The Vocal Fries

<p>The monthly podcast about linguistic discrimination. Learn about how we judge other people's speech as a sneaky way to be racist, sexist, classist, etc. Carrie and Megan teach you how to stop being an accidental jerk. Support this podcast at www.patreon.com/vocalfriespod</p>

Peven Stinker

Send us a text We have a few things to say about Pinker. Part of the War on ScienceThe Language InstinctPinker on Race RealismCo-authored paper on overregularizationThe Open Letter to the LSAThe article that Carrie was interviewed for, but not named, about the Open LetterOur episode on dogwhistlingThe Harper's LetterGuardian on his appearance on AporiaSupport the show Contact us: Threads us @vocalfriespod Bluesky us @vocalfriespod.bsky.social Email us at vocalfriespod@gmail.com Thanks fo...

09-29
47:21

Algospeak

Send us a text Carrie and Megan talk with Adam Aleksic about his new book, Algospeak: How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language. Bromism and ChatGPTSupport the show Contact us: Threads us @vocalfriespod Bluesky us @vocalfriespod.bsky.social Email us at vocalfriespod@gmail.com Thanks for listening and keep calm and fry on

08-11
52:29

A History of Like

Send us a text Carrie and Megan talk with Megan C. Reynolds, Dwell magazine editor, about her book, Like: A History of the World's Most Hated (and Misunderstood) Word. Putin and RussianSupport the show Contact us: Threads us @vocalfriespod Bluesky us @vocalfriespod.bsky.social Email us at vocalfriespod@gmail.com Thanks for listening and keep calm and fry on

07-14
58:22

Serving Language Ideologies

Send us a text Carrie and Megan talk with Paulette van der Voet and Martina Terrazzano, PhD students at the University of Umea, about their class called “Linguistics and the Eurovision Song Contest”. Top 20 Eurovision songsMalta and Estonia Support the show Contact us: Threads us @vocalfriespod Bluesky us @vocalfriespod.bsky.social Email us at vocalfriespod@gmail.com Thanks for listening and keep calm and fry on

06-23
51:10

Rare Tongues

Send us a text We talk with Dr Lorna Gibb about her newest book, Rare Tongues: The Secret Stories of Hidden Languages. Steven Pinker: Harvard Derangement Syndromevs. LSAJews and IQSupport the show Contact us: Threads us @vocalfriespod Bluesky us @vocalfriespod.bsky.social Email us at vocalfriespod@gmail.com Thanks for listening and keep calm and fry on

05-26
39:46

The AI Con

Send us a text Carrie and Megan talk with Drs Emily M. Bender, Professor of Linguistics at the University of Washington, and Alex Hanna, Director of Research at the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR), about their new book, The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want, out May 13, 2025. Virtual Book Launch May 8, 2025, 2-4 PDTBender v. BubeckInventing Intelligence: On the History of Complex Information Processing and Artificial Intelligence in the United States ...

05-05
55:21

Enough is Enuf

Send us a text Carrie and Megan talk with Gabe Henry about his new book, Enough is enuf: Our failed attempts to make English eezier to spell. Puerto Rico and English as an Official LanguageSupport the show Contact us: Threads us @vocalfriespod Bluesky us @vocalfriespod.bsky.social Email us at vocalfriespod@gmail.com Thanks for listening and keep calm and fry on

04-14
01:02:05

Language Oppression in Tibet

Send us a text Carrie and Megan talk with Dr Gerald Roche, Lecturer in the Department of Languages and Cultures at La Trobe University, about his new book, The Politics of Language Oppression in Tibet, language oppression, solidarity, China and Tibet. LSA's response to the EO on English as the Official Language of the USSupport the show Contact us: Threads us @vocalfriespod Bluesky us @vocalfriespod.bsky.social Email us at vocalfriespod@gmail.com Thanks for listening and keep calm ...

03-18
58:26

The Italian N-Word

Send us a text Megan and Carrie talk with Massimiliano Canzanella about the Neapolitan language and how it is perceived in Italy. Asian languages and the LA firesSupport the show Contact us: Threads us @vocalfriespod Bluesky us @vocalfriespod.bsky.social Email us at vocalfriespod@gmail.com Thanks for listening and keep calm and fry on

02-17
45:54

matkunsh 7mar

Send us a text Carrie and Megan talk with Dr Adam Benkato, Associate Professor in the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Berkeley, about Arabic. codeswitching in incarcerationSupport the show Contact us: Threads us @vocalfriespod Bluesky us @vocalfriespod.bsky.social Email us at vocalfriespod@gmail.com Thanks for listening and keep calm and fry on

01-22
58:20

Demystifying Language

Send us a text Megan and Carrie talk to Dr Ayala Fader, professor of anthropology at Fordham University, and Dr Mike Mena, Assistant Professor at Brooklyn College, CUNY, about their new project, the Demystifying Language Project, where academics and high school students work together to rewrite linguistic articles into more accessible versions. First article: Speech or Silence Intro from our patron René: Barron's: MP makes her first speech in sign languageSpeech of the yearSupport the show ...

