The Ice Trade and the Universal Translator

We tend to think of writing as something permanent, with words printed on a page or displayed on a screen. But what if understanding writing means paying attention to the moment of its creation? In this episode, host Camila Sabogal is joined by Tim Brookes, founder of the Endangered Alphabets Project, to discuss his fascinating new Kickstarter campaign: Liquid. Tim challenges our narrow Western understanding of what writing is, arguing that it is not simply a system of static symbols but a physical, fluid, and deeply human act. We explore the profound difference between the volatile "liquid" phase of writing and the "dry" permanence we see on the page. 

Latin America is often viewed merely as a passive talent pool for the global language industry. According to Carol Velandia and Indy Vega of the Juntos Association, it is time for the region to step into its role as an active driver of global innovation. In this episode they discuss the mission behind Juntos and preview the upcoming Vamos Juntos 2027 conference in Medellin, Colombia. Explore how LSPs of all sizes can leverage strategic partnerships to rapidly scale their service offerings (like OPI and sign language), why Colombia is emerging as a powerhouse for business process operations, and how the association is actively reshaping the global perception of Latin American expertise.

The enterprise software playbook is broken. When deploying AI for global communication, locking your organization into a five-year contract with a single Large Language Model (LLM) is a massive strategic risk. In this episode, Eddie Arrieta sits down with Mugais Jahangir, CRO of Language Intelligence at memoQ, to discuss the critical difference between legacy SaaS and modern AI architecture. Mugais explains why slapping an "AI" label on decades-old technology is a trap, why organizations must maintain absolute sovereignty over their data, and how to build an infrastructure that allows you to swap out LLMs or Translation Management Systems (TMS) in minutes without breaking your workflow.

The language industry has spent years talking about AI and transformation, but are we actually having the right conversations? In this episode, GALA's Executive Director Allison Ferch and Content Strategist Isabella Massardo introduce World Ready Lisbon 2027 and its bold new theme: Real, honest talks for an industry in transition. They discuss why the industry desperately needs to move past sanitized success stories and thinly veiled sales pitches to embrace the messy reality of failed experiments. Learn exactly what the GALA program committee is looking for in their latest Call for Proposal and how the conversation is shifting from translation to enterprise risk management.

Why is the gaming industry pushing back against AI translation while the rest of the tech world rushes to adopt it? This week on LocToday, game localization expert Tamara Tirják joins the show to unpack the fierce competition and high stakes of the video game market. She explains why cutting the localization budget to save "peanuts" on a massive production is a terrible business decision that immediately alienates players. We also dive into the exciting return of the Game Global event in Vancouver, the crucial alignment needed between creative developers and commercial publishers, and why true "culturalization" requires a human touch that machines simply cannot replicate.

Reframing translation and interpreting in the AI era By Hammouda Salhi The AI era of translation, interpretation, and language work has many wondering if human linguists will become obsolete. But is that the right framing? Hammouda Salhi argues that professional value is shifting, and the industry must adapt alongside it.

By Sasha Fedorova, Florian Jaton, and Dmitrii Shevchuk  AI is hyped as a force that will revolutionize the future. But the future isn’t here yet, and in the meantime, many argue the conversation surrounding the technology has been defined by reductionism and thought-terminating cliches.

By Beatrice de Salles The skills a professional learns through interpretation aren’t just useful for language work. On the contrary, interpretation teaches skills that align perfectly with the demands of international leadership.

Interview by Cameron Rasmusson Healthcare is a field where there’s no room for error in interpretation. In that challenging environment, Linguava has distinguished itself by not just supplying language service but also delivering it with an attention to nuance, detail, and compassionate communication that puts both medical professionals and patients at ease.

By Yussuf Hussein Too often, languages with their own unique history, mechanics, and culture get lumped in with a more widely used tongue that is similar but distinct. When that happens, it’s the client who loses.