The Weekend Listener is an eclectic list of noteworthy podcasts and radio recordings, old and new, curated for your listening pleasure. For more listening tips please search the website for previous instalments.
LANGUAGE
How language influences identity and culture
Kirk Gallardo is a linguist and the Education Interpretation Manager at the Anchorage Museum. In this interview with the Chatter Marks podcast, he talks about the importance of language as one of the defining marks of identity and cultural belonging. [Duration: 34’14’’]
LEARNING ENGLISH
Contronyms are ‘Literally’ the Best
Designed for ESL students, this episode of the Everyday Grammar podcast deals with contronyms—words that have two opposite meanings at the same time. On the webpage you can also access the full transcript of the programme and a glossary. [Duration: 7’18’’]
LITERATURE
This episode of the Books and Authors programme from the BBC Radio 4 is a lovely panel discussion on the role of nature and landscape in fiction writing. Several authors interviewed for the programme talk about their relationship with the land and how it’s influenced their writing. [Duration: 27’44’’]
HISTORY
On Mardi Gras’s Caribbean Roots
The celebration of Mardi Gras in New Orleans is known all over the world. Taking place just before the beginning of Lent, it’s a fascinating mixture of cultures, much like the city itself. Joshua Jelly-Schapiro explores one particular aspect of its origin: the Caribbean. [Duration: 22’19’’]
CULTURE & SOCIETY
Even if you don’t happen to suffer from insomnia, you’ll be sure to enjoy this CBC Radio programme on the cultural history of sleeping. How has our understanding of insomnia changed over time, and what does it have to do with the poets of the Romantic era? [Duration: 53’59’’]
RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
Fasting has a significant spiritual role in many world religions, but it’s also a practice with proven health benefits. Dr Francoise Wilhelmi de Toledo of the Buchinger Wilhelmi Clinic explains. [Duration: 23’21’’]
Is there a podcast episode you’d like to recommend on these or related topics? You’re very welcome to share it in the comments section below.
Cover photo credit: Naadir Shahul on Unsplash
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