The PALA Podcast

Welcome to Episode 1 of the second season of the PALA Podcast! In this episode, Dr Megan Mansworth discusses the place of emotion in pedagogical stylistics.  If you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you’d like us to discuss, you can reach us at our email address: pala.podcast@outlook.com . Don’t forget to follow, rate, and share the podcast if you enjoyed today’s episode! Thank you for li...

In this final episode of the series, Dr Kerry Miller shares her research into the language of contraception in sex education.

In this episode, Prof. Esterina Nervino discusses sustainability messaging in luxury branding and reporting, sharing her deep dives into discourse practices to reveal current tensions and trends. 

In this episode, Dr Jessica Norledge discusses the language of dystopian fictions, exploring the nuances of how these troubling textual worlds engage readers in critical reflection on contemporary values and behaviours.  

"The best arguments in the world won't change a person's mind. The only thing that can do that is a good story." (Richard Powers, The Overstory, p.488). In this episode, Dr Moniek Kuijpers, Massimo Lusetti, and Cristina Loi share their investigations into the impacts of reading climate fiction. 

Empathy with others is commonly regarded as fundamental to furthering social justice and reducing inequalities. Listen to Fransina Stradling and Dr Carolina Fernandez-Quintanilla discuss narrative empathy, how it works, and how far it might influence attitudes and behaviours in socially constructive ways. 

Our plastic use is polluting the planet, from the deepest oceans to the Arctic. Listen to Professor Joanna Gavins talk about the Many Happy Returns project and the role of language in changing behaviour towards single use plastic.

Community cohesion is critical to sustainable societies. In this episode, Dr Stephen Pihlaja discusses language and religious identity in the superdiverse city.

The world is approaching a crisis of water scarcity. In this episode, Prof. Michaela Mahlberg explains how corpus linguistics can help to uncover and change the ways we talk about, think about and manage water.