:01:55

1:01:55

What makes one sentence easy to read and another a slog that demands re-reading? Where do you put information you want readers to recall? Drawing on cognitive neuroscience, psychology and psycholinguistics, Writing for the Reader’s Brain (Cambridge University Press, 2025) provides a practical, how-to guide on how to write for your reader. It introd…

1
Mara Nicosia, "Syriac Lexis and Lexica: Compiling Ancient and Modern Vocabularies" (Gorgias Press, 2024) 1:01:34

18d ago1:01:34

1:01:34

Syriac Lexis and Lexica: Compiling Ancient and Modern Vocabularies (Gorgias Press, 2024) publishes the papers presented at the round table on Syriac lexicology and lexicography held at the 13th Symposium Syriacum (Paris, 2022). An international group of scholars approaches this field from several new angles and shows how much remains to be done, fr…

1
Gestures and Emblems: A Discussion with Lauren Gawne 36:26

19d ago36:26

36:26

Brynn Quick speaks with Dr. Lauren Gawne, about cross-cultural variation in gesture use. In this episode, Brynn and Lauren discuss a paper that Lauren wrote in 2024 with co-author Dr. Kensey Cooperrider entitled “Emblems: Meaning at the interface of language and gesture”. Brynn and Lauren talk all about how emblems are different to gestures, cultur…

1
Ryan M. Nefdt, "The Philosophy of Theoretical Linguistics: A Contemporary Outlook" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 1:07:56

22d ago1:07:56

1:07:56

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, …

1
Joseph J. Diorio, "A Few Words about Words" (Beaufort Books, 2021) 30:43

25d ago30:43

30:43

Written by a self-taught grammarian, A Few Words About Words (Beaufort Books, 2021) offers an accessible and engaging guide to mastering the English language. A simple mistake, like writing your instead of you’re or there instead of they’re, can make the difference between winning or losing an opportunity. A missing comma can spark a PR disaster, w…

1
Lingua Napoletana and Language Oppression 40:07

26d ago40:07

40:07

Have you ever heard of Lingua Napoletana or Neapolitan, the language of Naples? In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Tazin Abdullah speaks to Massimiliano Canzanella, a Neapolitan language activist. The conversation delves into the history of the Neapolitan language and the interplay of culture, race, and national identity that have…

1
Ian Rapley, "Green Star Japan: Esperanto and the International Language Question, 1880–1945" (U Hawaii Press, 2024) 1:07:12

1M ago1:07:12

1:07:12

Ian Rapley’s Green Star Japan: Esperanto and the International Language Question, 1880-1945 (U Hawaii Press, 2024) is a sociopolitical history of the “planned” language of Esperanto in the Japanese Empire. Esperanto was invented in the nineteenth century to address the problem of international communication. This was an issue of great and growing i…

1
Genevieve Guenther, "The Language of Climate Politics: Fossil-Fuel Propaganda and How to Fight It" (Oxford UP, 2024) 30:32

1M ago30:32

30:32

The Language of Climate Politics (Oxford UP, 2024) offers readers new ways to talk about the climate crisis that will help get fossil fuels out of our economy and save our planet. It's an analysis of the current discourse of American climate politics, but also a critical history of the terms that most directly influence the way not just conservativ…

1
Intercultural Competence in the Digital Age 34:54

2M ago34:54

34:54

Brynn Quick speaks with Dr Amy McHugh, an Academic Facilitator at the National Centre for Cultural Competence at the University of Sydney. Dr McHugh’s research focuses on the roles of technology and motivation in the continuous pursuit of cultural competence, and she facilitates workshops for both staff and students at the University of Sydney on t…

1
Emma Borg and Sarah A. Fisher, "Meaning: a Very Short Introduction" (Oxford UP, 2024) 1:06:40

2M ago1:06:40

1:06:40

Our ability to find meaning in things is one of the most important aspects of human life. But it is also one of the most mysterious. Where does meaning come from? What sorts of things have meaning? And how do we grasp the meaning others want to convey? This Very Short Introduction is shaped by exploring possible answers to these questions. Human so…

1
Multilingual Law-Making: A Discussion with Karen McAuliffe 48:33

2M ago48:33

48:33

Alexandra Grey speaks with Karen McAuliffe about multilingual law-making. Karen is a Professor of Law and Language at Birmingham Law School in the UK. The conversation is about the important legal opinions delivered by the Advocates General at the European Court of Justice, and the effects of Advocates General drafting those opinions in their secon…

