We’ve All Heard It Before
Michael Fragomeni and Peter Woods are two linguists trying to make sense of the current political situation.
Episodes

Nov 5, 2025
Nov 5, 2025
27 min
In this second part of a two part episode, Mike and Peter discuss Aristotle's Politics in the context of the "No Kings" (peaceful) protests, and the reality that MAGA would actually be okay with a King.
Michael Fragomeni earned his Bachelor of Arts in History (Magna Cum Laude) and his PhD in Germanic Linguistics both from UC Berkeley.
Peter Woods earned his BA in international affairs of Russia and Eastern Europe from George Washington University and his MA and PhD in Germanic linguistics from UC Berkeley

Oct 28, 2025
Oct 28, 2025
18 min
In this first part of a two part episode, Mike and Peter discuss Aristotle's Politics in the context of the "No Kings" (peaceful) protests, and the reality that MAGA would actually be okay with a King.
Michael Fragomeni earned his Bachelor of Arts in History (Magna Cum Laude) and his PhD in Germanic Linguistics both from UC Berkeley.
Peter Woods earned his BA in international affairs of Russia and Eastern Europe from George Washington University and his MA and PhD in Germanic linguistics from UC Berkeley

Oct 16, 2025
Oct 16, 2025
31 min
In this episode, Mike and Peter discuss mispronunciation and other forms of misspeaking. They insist that there are degrees of mistakes in a hierarchical order, driven by context, distinctiveness, and commonality.
Michael Fragomeni earned his Bachelor of Arts in History (Magna Cum Laude) and his PhD in Germanic Linguistics both from UC Berkeley.
Peter Woods earned his BA in international affairs of Russia and Eastern Europe from George Washington University and his MA and PhD in Germanic linguistics from UC Berkeley

Oct 10, 2025
Oct 10, 2025
38 min
In this episode, Mike and Peter do a deep dive into the field of Semiotics and apply it to Pam Bondi, Trump, and MAGA, with some pop-cultural references along the way.
Michael Fragomeni earned his Bachelor of Arts in History (Magna Cum Laude) and his PhD in Germanic Linguistics both from UC Berkeley.
Peter Woods earned his BA in international affairs of Russia and Eastern Europe from George Washington University and his MA and PhD in Germanic linguistics from UC Berkeley

Sep 18, 2025
Sep 18, 2025
27 min
In this episode, Mike and Peter discuss the differences between mimicry and mockery and how they're being used in today's political landscape.
Michael Fragomeni earned his Bachelor of Arts in History (Magna Cum Laude) and his PhD in Germanic Linguistics both from UC Berkeley.
Peter Woods earned his BA in international affairs of Russia and Eastern Europe from George Washington University and his MA and PhD in Germanic linguistics from UC Berkeley

Sep 12, 2025
Sep 12, 2025
28 min
In this episode, Mike and Peter welcome Bajun Mavalwalla whose son was arrested by the FBI for peacefully protesting ICE actions in Spokane, WA. This story has far-reaching implications for every American citizen.
Michael Fragomeni earned his Bachelor of Arts in History (Magna Cum Laude) and his PhD in Germanic Linguistics both from UC Berkeley.
Peter Woods earned his BA in international affairs of Russia and Eastern Europe from George Washington University and his MA and PhD in Germanic linguistics from UC Berkeley
https://www.gofundme.com/f/qq96hr-support-bajun-mavalwalla-iis-legal-defense

Sep 8, 2025
Sep 8, 2025
16 min
In this episode, Mike and Peter discuss the influence that professional sports, and primarily the NFL, have had on politics and the American voting psyche.
Michael Fragomeni earned his Bachelor of Arts in History (Magna Cum Laude) and his PhD in Germanic Linguistics both from UC Berkeley.
Peter Woods earned his BA in international affairs of Russia and Eastern Europe from George Washington University and his MA and PhD in Germanic linguistics from UC Berkeley

Sep 4, 2025
Sep 4, 2025
18 min
In this episode, Mike and Peter discuss critical thinking and why it's a diminishing skill in American society.
Michael Fragomeni earned his Bachelor of Arts in History (Magna Cum Laude) and his PhD in Germanic Linguistics both from UC Berkeley.
Peter Woods earned his BA in international affairs of Russia and Eastern Europe from George Washington University and his MA and PhD in Germanic linguistics from UC Berkeley

Aug 29, 2025
Aug 29, 2025
10 min
In this third and final episode on the pronoun "they", Mike and Peter compare its potential capitalization with other languages that capitalize similar pronouns.
Michael Fragomeni earned his Bachelor of Arts in History (Magna Cum Laude) and his PhD in Germanic Linguistics both from UC Berkeley.
Peter Woods earned his BA in international affairs of Russia and Eastern Europe from George Washington University and his MA and PhD in Germanic linguistics from UC Berkeley

Aug 22, 2025
Aug 22, 2025
17 min
In this second of three episodes, Mike and Peter discuss the many uses of the pronoun "they", as well as the controversy of potentially standardizing its capitalization when used to refer to trans and nonbinary people.
Michael Fragomeni earned his Bachelor of Arts in History (Magna Cum Laude) and his PhD in Germanic Linguistics both from UC Berkeley.
Peter Woods earned his BA in international affairs of Russia and Eastern Europe from George Washington University and his MA and PhD in Germanic linguistics from UC Berkeley







