Month: July 2017

7/25/17 Show feat. Dr. Kate Riestenberg on linguistics and endangered languages and Kristin Guest on speech language pathology and bilingualism in schools

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Dr. Katherine Riestenberg, Linguist

This episode of These Vibes was all about language.

In the first part, Stevie spoke with Dr. Kate Riestenberg, linguist and postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution and visiting scholar at Truman State University in Missouri, about the varied and far-reaching work of linguists. Then, they took a deep dive in to the topic of endangered languages — how they’re defined, how a language becomes endangered, and why we should care.

 

 

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Kristin Guest, Bilingual Speech Language Pathologist

In the second portion, Kristin Guest, Bilingual Speech Language Pathologist (SLP), discussed her work in SLP and working with kids in (primarily New York City) public schools. She described the differences between learning, language, and speech disabilities, as well as how you determine if a student has a disability in one of these three categories. Next Kristin gets in to the linguistically and culturally biased assessment practices in schools, and how they should change.

 

 

Mentioned Links:

 

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7/18/17 Show feat. Betsy Levy Paluck on Social Norms, Radio and Reducing Conflict

Today’s show features Betsy Levy Paluck, Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs, expert on the dynamics of social networks and behavioral norms. We discuss how groups normalize behaviors in a variety of contexts, and what we know about intervening to change behaviors. How much do we really know about the effectiveness of diversity training and media campaigns? What is the role of the mass media in creating or reducing prejudice? Listen for all this and a broader discussion on large-scale conflict resolution and how personal relationships feed into cultural trends.

In other news:

  • According to newly analyzed DNA from ancient dogs, humans domesticated wolves just once in history–about 20,000 years ago in Asia.
  • The early solar system may have been swarming not with rocky meteors, but with giant balls of mud, solving a longstanding paradox in understanding old space debris.

The full playlist is available at WPRB’s website or below.

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7/11/17 Show on Melting Rocks, Alzheimer’s and Measuring Coal Impacts in Nature

Featured image: Even in a quartzite countertop, evidence of rock melting and distortion is apparent. How do earthquakes heat up these rocks so much that they liquify?

This week’s episode focuses on some of the newest stories in science. Listen and hear about earthquake physics: what makes rocks melt when tectonic plates rub against each other? Also featured are stories on nuclear analysis of coral, the reflectivity of the Antarctic and why sleep may prevent Alzheimer’s-linked proteins from mucking up your brain.

In other news:

  • Juno has delivered us images of the Great Red Spot from only 9,000 km away–unimaginably close in Jupiter terms. Check out these images from NASA!
  • If anyone in the New York / New Jersey / Philadelphia area knows about a bus or group venture down to the eclipse on August 21st, please let us know! Going alone may be difficult on short notice, so maybe grouping together would make the logistics easier.

The playlist can be found on WPRB’s website or below.

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