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In this episode of Beyond Words, Greg Bryant, PhD, joins host Garrett Oyama, MS, CCC-SLP, to explore how the human voice carries meaning through prosody, musicality, and nonverbal vocalizations.

Together, they examine how infant-directed speech uses exaggerated pitch, rhythm, and timing to capture attention and support early learning, and how these same acoustic patterns overlap with features found in music. Dr. Bryant connects infant communication, emotional vocal expression, and music within an evolutionary framework, highlighting how vocal behavior supports social bonding, coordination, and shared understanding.

🎙️ Topics include:

• How listeners interpret emotion, intention
• Social context from vocal cues alone
• Cross-cultural research
• Highlighting how vocal behavior supports social bonding
• Prosody, pragmatics, and culturally responsive care

Get ASHA CEUs: Speech Therapy PD for this podcast

In this episode of Beyond Words, host Garrett Oyama, MS, CCC-SLP, welcomes Martin Zettersten, PhD, to explore how infants actively learn language through curiosity, attention, and everyday experiences. Dr. Zettersten shares insights from his work as Principal Investigator of the Language and Infant Learning (LIL) Lab at the University of California, San Diego, highlighting how children seek out and process information as they begin to build their early vocabularies.

Together, they break down how attention and learning interact in early word learning, and what that means for how infants begin to connect words with meaning.

🎙️ Topics include:

• How infants and children learn language
• Large collaborative projects and shared datasets
• Improve confidence in infant development findings
• Developmental evidence to inform the caregiver
• Guidance and early language support

Resources:

Agency and Cognitive Development (Oxford Series in Cognitive Development) by Michael Tomasello

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In this episode of Beyond Words, host Garrett Oyama, MS, CCC-SLP, sits down with researcher and clinician Rhiannon Luyster, PhD, to challenge some of the assumptions baked into how we assess and interpret autistic communication.

Dr. Luyster brings her research to life as she and Garrett explore why variability is not a problem to solve but a feature to understand. From the way caregivers naturally adapt their language in real interactions to how focused interests and unconventional word use can drive learning, this conversation reframes what “atypical” communication really means.

🎙️ Topics include:

• Sources of variability in language development among autistic individuals
• Unconventional language features (e.g., neologisms, focused interests)
• Meaningful linguistic systems
• Clinical implications for assessment and intervention
• Deficit-based models of autistic language

In this episode of Beyond Words, Garrett Oyama speaks with Dr. Jill Kries, cognitive neuroscientist, about how the brain transforms sound into language—and what this reveals about aphasia. They explore how aphasia may involve disruptions not just at the level of words and grammar, but in lower-level speech processing, including phoneme perception and acoustic discrimination. From EEG studies using natural story listening to concepts like lexical entropy, this conversation reframes aphasia as a breakdown across the full speech processing hierarchy.

🎙️ Topics include:

• Low-level auditory and phoneme processing in aphasia

• Neural encoding of speech using EEG

• Lexical entropy and real-time language processing

• Implications for assessment and intervention

• Connections to dyslexia and statistical learning

Learn more about Dr. Jill's work: https://linktr.ee/jillkries

Get ASHA CEUs: https://www.speechtherapypd.com/courses/neural-encoding-of-speech

In this episode of Beyond Words, Garrett Oyama speaks with Dr. Neil Cohn, cognitive scientist and director of the Visual Language Lab, about how drawings and comics function as full-fledged visual languages.

They explore how visual narratives have structure, grammar, and vocabulary, and why understanding comics isn’t as automatic as we might assume. Dr. Cohn challenges the idea that language is purely speech-based, introducing a multimodal language faculty that includes vocal, bodily, and graphic expression.

Along the way, they connect language to drawing, gesture, writing systems, and even AI, offering a powerful reframe of what it means to communicate.

🎙️ Topics include:

• Comics as structured visual languages
• Multimodal language faculty (speech, gesture, drawing)
• How children learn visual narratives
• Why image-based tasks may be misleading in assessment
• Visual language and neurodevelopmental differences
• Implications for speech therapy and AAC

Learn more about Neil and purchase his books here: https://visuallanguagelab.com/

Get ASHA CEUs here: https://www.speechtherapypd.com/courses/comics-visual-language

In this episode of Beyond Words, Garrett Oyama speaks with Dr. Sam Wass, developmental neuroscientist, about how attention, arousal, and social interaction shape the developing brain.

They explore how infants regulate attention in real time, how stress and environmental context influence learning, and what brain-to-brain synchrony between parents and children reveals about communication. They discuss neural entrainment, shared book reading, and the role of co-regulation in supporting language development. Along the way, they connect laboratory neuroscience to everyday parenting and clinical practice, reframing language learning as something deeply embedded in attention, physiology, and relationships.

Watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@GarrettBeyondWords

Get ASHA CEUs: https://www.speechtherapypd.com/courses/brain-to-brain-synchrony

In this episode of Beyond Words, Garrett Oyama speaks with Dr. Joan Bybee, pioneer of usage-based linguistics, about how language emerges through use, repetition, and social interaction rather than abstract rules.

They explore why sounds don’t exist in isolation, how frequency and predictability shape speech and sound change, and what this means for child language development, speech therapy, and learning. Along the way, they connect language to music, motor practice, and improvisation, reframing speech as a dynamic, living skill shaped by experience.

Get ASHA CEUs: Speech Therapy PD

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In this episode of Beyond Words, Garrett sits down with renowned developmental scientist Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek—professor at Temple University, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, bestselling author, and one of the leading voices in early learning, language development, and play.

Kathy breaks down what quality language input really looks like, why back-and-forth interaction is the engine of learning, how play and boredom shape the developing brain, and what parents and clinicians should know about screens, e-books, and the rise of AI-powered toys.

This conversation is packed with clarity, humor, and practical wisdom for anyone who works with children—or wants to understand how humans learn in a world overflowing with technology.

Watch on YouTube

Get ASHA CEUs: SpeechTherapyPD

Kathy's work:

• Website
• Einstein Never Used Flashcards
• Playful Learning Spaces

What do a baby’s coos, squeals, and growls reveal about the origins of language? In this episode of Beyond Words, Dr. D. Kimbrough Oller — a leading voice in speech and language development — joins Garrett Oyama to explore protophones, functional flexibility, and why spontaneous infant vocalizations may hold the key to understanding how language evolved.

Topics include:

• What protophones are and why they matter
• The Functional Flexibility Hypothesis
• How infant vocal play relates to evolution
• What LENA recordings reveal about early speech
• Why babies vocalize even when no one is listening

Get ASHA CEUs: Speech Therapy PD

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Is language the same as thought? Dr. Idan Blank (UCLA) joins Beyond Words to explain why the answer is no — and why that matters for neuroscience, speech therapy, and AI. We explore the brain’s language network, how large language models learn, why Broca’s area is misunderstood, and what this all means for testing, development, and the future of cognition.

Topics include:

• Why language and thought are separate systems
• How ChatGPT challenges our assumptions
• What Broca’s area really does
• Implications for speech therapy and assessment
• What LLMs and infants both tell us about language learning

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What does it mean to hear the world through two languages? In this episode, host Garrett Oyama speaks with Dr. Jenn Krizman, research scientist at the Brainvolts Lab (Northwestern University), about how bilingualism reshapes the brain’s sound processing networks.

Together they explore how speaking multiple languages enhances inhibitory control, boosts consistency in auditory encoding, and even provides a kind of “neural armor” that can delay cognitive decline. They also discuss clinical implications for speech-language pathologists, common myths about bilingualism, and why parents should feel confident nurturing their child’s native tongue.

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In this episode of Beyond Words, Dr. Meg Cychosz (Stanford University) joins host Garrett Oyama to explore how children develop speech and language—from babbling and canonical proportion to cochlear implants and multilingual environments. We dive into naturalistic data, cultural variation, and the surprising ways infants make sense of sound.

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In this special archive episode, Garrett sits down with fellow UCLA PhD student Constance (Connie) Bainbridge, a researcher in the Department of Communication who studies the inner voice—how we communicate with ourselves. Connie is the Principal Investigator of the Stream of Mind Lab and her work blends evolutionary, developmental, and cognitive science to better understand intrapersonal communication and the flow of consciousness. She also draws on her background as a musician to explore how music and self-expression shape human experience.

This conversation covers:

• What the “inner voice” really is
• How self-talk and imagination shape decision-making, self-regulation, and well-being
• Why hidden differences (like having no inner voice) matter for research and therapy
• Connections between music, language, and consciousness

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In this special archive episode of Beyond Words, host Garrett Oyama sits down for his very first conversation with Dr. Nina Kraus — renowned auditory neuroscientist and author of Of Sound Mind: How Our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World.

Dr. Kraus shares her journey from studying chinchilla neurons to developing clinically relevant tools for measuring how the human brain processes sound. Together, they explore the frequency following response (FFR), the role of music in therapy, and why understanding the brain’s sound processing is essential for clinicians, educators, and anyone working with language.

