Unstandardized English

On this episode, host JPB Gerald brings back Dr. Caitlin Green to talk about some Very Online (and mostly male) Academics who just cannot stop shouting into the internet about wokeness, anti-racism, and, yes, as ever, cancel culture. At this point, this might well be an ongoing series! If you like the work and are able to support the show, please consider donating over at Patreon: https://www.patr...

In this episode, host JPB Gerald and guest Ali Oats recount their similar but divergent experiences as students, one formally diagnosed with ADHD, one not but clearly so, one white and one Black, how these differences shaped their own narratives thus far, and what they had nonetheless had in common. If you like the work and are able to support the show, please consider donating: https://www.patreo...

In this episode, host JPB Gerald talks to his old friend Keith Stewart - a professional trivia host - about trivia, something they both love but which often reinforces white epistemology and preferences. We discuss what can be done to broaden the scope of asking questions at bars and parties. If you are able to support the work, please consider contributing at https://www.patreon.com/unstandardize...

I kinda just wanted to do something fun, and consider I've spent way too much time watching that show, I came up with some ideas related to the topics I talk about on this show to discuss. It's actually more compelling than you think if you take a step back and look at it. So, on this episode, host JPB Gerald takes a critical look at the 90 Day Fiance and issues related to racism, language, Americ...

On this episode, host JPB Gerald discusses the book "The Limits of Whiteness" with its author, Dr. Neda Maghbouleh. The book sheds light on an under-explored axis of racial categorization, specifically that of the Iranian diaspora, and the way whiteness factors into their lives. We also end up spiraling off into a really fun and informative conversation about whiteness, language, academic writing,...

Switching perspectives here, host JPB Gerald talks to Des Alvarez about her new career as a language teacher, her plans for the future in the field, and how it's been to begin work in 2020 of all years. Support the show if you are able to at the following link: https://www.patreon.com/unstandardized

Oh boy! Literally, because there are three men, but still. Scott Stillar and Dr. Vijay Ramjattan return to help host JPB Gerald envision a world where whiteness is no longer centered in ELT. It's quite an episode! If you like what you hear, consider supporting the show on patreon here: https://patreon.com/unstandardized. Every pledge is deeply appreciated! 

In this episode, host JPB Gerald discusses the brand new and vital book, "Radicalizing Literacies and Languaging," with authors Dr. Mandy Stewart and (returning guest) Dr. Ale Babino. The authors walk listeners through their methodology, the contents of the book, and the urgent call the action that their book represents for anyone interested in language and literacy research. Here's a link to the...

First solo episode of the season! In this episode, host JPB Gerald reflects on how the racism he experienced, particularly his positioning as the One Black Friend, was actually tied to an implicit belief in eugenics held by his otherwise nice friends, and how such a belief is actually more common than one might think, even if people aren't likely to admit that oppressed groups should be literally...

 In this episode, host JPB Gerald and guest Anar Parikh (@anarparikh) discuss the many issues with discrepancies in language access and the impact this has on minoritized communities, particularly relevant in a year like this one, of course. We also discuss the importance, and meaning, of publicly-engaged scholarship in the hellscape of 2020. Support the show on patreon if you can! Link for suppor...

Spoilers ahead! Beware! Host JPB Gerald and guest Keisha Wiel dive into the many fascinating aspects of HBO's Lovecraft Country, which you really should go watch before you listen to this. If you like what you hear, consider supporting the show on patreon here: https://patreon.com/unstandardized. Every pledge is deeply appreciated!

In this meta-episode, JPB examines the reasons why he chooses to analyze whiteness in his research and scholarship, and mostly ends up being very critical of academia overall! I kinda... went off. Topics include whiteness, capitalism and his relationship to it, masculinity, the journal system, and a lot of other things. It's fun! Support the show on patreon if you can: https://www.patreon.com/unst...

In this episode, host JPB Gerald discusses English Language Teaching and its conceptualization among the Midwestern American white working class. With his friend and fervent academic supporter, Dr. Nicole Pettitt (@nmpettitt). Support the show's patreon if you are interested and able to do so: https://www.patreon.com/unstandardized

We all rely on numbers to back up our points, right? And one of the ways we rely on quantitative statistics is to advance anti-racist and heteroglossic language goals, at least as critical scholars and educators. But who says the numbers we trust should be trusted? And how harmful are the supposedly neutral categories we rely on? In this very nerdy episode (that's a positive, people!), host JPB Ge...

In the Season Two premiere, host JPB Gerald reflects on the work he has engaged in this summer and then discusses the white hegemonic nonsense of the concept of 'cancel culture,' focusing on abusive and/or racist people with way too much power and money and how the discourse around them actually protects them. Second half of the episode focuses on Pinker and his abject nonsense. Featuring his frie...

In this episode, host JPB Gerald combs through the entire first season of the show, including snippets from every single episode. Enjoy! We'll be back at the end of the summer with a show that has learned lessons and really found its legs. 

In this very special episode, host JPB Gerald and his special guest, AMT Gerald, discuss how these times are only "uncertain" for folks whose lives didn't already include housing instability, and delve into her career working in homeless services, "affordable" housing, what "homeless" actually means, and a lot of other things that make him feel very lucky to have found her.

In this episode, host JPB Gerald and guest Kelsey Swift discuss historical constructions of English and a lot of other things about the posible future ahead of us.

In this special episode, host JPB Gerald speaks with Dr. Rebecca Shapiro and several of her students in Barbados on what they have learned about language and dialect in their just-concluded semester. Definitely a different episode from the others! 

Another week inside, another episode. This week, host JPB Gerald speaks to Dr. Ale Babino about the construction of bilingual education and dual language programs, the intersection of gifted and talented designations, the impact of whiteness on her career, and how language learners may be particularly impacted by this current traumatic interruption.

Joined by former guests Kelly Wright and Maureen Kosse, as well as Kelly Yoshida Nuttall in the background, this episode is a free-flowing conversation about "Karen," how it's NOT the n-word, why these non-slurs (insults, in fact) are equated to slurs, and what can be done about Karens.

In the next episode of this ongoing series, host JPB Gerald speaks with Dr. Betsy Sneller about the value of linguistic analysis in the present and future.

Host JPB Gerald reflects, alone, on his experiences being at arm's length for NYC's two decades of ongoing disasters, his love for the city, his gratitude and guilt, his realization that impresses different types of white people helps no one but them, and finding a purpose for the future.

In this 4th episode of an ongoing series (I really am going to try to keep it going as long as we're all inside), host JPB Gerald speaks with Chey Davis, Associate Professor of English. They discuss her teaching on race and racism, how analysis of racism and disability might evolve after our current time period, and the abject fiction of American mythologizing.

In this episode, host JPB Gerald and guest Dr. Mariam Durrani discuss her work in on anti-Muslim racism, feminist and public anthropology, American empire, and what, if we are lucky, we, as critical scholars, have to do during and after Covid.