We Are What We Speak

Part two with Natalia Rocafuerte - experimental visual artist - about navigating life with a long name, her project “Dream Machine Archive”, living on and near borders, and how language can be a sign of class or power. Host: Aliyah Mitchell; Editor: Aliyah Mitchell; Produced in partnership with Ann Arbor District Library and recorded at Fifth Avenue Studios. | Featured: “Dream Machine Archive” by...

Today in conversation with Natalia Rocafuerte - experimental visual artist - about grappling with English in school, the “faux pas” of mixing English and Spanish in public, and code-switching in everyday life. Host: Aliyah Mitchell; Editor: Aliyah Mitchell; Produced in partnership with Ann Arbor District Library and recorded at Fifth Avenue Studios.

Today in conversation with Javaad Alipoor – playwright, activist, director, and artistic director of Javaad Alipoor Company – about memorable childhood language stories, the way social status can guide languages taught and learned, how he approaches language in his political theatre work, and the role of technology and language in radicalization. Host: Aliyah Mitchell; Editor: Aliyah Mitchell; Pro...

Part two with Michela Russo - lecturer of Italian and Spanish at University of Michigan - about her personal language philosophy, unpacking various language-related faux pas, and navigating language anxieties at places like hospitals, insurance companies, and banks. Host: Aliyah Mitchell; Editor: Aliyah Mitchell; Produced in partnership with Ann Arbor District Library and recorded at Fifth Avenue...

Today in conversation with Michela Russo - lecturer of Italian and Spanish at University of Michigan - about the story of her Northern and Southern Italian accents, what it takes to learn a language, her father’s yearslong documentation of her speech progression and complexities of assimilation. Host: Aliyah Mitchell; Editor: Aliyah Mitchell; Produced in partnership with Ann Arbor District Library...

Part two with independent filmmaker Nancy Savoca and independent producer Richard Guay about effective representation of language and accent in film and TV, how they approached language in their films “Dirt” and “Household Saints”, everyday misinterpretations, and more. Host: Aliyah Mitchell; Editor: Aliyah Mitchell; Produced in partnership with Ann Arbor District Library and recorded at Fifth Ave...

Today in conversation with independent filmmaker Nancy Savoca and independent producer Richard Guay, about growing up with competing messages around language, what it means to build community with people of diverse language backgrounds, and more. Host: Aliyah Mitchell; Editor: Aliyah Mitchell; Produced in partnership with Ann Arbor District Library and recorded at Fifth Avenue Studios.

Part two with Tamara West – a higher education professional, a student of life, and an interculturalist – about hosting intercultural karaoke, the choice to detach from using racialized language, being rewarded for speaking with an accent, and more. Host: Aliyah Mitchell; Editor: Aliyah Mitchell; Produced in partnership with Ann Arbor District Library and recorded at Fifth Avenue Studios.

Today in conversation with Tamara West – a higher education professional, a student of life, and an interculturalist – about growing up in Jamaica, multilingual karaoke, teaching English to international students and more. Host: Aliyah Mitchell: Editor: Aliyah Mitchell: Produced in partnership with Ann Arbor District Library and recorded at Fifth Avenue Studios. | Featured excerpts: "Jamaica Langu...

Part two with Nicholas Henriksen, Andries Coetzee, and Lorenzo Garcia-Amaya – three lead researchers for the Patagonia Project at the University of Michigan – exploring more about the collaborative project, language preservation, conducting interdisciplinary and intergenerational research, and the trio’s role in the award-winning documentary “Boers at the End of the World”. Hosts: Aliyah Mitchell...

Today in conversation with Nicholas Henriksen, Andries Coetzee, and Lorenzo Garcia-Amaya – three lead researchers for the Patagonia Project at the University of Michigan – about The Patagonia Project (a multigenerational, multidisciplinary research project), some of the central linguistic and sociolinguistic questions at the heart of this research collaborative, and more. Hosts: Aliyah Mitchell an...

Part two with Toko Shiiki - award-winning filmmaker and photographer - about embracing and overcoming vulnerability, English as a tool in psychotherapy, and developing self-confidence when speaking with others. Host: Aliyah Mitchell; Editor: Aliyah Mitchell; Produced in partnership with Ann Arbor District Library and recorded at Fifth Avenue Studios.

Today in conversation with Toko Shiiki - award-winning filmmaker and photographer - about discovering filmmaking as a communication tool, memorable language experiences in the U.S. and Japan, and what our handwriting say may say about us. Host: Aliyah Mitchell; Editor: Aliyah Mitchell; Produced in partnership with Ann Arbor District Library and recorded at Fifth Avenue Studios.

Part two with Frieda Ekotto – Francophone novelist, literary critic, professor at the University of Michigan, filmmaker, and 2023-2024 President of the Modern Languages Association – about goals as current Modern Languages Association president, the function of legal discourse, and power of translating. Hosts: Aliyah Mitchell and Juan D. Freitez; Editor: Aliyah Mitchell; Produced in partnership wi...

Today in conversation with Frieda Ekotto – Francophone novelist, literary critic, professor at the University of Michigan, filmmaker, and 2023-2024 President of the Modern Languages Association – about formative language experiences, and grappling with language and identity. Hosts: Aliyah Mitchell and Juan D. Freitez; Editor: Aliyah Mitchell; Produced in partnership with Ann Arbor District Library...

We Are What We Speak is an upcoming podcast that unpacks the complex human experience by talking how language and linguistics is deeply connected to our lives and everyday experiences.