12-16
41:05

Fear and Loathing in Politics and Academia

Send us a text Carrie and Megan talk to Dr Leonard Cassuto, Professor of English at Fordham University, about his class called "Literature and Psychology of Disgust," which explores how language evokes emotional responses, particularly disgust, and his book Academic Writing as if Readers Matter, which was released in September. Support the show Contact us: Threads us @vocalfriespod Bluesky us @vocalfriespod.bsky.social Email us at vocalfriespod@gmail.com Thanks for listening and ...

11-12
54:38

Performing the News

Send us a text Carrie and Megan talk with Dr Elia Powers, Associate Professor of Journalism at Towson University, about his book Performing the News: Identity, Authority, and the Myth of Neutrality. 5 Podcasts for Word Nerds NY TimesWhy Does Trump Do That Weird Capitalization Thing? HuffPost (sometimes Gillon is misspelled as Gillion, as per uzh)Support the show Contact us: Threads us @vocalfriespod Bluesky us @vocalfriespod.bsky.social Email us at vocalfriespod@gmail.com Thanks ...

10-14
50:20

How Schools Make Race

Send us a text Megan and Carrie talk with Dr Laura C. Chávez-Moreno, assistant professor at UCLA in the Departments of Chicana/o and Central American Studies and Education, about her book How Schools Make Race: Teaching Latinx Racialization in America, coming out October 1. Support the show Contact us: Threads us @vocalfriespod Bluesky us @vocalfriespod.bsky.social Email us at vocalfriespod@gmail.com Thanks for listening and keep calm and fry on

09-23
41:32

Dogwhistles and Other Fig Leaves

Send us a text Carrie and Megan talk with Dr Robert Henderson, Professor of Linguistics at the University of Arizona, about his newest book (with Dr Elin Mccready), Signaling without Saying: The Semantics and Pragmatics of Dogwhistles. Botanical taxonomyCommon names of birdsSupport the show Contact us: Threads us @vocalfriespod Bluesky us @vocalfriespod.bsky.social Email us at vocalfriespod@gmail.com Thanks for listening and keep calm and fry on

08-23
43:56

Writing Beyond Writing

Send us a text Megan and Carrie talk with Tim Brookes about his newest book, Writing Beyond Writing, what writing is, his journey to caring about Endangered Alphabets and his favourite scripts. Nuxalk albumRed BubbleInsufferable TwitsSupport the show Contact us: Threads us @vocalfriespod Bluesky us @vocalfriespod.bsky.social Email us at vocalfriespod@gmail.com Thanks for listening and keep calm and fry on

07-15
53:12

Language City

Send us a text Carrie and Megan talk with Dr Ross Perlin, co-director of the Manhattan-based non-profit Endangered Language Alliance, about his new book, Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues in New York. Language Map of NYCASL at the NHL Support the show Contact us: Threads us @vocalfriespod Bluesky us @vocalfriespod.bsky.social Email us at vocalfriespod@gmail.com Thanks for listening and keep calm and fry on

06-24
41:43

Uneffing the Binary

Send us a text Megan and Carrie talk with Drs Kris Aric Knisley and Eric Louis Russell about their book Redoing linguistic worlds: Unmaking gender binaries, remaking gender pluralities, gender, critical linguistics, trans linguistics, and uneffing all things. Sperm Whale "phonetic alphabet"Support the show Contact us: Threads us @vocalfriespod Bluesky us @vocalfriespod.bsky.social Email us at vocalfriespod@gmail.com Thanks for listening and keep calm and fry on

05-14
01:01:54

Gorsh! We All Have Accents

Send us a text Carrie and Megan talk with Drs Rusty Barrett, Professor of Linguistics, Jennifer Cramer, Professor of Linguistics at the University of Kentucky, and Kevin B. McGowan, Associate Professor of Linguistics and Director of the University of Kentucky Phonetics Lab (all at at the University of Kentucky), about their book English with an Accent: Language, Ideology, and Discrimination in the United States. New language in AustraliaChaos/order muppetsSupport the show Contact us: ...

04-15
53:07

The Funnest Episode

Send us a text Megan and Carrie talk with Dr Anne Curzan about her book Says Who? A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words. Trump's brainSupport the show Contact us: Threads us @vocalfriespod Bluesky us @vocalfriespod.bsky.social Email us at vocalfriespod@gmail.com Thanks for listening and keep calm and fry on

03-12
57:15

Jacqueline Albin

This is a really informative, fun podcast that I've been binging all week. Though I admit, it's made me kind of hyper-aware of how I talk haha. Anyway, glad I found it!

01-29 Reply

Margaret Gardner

dinnae be an arse hole!

08-29 Reply

Lauren Shaw

You guys are fantastic! I've been looking for a podcast on this topic for ages, and I'm really enjoying yours so far. Good mix of topics and v accessible discussion!

12-24 Reply

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