1
Episode 48: Was Nietzsche a Proto-Fascist? 58:12

2M ago58:12

58:12

Was Nietzsche a fascist? Does liking Nietzsche make you a fascist? If the bully boy heralds of MAGA are present-day fascists, does that make them latter-day Nietzscheans? Join Eric and Taylor as they distinguish several varieties of chest-thumping, bluster, and skepticism about truth. And as Nietzsche himself said, “If this podcast episode does not…

1
Educational Inequality in Fijian Higher Education 45:45

2M ago45:45

45:45

In this episode of the Language-on-the-Move podcast, Dr Hanna Torsh speaks with Dr Prashneel Ravisan Goundar about his new book, English Language-Mediated Settings and Educational Inequality: Language Policy Agendas in the South Pacific published by Routledge in 2025. In this book, Goundar explores how educational inequalities are responsible for t…

1
Episode 47: Are We Always at War with Ourselves? 58:36

2M ago58:36

58:36

Did you ever want something and not want it, or love somebody and also hate them? If you did, does that mean there are two different things inside you and they are having a war? Or are there three? This week Eric and Taylor look at the idea of internal conflict, internal peace, what it all means, and what if anything can be done about it. They also…

1
Episode 46: Are We Living in a Cave? (Part 2) 44:20

3M ago44:20

44:20

Are we still living in a cave? In this sequel episode Eric and Taylor contemplate what might happen if you got out of Plato’s cave. Would the sun blind you? And if you tried to convince the other prisoners to escape, would they kill you? Also this week, replies to some letters from listeners.

1
Episode 45: Will Intelligent Machines Destroy Us? 1:05:32

3M ago1:05:32

1:05:32

Are computers becoming so supersmart that they might supersede all human intelligence and eat us for lunch? Or is the very idea of “machine intelligence” a sad blend of conceptual confusion, willful ignorance, magical thinking, and financial opportunism? If you’re not sure (and if you can’t get an LLM to give you a straight answer), have a listen a…

1
Episode 44: Are We Living in a Cave? (Part 1) 1:00:46

3M ago1:00:46

1:00:46

Are ordinary experience and everyday life hopelessly benighted and delusional, a realm of shadows, full of spectacle and drama but signifying nothing? This week Eric and Taylor descend into the most famous four pages in the history of Western philosophy: Plato’s allegory of the cave. Tune in and overcome your fear of truth, wisdom, and the beautifu…

1
Constantine R. Campbell, "Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek" (Zondervan Academic, 2024) 51:27

3M ago51:27

51:27

Verbal aspect in the Greek language has been a topic of significant debate in recent scholarship. The majority of scholars now believe that an understanding of verbal aspect is even more important than verb tense (past, present, etc.). Yet there still are no alternative accessible textbooks, both in terms of level and price. In the second edition, …

1
Multilingual Crisis Communication 47:33

3M ago47:33

47:33

In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Tazin Abdullah speaks with Dr. Jia Li, Professor of Applied Sociolinguistics at Yunnan University, China. Tazin and Jia discuss crisis communication in a linguistically diverse world and a new book co-edited by Dr. Jia Li and Dr. Jie Zhang called Multilingual Crisis Communication: Insights from C…

1
The Politics of Language Oppression in Tibet 1:01:22

4M ago1:01:22

1:01:22

In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Tazin Abdullah speaks with Dr. Gerald Roche, Associate Professor in the Department of Politics, Media, and Philosophy at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia and head of research for the Linguistic Justice Foundation. Tazin and Gerald discuss his research into language oppression and focus o…

1
S4E20 Cosmic Connections: A Conversation with Charles Taylor 50:55

4M ago50:55

50:55

This week on Madison’s Notes, we sit down with philosopher and author Charles Taylor to discuss his latest work, Cosmic Connections: Poetry in the Age of Disenchantment (Belknap Press, 2024) . Taylor dives into the profound role of poetry in reconnecting us to a sense of wonder and meaning in a world often characterized by disillusionment. Drawing …

1
Andrew S. Latham, "Hey! Listen!: Hypertext Rhetoric and The Legend of Zelda" (McFarland, 2024) 39:25

4M ago39:25

39:25

How does analyzing video games as hypertexts expand the landscape of research for video game rhetoricians and games studies scholars? This is the first book to focus on how hypertext rhetoric impacts the five canons of rhetoric, and to apply that hypertext rhetoric to the study of video games. It also explores how ludonarrative agency is seized by …

1
Language Rights in a Changing China 39:31

4M ago39:31

39:31

In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Brynn Quick speaks with Dr. Alexandra Grey about Dr. Grey’s book entitled Language Rights in a Changing China: A National Overview and Zhuang Case Study (De Gruyter, 2021). China has had constitutional minority language rights for decades, but what do they mean today? Answering with nuance and em…

