Chemicals in our language - Joanna Gavins, University of Sheffield

In this episode I speak with Joanna Gavins, who is a professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Sheffield.Joanna and I discuss the language we use and how this influences the way we think, feel and act in relation to choices we make, the environment, and chemicals. We start off by discussing the work Joanna has been doing at the Bio-based and Biodegradable Industries Association (BBIA) on how to effectively communicate information about sustainability to consumers. We also delve into our complex relationship with nature, and how this is influenced by language.Our conversation then moves onto chemicals. We do a deep dive into the language surrounding chemicals in modern discourse, and how this influences public perception and emerging policy. We talk about the issue of chemicals in the environment, how this relates to us, and how we might get better at talking - and thinking - about these issues.I hope you will find this discussion as fascinating as I did!Plastic: Unwrapped podcast - Plastic Planet | The University of Sheffield PlayerHuman/Nature podcast | The University of Sheffield PlayerWhite paper: Growing the UK’s Modern Industrial BioeconomyEffective Communication to Advance the Modern Industrial Bioeconomy - reportJust Earth: How a Fairer World Will Save the Planet - Tony JuniperVanished: An Unnatural History of Extinction - Sadiah QureshiEcolinguistics: Language, Ecology and the Stories We Live By – Arran Stibbe