Episode Two Hundred And Thirty Four – On Animals, Language, Koko and Wish Fulfilment – Interview with Daniel Midgley

The idea that animals have the potential to talk is an alluring one; from the mathematical stunts of Clever Hans, to investigations of parrots, dolphins and chimps – just look at viral BBC footage of a gopher yelling “Alan”. It’s interesting, exciting and even cute – but is it really true that animals have language?

After the recent passing of Koko the Gorilla, I spoke to Daniel Midgley about the hopes we have about being the next Dr Dolittle, and just how realistic those hopes are. Daniel is a lecturer in applied linguistics at Edith Cowan University, and at the University of Western Australia, as well as a presenter on the popular language podcast Talk the Talk.

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