Bonus 101: Why sci-fi gestures live long and prosper - Crossover with Imaginary Worlds

If you’re inventing a new world, why not invent a new gesture to go with it?

In this episode, Lauren gets enthusiastic about fictional gestures with Eric Molinsky, host of Imaginary Worlds, a podcast about sci-fi, fantasy and other genres of speculative fiction. We talk about the Vulcan salute from Star Trek, the Wakanda Forever salute from Black Panther, and the three-finger Hunger Games salute, and how all three have crossed over with additional symbolism into the real world. We also talk about gestures that have crossed over in the other direction, from the real-world origins of the Vulcan salute in a Jewish blessing, the two-finger blessing in the Foundation tv series from classical Latin and Greek oratory via Christian traditions, as well as religious gesture in the Penric and Desdemona series, smiles and shrugs in A Memory Called Empire, and more.

Listen to this episode about fictional gestures, and get access to many more bonus episodes by supporting Lingthusiasm on Patreon.

Bonus 94: Metaphors be with you! Lingthusiasm x Let’s Learn Everything crossover episode

Let’s Learn Everything is a podcast whose hosts take on their ambitious mission with infectious energy. Last month, we got to sit down for a Lingthusiasm crossover on Let’s Learn Everything, where Gretchen talked about why science uses so much Latin, the quest for sarcasm punctuation, the origin of writing, and so much more, and we had so much fun that we kept the mic on and recorded a bonus episode with some extra questions we didn’t get to.

In this bonus episode, Gretchen gets enthusiastic about science metaphors and learning everything with Tom Lum and Caroline Roper, cohosts of Let’s Learn Everything! We talk about whether programming languages should count as a language credit, numbers and ritual stock phrases like seventeen and “once upon a time”, as well as etymology and metaphor in ecology, chemistry, and linguistics. We also talk about turning the “constantly trying to figure things out” part of your brain off, attending the word of the year vote, and how linguists have a tendency to be curious about language all the time, which… sometimes gets us into trouble.

Announcements: 

Want to share Lingthusiasm with someone else this holiday season? Patreon now has a gifting option available, so you can go here to buy a gift subscription for someone else (or stealthily send someone the link if they might be looking for gift ideas).

Listen to this episode about science metaphors, and get access to many more bonus episodes by supporting Lingthusiasm on Patreon.