about re:verb

re:verb is a podcast focused on how rhetoric, communication, and language shape contemporary politics and culture. 

Contemporary issues have complex human dimensions. Humanist perspectives help us understand those dimensions and chart a way forward. re:verb is a platform for amplifying and circulating voices from humanities fields to talk about current events, historic issues, and ideas. 

re:verb is partially inspired and informed by its predecessor The Silver Tongue , a blog that published "rhetorical criticism for the engaged citizen." Former Silver Tongue editor Doug Cloud shares his thoughts on rhetoric and its possibilities for the public in our first episode. 

our editorial team

Alex Helberg, Co-Executive Producer

Alex is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Writing and Rhetoric at Trinity College. He is interested in how language-use in local spaces can affect broader hegemonic social change, particularly as it applies to food justice movements.

Current Podcast Favorites:

• Citations Needed

• Seriously Wrong

• And Introducing

Calvin Pollak, Co-Executive Producer

Calvin is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Technical and Professional Communication in the Program for Writing Across Campus at the University of Washington. In his research, he studies issues of social justice, institutional power, and surveillance.

Current Podcast Favorites:

• Guys

• Office Hours Live with Tim Heidecker

• The Dig

Sophie Wodzak, Producer and Editor

Sophie Wodzak is the Research Communications Specialist for the Duolingo English Test. She is interested in the ways in which digital media have altered how we produce and consume news, and how misinformation can influence public opinion.

Current Podcast Favorites:

• Citations Needed

• The Blurst of Times
  

Ben Williams, Producer and Editor

Ben Williams is a PhD student in CMU’s Literary and Cultural Studies program. He researches the ways diasporic cultural productions reveal how archival knowledge-making processes contribute to racial dispossession and expropriation.

Current Podcast Favorites:

• Citations Needed

• Tempest Tossed

Editors Emeritus:

Derek Handley

Ana Cooke

Audrey Strohm

Ryan Mitchell

Colleen Storm

Caitlan Rossi

Michael Laudenbach