A podcast that’s enthusiastic about linguistics! Lingthusiasm is a structured conversation-style podcast about a different weird and deep linguistics topic for half an hour each month, from sounds you can’t hear (but babies can) to the pragmatics of humour, and always including any relevant linguistics memes. It’s created by linguistics lecturer Lauren Gawne and NYT bestselling author of Because Internet Gretchen McCulloch.

Lingthusiasm posts new episodes monthly on the third Thursday, which are free to listen to and ad-free, and is supported by merch sales and subscriptions to bonus episodes on Patreon. 

For longer bios and the production team, see People. To reach both hosts: contact æt lingthusiasm dot com.    

Media appearances

• “Fascinating” New York Times, 5 Podcasts for Word Nerds
• Interview on Slate’s Spectacular Vernacular podcast
• NPR Ask Me Another, quiz segments on accepted or rejected emoji and famous book titles
• “Joyously nerdy” –BuzzFeed Style Guide newsletter
• Meet the Professionals: Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne, linguistics podcasters (Babel, the quarterly language magazine)
• Interview with Gretchen McCulloch about internet linguistics and the Melbourne Lingthusiasm liveshow on ABC Melbourne with David Astle

Reviewer quotes

“Joyously nerdy” (BuzzFeed Style Guide newsletter)

The show is often as much about social habits as it is about language — one memorable episode had Gawne and McCulloch discuss “lopsided conversations,” those verbal interactions that can go off the rails if one person is either dominating or not contributing enough. It’s a fascinating listen that will change the way you see everyday communications. (New York Times, 5 Podcasts for Word Nerds) 

I had this epiphany listening, like “woahhh, words are like…magic?”…the kind of epiphany that made me feel like I was 21 …in the attic of my college off-campus house realizing I have hands. (Lauren Passell’s Podcast the Newsletter)

Do you love language? Do you often wonder about how words work? Do you enjoy listening to smart women discuss interesting stuff? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I have the podcast for you – Lingthusiasm: a podcast that’s enthusiastic about linguistics. 
Popular Tumblr linguists Lauren Gawne (Superlinguo) and Gretchen McCulloch (All Things Linguistic) have banded together to have some seriously entertaining talks about all kinds of different aspects of language. If that sounds dry, then you are sorely mistaken, because it’s super interesting and sometimes totally hilarious. (The Geekiary)

There’s a wonderful new podcast on linguistic matters that I highly recommend to all Language Log readers. It’s called Lingthusiasm, and it’s appropriately billed as “a podcast that’s enthusiastic about linguistics.” (Ben Zimmer on Language Log)

At 30–35 minutes long, discussions stray into related topics without losing sight of the main current. All the shows to date have been fun and illuminating, and I’m looking forward to hearing what they talk about next. Lauren and Gretchen know their stuff, have an easy rapport, and are skilled at pitching linguistic concepts to a general audience. I also like the mix of Australian and Canadian dialects. (Stan Carey on Sentence First)

I also recommend the most recent episode of the podcast Lingthusiasm—the podcast that’s “enthusiastic about linguistics,” which talks about chain shifts. It’s episode number 17, called “Vowel Gymnastics,” and I’ll put a link in the show notes. (Neal Whitman on Grammar Girl)

Featured on Dictionary.com’s list of the Best Podcasts About Language

One of Spotify’s Top 50 Science Podcasts, 2022

For a full list of other activities involving Lingthusiasm, see our crossovers page.