Episode #2547
Daniel Everett
Books mentioned
Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes
Mentioned by Daniel Everett · at 01:40:42 · ▶︎ Watch this moment on YouTube (approximate)
Everett says he writes about a Pirahã teenager in his book Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes.
Amazon (opens in a new tab; affiliate link) Source: Official episode description (podcast RSS) · Transcript (podscripts.co)
How Language Began
Mentioned by Daniel Everett · at 00:39:21 · ▶︎ Watch this moment on YouTube (approximate)
Everett refers to his book How Language Began while discussing Homo erectus and boat-building.
Amazon (opens in a new tab; affiliate link) Source: Official episode description (podcast RSS) · Transcript (podscripts.co)
Manufacturing Consent
Mentioned by Daniel Everett · at 00:46:30 · ▶︎ Watch this moment on YouTube (approximate)
Everett lists the first Chomsky books he read, including "the media one", Manufacturing Consent.
Amazon (opens in a new tab; affiliate link) Source: Transcript (podscripts.co)
Aspects of the Theory of Syntax
Mentioned by Daniel Everett · at 00:46:30 · ▶︎ Watch this moment on YouTube (approximate)
Everett calls Aspects of the Theory of Syntax, the first Chomsky book he read, "just genius".
Amazon (opens in a new tab; affiliate link) Source: Transcript (podscripts.co)
American Power and the New Mandarins
Mentioned by Daniel Everett · at 00:46:47 · ▶︎ Watch this moment on YouTube (approximate)
Everett praises American Power and the New Mandarins, Chomsky's book about Vietnam.
Amazon (opens in a new tab; affiliate link) Source: Transcript (podscripts.co)
The Kingdom of Speech
Mentioned by Daniel Everett · at 00:52:35 · ▶︎ Watch this moment on YouTube (approximate)
Everett says Tom Wolfe's last book, The Kingdom of Speech, covered his controversy with Chomsky.
Amazon (opens in a new tab; affiliate link) Source: Transcript (podscripts.co)
The Bible
Mentioned by Daniel Everett · at 00:40:53 · ▶︎ Watch this moment on YouTube (approximate)
Amazon (opens in a new tab; affiliate link) Source: Transcript (podscripts.co)
Timestamps are segment start times from the podscripts.co transcript of the audio release (includes ad reads), so they may differ from the video by a few minutes.
Linguist Daniel Everett on life with the Pirahã, the origins of language and his long feud with Noam Chomsky.
What they talked about
- From missionary to atheist in the Amazon
- Learning the Pirahã language and culture
- Pirahã diet, health, and happiness
- Pirahã concept of anger and non-violence
- Pirahã language lacks recursion, challenges Chomsky
- Pirahã animistic beliefs and the 'igagi' spirit
- Alcohol and sugar introduced to the tribe
- Cannibalism among the Wari' people
Data last updated · Report a mistake · How it works: mentions are pulled from public transcripts and episode descriptions, partly with AI-assisted extraction, so details and timestamps can be off.