• Episodes

    Episode 115: Linguists Rejoice! A Movie about Language — Oh, it’s Aliens? Arrival (2016) With Jeff Punske

    Join Alex and Dr. Jeff Punske as they explore the linguistic and cognitive aspects of Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi masterpiece, Arrival (2016). The film stars Amy Adams as Dr. Louise Banks, a renowned linguist, and Jeremy Renner as a renowned theoretical physicist. Together, they must decipher an extremely complex language from newly-arrived extraterrestrials, referred to as the heptapods. But as Louise begins to learn their language, she begins to experience time differently! Alex and Jeff explore the nature of cognition and language and discuss how the film uses the Sapir-Whorf hypotheses to explain how Louise ultimately experiences her life during this time and afterward… or was it beforeward?…