Just over a year ago, I published a blog post in which I added Talk the Talk to my short list of favorite linguistics podcasts.

The bad news is that Talk the Talk is no more.

The good news is that it has been reincarnated, under the name Because Language. Yay!

The podcast features the same three hosts as before: linguist Daniel Midgley, non-linguist but certified “smart person” Ben Ainslie, and newly minted PhD-in-linguistics Hedvig Skirgård. You get extra points if you (unlike Will Shortz) remember that “å” and “a” are different letters.

For the opening episode of the newly named podcast, the hosts interview a distinguished panel — an “all-star cast,” as they appropriately put it — with brief comments from each. Since the panel includes John McWhorter, Lauren Gawne, Gretchen McCulloch, Ben Zimmer, and six others, you really ought to listen to this episode. You’ll enjoy it, and you’ll learn something!

In addition to Because Language, my new short list includes Lexicon Valley, by the aforementioned John McWhorter, and Lingthusiasm, by the aforementioned Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne. Try all three of these podcasts.

Categories: Linguistics