TC Talk

About TC Talk

Abi is a professor of technical communication and rhetoric; Benton... is not. Abi reads scholarly articles; Benton reads science fiction. And they are both connoisseurs of mixed drinks and bad puns. Listen in as they connect the academic to the everyday, spanning topics like misinformation, science communication, digital rhetoric, and health and medical writing. Go to http://faculty.mnsu.edu/tctalk/ for transcripts and show notes.

Publisher

A Bakke

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

20 Sept 2021

Latest episode

11 Sept 2025

Latest episodes

36 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   11 Sept 2025

   The case for climate hope: A talk with Dr. Stephanie Rollag Yoon

   For this episode of TC Talk: A Tech Comm Podcast, Abi and Benton interview Dr. Rollag Yoon, a professor of English Education and curriculum editor for the Journal of Climate Literacy in Education (https://pubs.lib.umn.edu/index.php/cle/index). We talk about definitions of climate literacy, how to communicate about climate to young people, and why hope needs to be part of the message. Check out ClimateLit.org (https://www.climatelit.org/), which features tons of teaching resources. The TC Talk webpage (https://faculty.mnsu.edu/tctalk/) has transcripts and sources.

2. 

   22 Oct 2024

   Listen to this

   Benton and Abi agree to disagree about how to disagree. In our "polarized" political climate, what value is there in a rhetoric that doesn't aim to change minds? Is it possible to embody empathetic listening while protecting ourselves from harmful views? They discuss their not-especially-successful attempts to converse with undecided voters as the election nears, and how presidential debates aren't the right format for solving problems. Abi gives a quick rundown of alternatives to persuasion throughout the rhetorical tradition, culminating in the 2022 book Rhetorical Listening in Action by Ratcliffe & Jensen. Stay to the end for Abi's most embarrassing high school debate experience. Sources and further reading Braver Angels. (n.d.). Our Mission. Braver Angels. Retrieved October 21, 2024, from https://braverangels.org/our-mission/ (https://braverangels.org/our-mission/) Burke, K. (1969). A Grammar of Motives. University of California Press. Compassionate Listening Project. (n.d.). History. CompassionateListening. Retrieved October 21, 2024, from https://www.compassionatelistening.org/history (https://www.compassionatelistening.org/history) Foss, S. K., & Griffin, C. L. (1995). Beyond persuasion: A proposal for an invitational rhetoric. Communications Monographs, 62(1), 2–18. Gearhart, S. M. (1979). The womanization of rhetoric. Women’s Studies International Quarterly, 2(2), 195–201. Heller, C. (2015, March 9). Life Inside Jabba the Hutt: Toby Philpott Explains How Puppeteers Operated Jabba the Hutt. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/387298/life-inside-jabba-the-hutt/ (https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/387298/life-inside-jabba-the-hutt/) Inman, M. (n.d.) "Piggers are going all the way this year." The Oatmeal. https://theoatmeal.com/pl/minor_differences2/locker_room (https://theoatmeal.com/pl/minor_differences2/locker_room) Jarratt, S. C. (1991). Feminism and composition: The case for conflict. Contending with Words: Composition and Rhetoric in a Postmodern Age, 105–123. Organizing and protest security culture. (2022, March). [Audio recording]. The Poor Proles Skillshare. https://open.spotify.com/show/2Xb99VLft9T9ObBLFJkj3n (https://open.spotify.com/show/2Xb99VLft9T9ObBLFJkj3n) Perelman, C., & Olbrechts-Tyteca, L. (1973). The New Rhetoric: A Treatise on Argumentation. University of Notre Dame Pess. Quintilian. (1987). Quintilian on the teaching of speaking and writing: Translations from books one, two, and ten of the Institutio Oratoria (J. J. Murphy, Trans.). SIU Press. Ratcliffe, K., & Jensen, K. (2022). Rhetorical Listening in Action: A Concept-Tactic Approach. Parlor Press LLC. Talking radical politics with Dr. Ayesha Khan. (2022, March). [Podcast episode]. The Poor Proles Skillshare. https://open.spotify.com/show/2Xb99VLft9T9ObBLFJkj3n (https://open.spotify.com/show/2Xb99VLft9T9ObBLFJkj3n) Talking Sense: Navigating relationships across political divides. (2024, September 5). MPR News. https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2024/09/04/talking-sense-navigating-relationships-across-political-divides (https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2024/09/04/talking-sense-navigating-relationships-across-political-divides) Weil, Z., & Goodall, J. (2024). The Solutionary Way: Transform Your Life, Your Community, and the World for the Better. New Society Publishers. WeRateDogs (Director). (2024, September 30). Tim Walz and His Rescue Dog Scout | WeWalkDogs [Video recording]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spiwlde4kys (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spiwlde4kys) Music credits: Opening theme:  S:  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)Disco Funk Loop (https://freesound.org/people/SergeQuadrado/sounds/511408/) by SergeQuadrado (https://freesound.org/people/SergeQuadrado/) | License: Attribution NonCommercial 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) Julius Fučík (1897) "Entrance of the Gladiators" op. 68 Visit https://faculty.mnsu.edu/tctalk/ (https://faculty.mnsu.edu/tctalk/) for transcript.

3. 

   26 Jul 2024

   Recycling: You still don't get it

   Recycling or trash? It's a question you may have asked yourself when faced with a gross can, a heavily-stickered art project, or some weird plastic thing. Benton hijacks the podcast to teach Abi the behind-the-scenes of the recycling process: How it works, how effective it is, the consequences of "wish-cycling," and why plastic sucks so much. He addresses what steps you can take to make recycling work better, besides just putting things in the right bin. Sources and further reading TC Talk episodes mentioned: “Cult rhetoric.” https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/techcommtalk/episodes/Cult-rhetoric-e1b1gpi/a-a70h9n0 (https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/techcommtalk/episodes/Cult-rhetoric-e1b1gpi/a-a70h9n0) “Tech comm from outer space: More lessons from alien movies.” https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/techcommtalk/episodes/Tech-comm-from-outer-space-More-lessons-from-alien-movies-e1md55n/a-a8cdbc1 (https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/techcommtalk/episodes/Tech-comm-from-outer-space-More-lessons-from-alien-movies-e1md55n/a-a8cdbc1) Wikipedia articles mentioned: “Recycling” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling) “Sustainability” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability) “Microplastics” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microplastics (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microplastics) “Greenwashing.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwashing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwashing) “Wishcycling.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wishcycling (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wishcycling) Music credits: Opening theme:  S: (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)Disco Funk Loop (https://freesound.org/people/SergeQuadrado/sounds/511408/) by SergeQuadrado (https://freesound.org/people/SergeQuadrado/) | License: Attribution NonCommercial 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) Ensemble. (2008). “So they say” [Song]. On Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog Soundtrack [Album]. Mutant Enemy. Wheatus. (2000). “Teenage dirtbag” [Song]. On Wheatus [Album]. Columbia. Image credit: Siera Wild, “Recycling sign green.png.” CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons Transcript at https://faculty.mnsu.edu/tctalk/podcast/recycling-you-still-dont-get-it/

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Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

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Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.