In this episode of The Restful Record, we explore the science of linguistics, beginning with the haunting case of a 19th-century patient studied by Paul Broca whose loss of speech revealed that language is not abstract — it is physical, biological, and fragile.
We’ll journey through the neuroscience of aphasia, how strokes and brain injuries can unravel speech, and why some people can still sing even after losing the ability to talk. You’ll learn how children naturally build grammar, how deaf children in Nicaragua spontaneously created a new language, and why linguists like Noam Chomsky have argued that humans may be born with an innate blueprint for language.
We also explore the social power of speech — from accents and code-switching to the hidden biases we attach to the way people talk — and the urgent global crisis of language loss. As anthropologist Wade Davis describes, when a language disappears, we lose an entire way of understanding reality.
This episode blends neuroscience, psychology, culture, and history to reveal a profound truth: language is more than communication. It is identity, memory, belonging, and thought itself.
If you’re interested in linguistics, brain science, psychology, anthropology, or the mysteries of human cognition, this episode offers a calm, reflective exploration of one of the most extraordinary abilities we possess.
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Podcast cover art image by Eric Nopanen.