1
Whiteness, Accents, and Children's Media 1:11:25

4M ago1:11:25

1:11:25

In this episode of the Language on the Move podcast, Brynn Quick speaks with Dr. Laura Smith-Khan about language and accents in children’s media, from Octonauts to Disney to Bluey, and they investigate what a choice as seemingly banal as a character’s accent has to do with whiteness, standard language ideology, and securing a nation’s borders. They…

1
Creaky Voice in Australian English 27:56

5M ago27:56

27:56

In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Brynn Quick speaks with Dr. Hannah White, a Postdoc researcher at Macquarie University in the Department of Linguistics. She completed her doctoral research in 2023 with a thesis entitled “Creaky Voice in Australian English”. Brynn speaks to Dr. White about this research along with a 2023 paper t…

1
The Power of Listening: An Unconventional Path to Innovation 18:39

5M ago18:39

18:39

When we think about innovation, listening isn’t usually the first skill that comes to mind—but what if it should be? In this episode of the Innovative Learning Strategies podcast, hosts Christina Eanes and Stephanie Hubka explore how active listening can be a surprising catalyst for innovation. By tuning into the needs, experiences, and untold stor…

1
Fatima Rajina, "British Bangladeshi Muslims in the East End: The Changing Landscape of Dress and Language" (Manchester UP, 2024) 1:01:40

5M ago1:01:40

1:01:40

Popular discourse around British Muslims has often been dominated by a focus on Muslim women and their sartorial choices, particularly the hijab and niqab. British Bangladeshi Muslims in the East End: The Changing Landscape of Dress and Language (Manchester UP, 2024) by Dr. Fatima Rajina takes a different angle and focuses on Muslim men, examining …

1
Redefining Innovation: What It Means to You and Why It Matters 23:08

5M ago23:08

23:08

In today’s rapidly evolving landscape, the word innovation is thrown around a lot—but what does it truly mean? In this thought-provoking episode of the Innovative Learning Strategies podcast, hosts Stephanie Hubka and Christina Eanes dive deep into the real meaning of innovation beyond the buzzword. Join us as we explore how innovation isn’t just a…

1
Supporting Multilingual Families to Engage with their Children’s Schooling 41:16

5M ago41:16

41:16

How can school communications become more accessible to multilingual families? In this episode of the Language on the Move podcast, Dr Agnes Bodis talks to Professor Margaret Kettle about the Multilingual Glossary of School-based Terms. This is list of school-related terms selected and translated to help multilingual families connect with schools. …

1
Linguistic Diversity as a Bureaucratic Challenge 43:20

6M ago43:20

43:20

How do street-level bureaucrats in Austria’s public service deal with linguistic diversity? In this episode of the Language on the Move podcast, Ingrid Piller speaks with Dr Clara Holzinger (University of Vienna) about her PhD research investigating how employment officers deal with the day-to-day communication challenges arising when clients have …

1
Hannah Pollin-Galay, "Occupied Words: What the Holocaust Did to Yiddish" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024) 1:00:00

6M ago1:00:00

1:00:00

The Holocaust radically altered the way many East European Jews spoke Yiddish. Finding prewar language incapable of describing the imprisonment, death, and dehumanisation of the Shoah, prisoners added or reinvented thousands of Yiddish words and phrases to describe their new reality. These crass, witty, and sometimes beautiful Yiddish words – Khurb…

1
Tyler W. Williams, "If All the World Were Paper: A History of Writing in Hindi" (Columbia UP, 2024) 44:32

6M ago44:32

44:32

In If All the World Were Paper: A History of Writing in Hindi (Columbia UP, 2024), Tyler W. Williams puts questions of materiality, circulation, and performance at the center of his investigation into how literature comes to be defined and produced within a language, specifically, premodern Hindi. Williams proposes new methods for working with writ…

1
David Shoemaker, "Wisecracks: Humor and Morality in Everyday Life" (U Chicago Press, 2024) 53:57

6M ago53:57

53:57

What good is a good sense of humour especially when the humour may be ethically questionable? Although humour seems a valuable part of a good conversation and indeed a good life, jokes have never seemed more morally problematic than they do now. How can we then evaluate quips, gibes, pranks, teasing, light mockery, sarcasm when they can all too oft…

1
Matti Eklund, "Alien Structure: Language and Reality" (Oxford UP, 2024) 1:05:47

6M ago1:05:47

1:05:47

It is not uncommon to encounter people who think and talk about the world so differently from the way you do that it’s not really possible to put yourself in their shoes. But such systems of representing the world are not truly alien – they still involve terms that pick out objects, properties, and other elements found in familiar languages and met…

