Podcast Parlor

For Faculty & Staff

Podcast Parlor is an occasional group for faculty and staff interested in discussing language matters and intercultural perspectives. Participants listen to a pre-selected podcast episode on an intercultural or language-focused topic in advance, and then join an informal discussion about that episode. This is a flexible group – attend any or all discussions, depending on your availability and interest in the podcast topic.

Spring 2025

This semester, Podcast Parlor meets monthly on a Tuesday in ASB 240. Episode links will be posted here as the semester progresses. If you want to receive a reminder message or additional information about Podcast Parlor, please contact Carol Goss.

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MAY 6 at 1 pm > Note the change in time

Planning is LIFE! (Radio Free Urbanism) Alternate YouTube link
This episode was suggested by Rachel, one of Podcast Parlor’s regulars. Explore how intercultural themes show up in a conversation about urban planning, car-free streets, e-bike ordinances, local government, and efforts to persuade people to change their minds.

Related articles:

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APRIL 15

More Than One Octopus
This audio story was a 2024 Tribeca Festival selection. It “follows the stories of Pippa Ehrlich, the Director of My Octopus Teacher (available on Netflix) and Zolani Mahola aka ‘The One Who Sings’, a celebrated musician in her home country. When Pippa receives backlash against My Octopus Teacher over issues of race and privilege, and Zolani feels that she has lost a connection to her voice, the two friends go on a mission to untangle South Africans’ complex social and cultural relationships with the ocean. Bonded by a shared love of the Great African Seaforest, they take a deep dive into how Apartheid has severed connections to the sea, and examine how their disparate backgrounds have contributed to their own sense of watery belonging.”

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MARCH 18

“Official” English (Because Language)
A discussion of Executive Order 14224, “Designating English as the Official Language of The United States” issued on 3/1/25. What does the order actually say, what does the order signal, and what impact might it have? EO 14224 not only designates English as the official language of the United States but also revokes Executive Order 13166, “Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency” issued by President Clinton on 8/11/00.

Bonus content on the Irish language:

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FEBRUARY 18

Why Laughing While Crying is so Korean (Code Switch)
Youngmi Mayer, comedian and author of the new memoir I’m Laughing Because I’m Crying, talks with NPR producer Schuyler Swenson. They discuss the Korean comedic tradition, connections between biracial Koreans and Korean adoptees, and other intercultural perspectives about their experience as Korean Americans.

____Bonus episode: How Korean Culture Went Global (Throughline)

____Note: The Spring Reading Group will discuss Crying in H Mart Mar. 31 at 3 pm.

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JANUARY 28

Who does language belong to A fight over the Lakota Language? (Code Switch)
“Many Lakota people agree: It’s imperative to revitalize the Lakota language. But how exactly to do that is a matter of broader debate. Should Lakota be codified and standardized to make learning it easier? Or should the language stay as it always has been, defined by many different ways of writing and speaking? We explore this complex, multi-generational fight that’s been unfolding in the Lakota Nation, from Standing Rock to Pine Ridge.”

Related links
– Buried Secrets: America’s Indian Boarding Schools Part 1 (Reveal)
– Buried Secrets: America’s Indian Boarding Schools Part 2 (Reveal)
– Lakota Language Consortium
– Revitalizing Mapudungun: A Cooperative Effort (Gradcast)

Suggest a Podcast Episode

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Fall 2024

Nov 21
How to have curious conversations in dangerously divided times (from How to Be a Better Human)
Interview with Mónica Guzmán, author of I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times. Guzmán shares the tools she uses to find common ground with her loved ones. She talks about why interacting with, and listening to, different points of view is critical work – and how through curiosity we can achieve the seemingly impossible task of understanding those we tend to think of as our enemy.

Oct 31
Halloween and Cultural Appropriation (from Dear White Women)
A conversation between two biracial cohosts about Halloween and cultural appropriation is a springboard to explore questions related to the costumes we choose for ourselves, and not just on October 31st. What is the intended (or unintended) outcome when we wear a particular costume? Outside of American celebrations of Halloween, when do we wear costumes? When do we choose to adopt a style of dress or physical presentation as a way to mask (or unmask) our true selves?

Oct 22
Lies Your Teacher Taught You: The Truth About Thanksgiving (from All My Relations)
Hosts Matika Wilbur and Adrienne Keene sit down with Matika’s 13-year-old nephew to teach about the true history of European and Native contact. “Most of what we know about Thanksgiving is invented and packaged in easy-to-digest bites. This convenient story allows for the avoidance of discomfort for people with settler ancestries. The path to reconciliation starts with honest acknowledgement of our past, with open eyes…We can do that by learning to give thanks in a good way.”

Sept 12
The Beauty and Entitlement of Traveling as a Tourist (from Code Switch)
In her book Airplane Mode, an Irreverent History of Travel, Shahnaz Habib discusses “passport privilege.” How does our view and lived experience of travel impact our perception of who the world belongs to, and our expectations of how we, and others, move throughout the world?

Sept 26
Eurovision Part 1 / Optional – Part 2 (from The Allusionist)
Historian Dean Vuletic, author of Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest, discusses the long history of Eurovision, the multilingual, multinational television show that has been running for nearly seven decades. Vuletic recounts the many linguistic controversies that have plagued Eurovision and explores how this international event is much more than just a song contest. It is, in fact, an illustration of the complications that arise when language, politics, and popular culture intersect, and often clash.