Podcasts: Speech Pathology/English/Psychology/Criminology

November 28, 2016 5:37 PM

Hi. I'm a 27 y/o woman and I'm looking for something interesting to listen to on my way to work, so maybe something that's about an hour long. My interests are speech pathology, english, psychology, mysteries, criminology, history (american, history of language). Audiobooks are great too (mystery, historical fiction, etc)

I'm a speech pathologist and wouldn't mind learning something new (we work on voice disorders, speech impediments, accent modification, socialization skills, receptive/expressive language, etc.) I also love stuff related to the psychology of language and psych disorders.

I've also really gotten into mysteries and criminology. I love the show House because it combines mystery and science (the body). I know there's Serial (and how to make a murderer), but honestly, I'd rather listen to something that doesn't involve wrongful convictions. These really bother me.

Thanks so much! : ) If I need to clarify anything, please let me know.

posted by crystal_stair to Media & Arts (16 answers total)

Response by poster: I also want to add that I love Outlander, so anything in this vein would be great. thanks
posted by crystal_stair at 5:40 PM on November 28, 2016

I really enjoy the Criminal podcast--wide variety of true-life stories about a wide range of different types of crimes. Some stories are historical, some are present day. I actually think that one of the recent 2-part episodes did involve a wrongful conviction, but I can't think of any others that focused on that. Most are in the 20-30 minute range--there are enough in the feed to let you listen to a couple of them back to back for quite awhile. I find most of the episodes quite riveting!
posted by bookmammal at 6:01 PM on November 28, 2016 [5 favorites]

History-of-language-wise, I love the podcast The History of English (I'm subscribed through iTunes, and other podcatchers have it too). It's a detailed and well-delivered series--85 episodes so far and still going!--following English from its Indo-European roots all along through history. Episodes tend to be an hour or under.
posted by theatro at 6:15 PM on November 28, 2016 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: these sound great! thanks : )
posted by crystal_stair at 6:23 PM on November 28, 2016

The Stuttertalk podcast is interesting. I also love History of English., as recommended above.

On a mystery front, Punt P.I. is fun and doesn't tend to be about wrongful convictions.
posted by Lexica at 6:29 PM on November 28, 2016

In the criminology vein, you might like True Crime Profile and, for a more casual discussion of (relatively) less serious crimes, Liar City. For more straightforward psychology: I recently started listening to NPR's Hidden Brain and have really enjoyed the handful of episodes I've heard.

Edited to add that the most recent episodes of True Crime Profile have been about Amanda Knox--hello, wrongful conviction--so I'd suggest you skip those and check out the older stuff.
posted by lovableiago at 7:24 PM on November 28, 2016

There's true crime a podcast called Casefile True Crime that is way less professionally produced than Criminal, but the episodes are longer and one thing I appreciate about it is that the guy who makes it always spends some time talking about the victims in a way you don't often hear in narratives of famous and often grisly crimes.

I also recommend The History of English. If there's a thing that you're interested in the history of, there's a good chance someone has done a podcast. Between my husband and myself we've consumed the histories of Rome, Byzantium, the Church, and English.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:33 PM on November 28, 2016

@lovableiago - do you mean Real Crime Profile? That's one of the ones I would suggest too.

I LOVE Dear Hank and John because it's super nerdy and fun. John Green is the author of The Fault in Our Stars, etc. They have seriously had arguments for 20 minutes about how to spell the abbreviation of usual (uzhe was the winner, and some actual linguists weighed in on it).

A few real crime but not about wrongful convictions:
In the Dark - about a kidnapping that was actually solved during the podcast's run
Up and Vanished - about a missing person case that is still unsolved decades later
Sword and Scale - about crime in general. I like it a lot of the time, but his view of humans who commit crimes as "monsters" is something about which I have serious objections, and his support of the prosecution at all costs is something about which I have VERY serious objections.
Someone Knows Something - about unsolved cases in Canada. The second season just started.

I'd also recommend Found, Crime Writers On and Note to Self - all English-y/writer-y.
posted by guster4lovers at 7:38 PM on November 28, 2016 [2 favorites]

I have a couple history/psychology of language podcasts for you!

BBC 4's Word of Mouth: delightful conversations and interviews with all sorts of language-related linguists, researchers, psychologists, academics, etc. For example, the most recent episode I listened to had to do with kids' invented words, and what that tells us about linguistic psychology.

Radiotopia's The Allusionist: short, sweet, brilliantly edited snippets investigating language & words. Sometimes it's historical, sometimes it investigates modern culture; recent episodes have included a history of the Rosetta stone, an interview with a cognitive psychologist about language processing, and things about eponyms.

In terms of English, In Our Time: Culture (specifically the Culture subsection) might serve. Roundtable interviews with academics about specific topics every week. Lots about classic literature. Examples: "Emma," "The Epic of Gilgamesh," "Rumi's Poetry," "Jane Eyre."
posted by stellarc at 8:01 PM on November 28, 2016 [6 favorites]

you might like shows on cbc radio. many to choose from, how about someone knows something

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/sks
posted by cda at 9:38 PM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]

Seconding the Allusionist. Helen Zaltzman would be a national treasure, if only my nation could claim her.
posted by mark k at 9:50 PM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]

Pillars of the Earth which is book 1 of an amazing historical novel trilogy.

I personally read his book (and series), but the narrator that reads this audiobook is excellent.
posted by wile e at 5:01 AM on November 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

In the vein of true crime and Serial, I present Accused. It is about a murder of a popular college student in late 1978 but has the wrinkle that the victim's boyfriend was tried twice for the crime and was acquitted both times. Most people think he was wrongly prosecuted but a few don't. The podcast series is a reporter going back to try and find out if the courts were correct and if they were, who might have killed the victim. As she interviews lots of the victim's friends and acquaintances, it is interesting look at what it is like to live 30+ years with the grief and loss that comes from losing a friend so young.
posted by mmascolino at 8:29 AM on November 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

Futility Closet, each episode is one of history's mysteries/curiosities retold/examined, followed by a lateral thinking puzzle. Exceptionally interesting and fun to listen to. Each episode runs around a half hour.
posted by mirabelle at 10:13 AM on November 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

You'd probably enjoy Slate's Lexicon Valley (earlier episodes are better, IMHO)

I also like The Allusionist and Criminal.
posted by radioamy at 7:33 PM on November 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Guys, thank you so much! These sound really great. I actually just remembered some other lectures/talks that I'm into that I want to mention. TedTalks are usually good and I also listen to Dr. Sapolsky on youtube. He's a neuroscientist and has some other degrees and he's really interesting to listen to.
posted by crystal_stair at 7:34 PM on December 4, 2016