Language on the Move

Language on the Move sits at the intersection of multilingualism, migration, and globalization, and it does so with genuine academic credibility. Founded by sociolinguist Ingrid Piller at Macquarie University in Sydney, the podcast won the 2025 Talkley Award and carries a perfect 5.0-star rating on Apple Podcasts. With 65 episodes, the catalog is not enormous, but each installment is carefully crafted. Episodes feature researchers and community members talking about how language shapes the experience of moving between countries and cultures. One episode examines translation practices on a North Australian mission. Another looks at Australia national survey of Indigenous languages. A third follows the experience of arriving in a new country when you do not speak the local language. The conversations run 27 to 43 minutes and come out every few weeks. What separates this show from other language podcasts is its focus on the social and political dimensions of multilingualism. It asks questions like: who gets to decide which languages matter? How does speaking with an accent affect your opportunities? What happens to minority languages when dominant ones take over? These are not abstract academic puzzles -- they are lived realities for millions of people. The show is distributed through the New Books Network, which gives it reach beyond the typical linguistics audience. If you care about languages not just as systems to learn but as forces that shape human lives, this podcast offers perspectives you will not find elsewhere.