The Language & Life Podcast

Ryan Kemmer is a software engineer who focuses primarily on artificial intelligence applications and data science. He is an Arizona native who currently lives in Manhattan, NYC, and loves to travel and experience new things. In his free time, he is an avid musician, composer, drummer, and electronic artist.  Josh Stovall has a BA in music from Arizona State University. He is a computer programmer...

Kay Norton is Professor Emerita of Musicology at Arizona State University. She has written and presented frequently about gospel music, hymns, and the Deep South ( Sallie Martin, Mother of Gospel Music , 2016). Norton’s interest in synthesizing musicology with research in the health sciences is exemplified in Singing and Wellness: Ancient Wisdom, Modern Proof (Routledge, 2016). A lifelong communit...

Kareen Phanos, originally from Ghana, is pursuing a Ph. D. in Spanish Linguistics at Arizona State University, where she has been since 2022. She is a speaker of six languages: Fante, Twi, English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Her research interests include sociolinguistics and natural language processing. Outside of school, Kareen likes to travel and engage in photography.  In this episode, w...

Thomas Briggs is an Army veteran and data scientist, originally from Illinois. He is a graduate from Arizona State University and a lifelong enjoyer of the outdoors.  In this episode, we discuss Thomas's childhood experiences in the outdoors and how he developed a passion for backpacking. We also discuss his experience in the Army, including his experience training for Special Forces Assessme...

McKenna grew up in Madison, WI and graduated with her Master’s in Biology from Arizona State University. She loves to spend time outdoors and read, preferably both at the same time. McKenna has always enjoyed outdoor recreation activities like hiking, running, biking, and swimming. She started traveling domestically and internationally in college and has since become immersed in the world of budge...

Isaac Wisdom is a pianist and trombonist from Arizona with music degrees from Berklee College of Music’s Valencia, Spain campus and from Arizona State University. He plays in many different styles, but especially enjoys jazz, samba, salsa, soul, and funk. Outside of music, Isaac enjoys learning languages and working on hobby electronic projects. In this episode, we discuss what it means to study,...