1
"The Languages of Indonesian Politics" Revisited 37:41

6M ago37:41

37:41

In 1966 Benedict Anderson published 'The Languages of Indonesian Politics', a seminal paper exploring the development of Indonesian as a new language for talking about national politics. In that paper Anderson underlined the contrast between the formal/official style of Indonesian news reports and the colloquial, playful speech style of ordinary Ja…

1
Roni Henig, "On Revival: Hebrew Literature Between Life and Death" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024) 53:10

6M ago53:10

53:10

On Revival: Hebrew Literature Between Life and Death (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024) is a critique of one of the most important tenets of Zionist thinking: "Hebrew revival," or the idea that Hebrew--a largely unspoken language before the twentieth century--was revitalized as part of a broader national "revival" which ultimately led to the establishmen…

1
Elia Powers, "Performing the News: Identity, Authority, and the Myth of Neutrality" (Rutgers UP, 2024) 59:23

6M ago59:23

59:23

Elia Powers' book Performing the News: Identity, Authority, and the Myth of Neutrality (Rutgers UP, 2024) explores how journalists from historically marginalized groups have long felt pressure to conform when performing for audiences. Many speak with a flat, “neutral” accent, modify their delivery to hide distinctive vocal attributes, dress convent…

1
Unlocking Growth: Cultivating a Learning Mindset with Alex Suchman 26:34

6M ago26:34

26:34

In this episode of the Innovative Learning Strategies Podcast, hosts Christina Eanes and Stephanie Hubka engage in an insightful conversation with Alex Suchman about cultivating a learning mindset. Together, they explore this topic from two perspectives: as individuals striving to develop their own learning mindset and as talent development practit…

1
Ben Yagoda, "Gobsmacked!: The British Invasion of American English" (Princeton UP, 2024) 49:59

6M ago49:59

49:59

The British love to complain that words and phrases imported from America--from French fries to Awesome, man!--are destroying the English language. But what about the influence going the other way? Britishisms have been making their way into the American lexicon for more than 150 years, but the process has accelerated since the turn of the twenty-f…

1
Judging Refugees: Narrative and Oral Testimony in Refugee Status Determination 1:09:49

6M ago1:09:49

1:09:49

Dr Laura Smith-Khan speaks with Dr Anthea Vogl about her new book, Judging Refugees: Narrative and Oral Testimony in Refugee Status Determination (Cambridge UP, 2024). The conversation introduces listeners to the procedures involved in seeking asylum in the global north and how language is implicated throughout these processes. Discussing Dr Vogl’s…

1
How Did Arabic Get on That Sign? 41:27

6M ago41:27

41:27

In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Tazin Abdullah speaks with Dr. Rizwan Ahmad, Professor of Sociolinguistics in the Department of English Literature and Linguistics in the College of Arts and Sciences at Qatar University in Doha. We discuss aspects of the Linguistic Landscape, focusing on Rizwan’s research into how Arabic is used…

1
Derek Hook, “Six Moments in Lacan: Communication and Identification in Psychology and Psychoanalysis” (Routledge, 2018) 59:42

6M ago59:42

59:42

How can Bill Clinton’s “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” shed light on Lacan’s maxim, “The unconscious is structured like a language?” In Six Moments in Lacan: Communication and Identification in Psychology and Psychoanalysis (Routledge, 2018), professor Derek Hook thoroughly investigates and explains a number of Lacan’s major conce…

1
Subatomic Writing: Six Fundamental Lessons to Make Language Matter 1:00:34

7M ago1:00:34

1:00:34

Subatomic Writing: Six Fundamental Lessons to Make Language Matter (Johns Hopkins UP, 2023), by Johns Hopkins University instructor Jamie Zvirzdin, is a guide for writing about science—from the subatomic level up! Subatomic Writing teaches that the building blocks of language are like particles in physics. These particles, combined and arranged, fo…

1
Remote Learning Strategies with Christina Eanes and Stephanie Hubka 22:21

7M ago22:21

22:21

In this Innovative Learning Strategies Podcast episode, hosts Christina Eanes and Stephanie Hubka explore essential strategies to maximize remote learning. With online training becoming a permanent fixture in our lives, navigating the unique challenges of learning from a distance is vital to thriving in this environment. We’ll cover topics like sta…

1
Transnational Communicative Care 52:55

7M ago52:55

52:55

How do families care for each when they are divided over generations by powerful geopolitical forces beyond their control? In this episode, Hanna Torsh speaks with Lynnette Arnold about her new book Living Together Across Borders: Communicative Care in Transnational Salvadoran Families (Oxford University Press, 2024). Lynnette also shares her tips …

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Protos Learning Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen