Most of us heard that the world was going to possibly end on December 21st, 2012, and that it was predicted by the traditional Mayan calendar. In this podcast, Rusty Barrett, a linguist and scholar of Mayan culture and history, explains the superstitions and misunderstandings surrounding December 21st, and a little bit about how the Mayan calendar works.

More than thirty of the world's leading morphologists are contributing to a book that will be out in spring of 2014 - and they're working together with the help of an online collaboration tool developed by the Hive. Professors Andrew Hippisley and Greg Stump are currently compiling and editing the upcoming Cambridge Handbook of Morphology.

Rusty Barrett is an assistant professor in the Linguistics program. On February 16^th, 2012, Barrett will present a lecture, “Sickening Queens: Ethnic and Class Difference in Drag.” The lecture is at 4pm in the President’s Room at the Singletary Center for the Arts, and will address ways in which drag performances reflect social and cultural differences related to class and ethnicity. 

Jennifer Cramer is a sociolinguist specializing in Kentucky dialects. Her current research utilizes students from all around the Commonwealth.

This podcast was produced by Cheyenne Hohman.