This episode laid the foundation for an ongoing series of conversations between Garrett and Dr. Kraus, diving deeper into the science and clinical applications of Of Sound Mind. Find them here:

Dialogue Series

Book

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Get ASHA CEUs: Speech Therapy PD

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Join host Garrett Oyama as he sits down with Dr. Susan Goldin-Meadow, one of the world’s foremost experts on gesture and language development. Together, they explore how our hands reflect what we know, how gesture supports learning and communication, and why paying closer attention to movement can reshape how we teach, think, and connect.

🧠 Learn more about Dr. Goldin-Meadow’s work:

Thinking With Your Hands Book

contact: sgm@uchicago.edu

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In this episode, neuroscientist Dr. Charan Ranganath (author of Why We Remember) joins Garrett Oyama to explore how schemas, event boundaries, and the structure of language shape what we remember — and why. We discuss how memory works not just in the brain, but in real life: through storytelling, attention, emotion, and meaning. SLPs, therapists, and educators will also gain practical tools for supporting memory using language — from narrative scaffolds to emotional salience and linguistic cues that enhance recall.

Topics include:

• How the brain chunks experience into events
• Why schemas help (and sometimes distort) memory
• The blurred line between cognition and memory
• How to use language to support clients with memory difficulties
• Memory as prediction, not just storage

Learn more about Dr. Ranganath’s work:

https://www.charanranganath.com/

https://dml.ucdavis.edu/

https://www.charanranganath.com/book

Please like, subscribe, and share it with anyone curious about language, memory, and the brain. Your support helps keep the podcast going and growing.

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Dr. Ev Fedorenko (MIT) joins host Garrett Oyama to explore how the brain processes language — and why the language network is far more distinct and specialized than previously thought. From the surprising isolation of this network to what this means for aphasia, speech therapy, and AI, this episode dives into some of the most exciting neuroscience of language today.

We discuss:

• Why traditional brain maps may be misleading
• How individual brain variability affects language recovery
• Why the language system doesn’t overlap with math, music, or logic
• What this means for clinicians and educators

🔗 Relevant Links

🧠 Ev Fedorenko’s lab: https://evlab.mit.edu

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Join host Garrett Oyama in this Beyond Words archive episode with internationally renowned educator and author Dr. Anita Collins to explore one of the most practical and powerful tools for child development: music.

Best known for her TED-Ed video How Playing an Instrument Benefits Your Brain, Dr. Collins brings science down to earth, showing how sound acts as “superfood” for a baby’s brain and how music learning can profoundly shape language, attention, literacy, and even emotional regulation.

Whether you’re a parent, speech-language pathologist, educator, or simply music-curious, this episode is packed with insights and real-life strategies:

🎶 Why singing to your baby is more powerful than playing music on a device

🧠 How rhythm and beat perception relate to reading ability

🗣️ The surprising connection between musical training and speech development

👶 What to know about noisy environments and infant sound nutrition

💡 Easy musical activities that support language — even if you “can’t sing”

This is an inspiring and actionable listen that reminds us of something deeply human: music and language aren’t separate — they’re entwined from the very beginning.

🟢 More from Dr. Anita Collins: https://www.biggerbetterbrains.com

Watch on YouTube

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Learn more about Dr. Michael Frank:

X

YouTube talks

Join host Garrett Oyama on Beyond Words for a fascinating conversation with Dr. Michael C. Frank, the Benjamin Scott Crocker Professor of Human Biology at Stanford University. Dr. Frank directs the Language and Cognition Lab and the Symbolic Systems Program, and his research asks some of the biggest questions about how children learn language and how social interaction shapes that learning.

In this episode, we explore:

• The origins of WordBank and how massive open datasets are transforming child language research.
• What the MacArthur–Bates CDI reveals about early vocabulary, variability, and developmental trajectories.
• Why children’s first words are more social than survival-based.
• How pointing, joint attention, and even hand movements lay the foundation for communication.
• The surprising universals of variability across cultures and languages.
• What large language models (LLMs) can and can’t teach us about human language learning.
• New multimodal projects like BabyView, capturing the world from a child’s perspective.

Watch on YouTube

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Learn more about Dr. Barenholtz:

• Elan's substack
• Elan on X
• Elan's lab
• Elan's YouTube channel

Join host Garrett Oyama in this thought-provoking episode of Beyond Words, featuring Dr. Elan Barenholtz, cognitive scientist and professor of psychology at Florida Atlantic University. Together, they explore Dr. Barenholtz’s compelling theory that language is not invented, but discovered—emerging from structured, sequential patterns much like music. They dive deep into the concept of language as an autoregressive system, where meaning arises not from static symbols but from dynamic movement through linguistic space. Key topics include the aesthetics of syntax, the parallels between language and jazz improvisation, and what large language models can teach us about human communication. With implications for AI, language development, and clinical practice, this episode offers a paradigm-shifting view of how we speak, think, and understand the world.