Troublesome Terps

The podcast about things that keep interpreters up at night.

About the show

Troublesome Terps is a roundtable-style podcast covering topics from the interpreting space and the wider world of languages. The hosts - Jonathan Downie, Alexander Drechsel, Alexander Gansmeier, and Sarah Hickey - discuss them amongst themselves or with high-profile guests from the industry.

Troublesome Terps on social media

Episodes

  • 46: Caught in a Web of Sites with Madalena Zampaulo

    19 March 2020  |  1 hr 18 mins
    business

    Together with ATA president-elect Madalena Zampaulo, the Troublesome Terps embark on a perillous journey into the world wide web and the various types of online presence an interpreter or translator can have: From LinkedIn profiles, to Twitter, blogs and especially your own website(s), Madalena talks do's and don'ts, gives valuable tips and shares experiences with the Terps. Take a listen and let us know what you think and if you have any tips regarding websites and online presence!

  • 45: Terp Tech Trouble with Josh Goldsmith

    19 February 2020  |  1 hr 29 mins
    technology

    This episode is focussing on terp tech, why interpreters should care and how they can get proficient in using it. Josh Goldsmith - UN and EU accredited tech enthusiast (and longtime collaborator to one Alexander Drechsel) - is joining us to discuss these exact questions and talk about fascinating insights, from SimConsec on an iPad, to a new technology-focused Master's degree for interpreters and translators.

  • 44: Vicarious Trauma & Supervision w/ Hannah Watson

    22 January 2020  |  1 hr 19 mins
    mental-health

    In this episode, the TTs - including new host Sarah Hickey - are joined by special guest, BSL interpreter and professional interpreting supervisor Hannah Watson.
    Relevant es ever, we discuss vicarious trauma for interpreters of all walks - whom it can affect (spoiler: everyone!), how you can see it coming and what to do about it, which is exactly where Hannah comes in and shares her experience as a professional supervisor and how supervision can help interpreters deal with bottled up emotions, stress at work or just "that annoying speaker". Truly helpful tips for everyone!

  • 43: A Troublesome 2019 In Review

    13 December 2019  |  1 hr 39 mins
    hosts-only, mental-health, year-in-review

    In our last episode of the year, we have a big unveil for our listeners. With that out of the way, we look back at the year, especially at our live event at the Geneva conference and the episodes we've recorded in 2019. We discuss imposter syndrome and the Dunning-Kruger effect, the ins and outs of consecutive interpreting, interpreter PR and many other topics.

  • 42: Globally Speaking Is In Trouble

    7 November 2019  |  1 hr 17 mins
    machine-interpreting, remote

    Two podcasts come together for this special episode (and our biggest #manel yet). Listen in as Renato Beninatto and Michael Stevens join the three troublemakers. Renato and Michael host Globally Speaking, a podcast about localisation and many other topics from the language industry. We discuss Remote Interpreting, Machine Interpreting, supply and demand in interpreting, and, lastly how to navigate the brave new world.

  • 41: Live in Geneva: 100 Years of Conference Interpreting

    23 October 2019  |  41 mins 3 secs
    live

    Just in time for the big 100th anniversary since conference interpreters were first truly needed after the League of Nations had been founded in the wake of 1919's signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the University of Geneva hosted a big, international extravaganza commemorating and celebrating the past, present and future of conference interpreting.

    The Troublesome Terps were honored to be invited to host the closing town hall discussion of the conference on "The Future of Interpreting". Come with us and take a gander through some of the past and a lot of the possible future(s) of our profession and let us know what you think!

    Note: This episode is in English and French. A big shoutout to Christopher Sainsbury who was kind enough to allow us to use his interpreting from German into English.

  • 40: Consecutives Anonymous with Andrew Belisle

    19 September 2019  |  1 hr 21 mins
    consecutive

    With Jonathan travelling to far-away lands, the two Alexanders get their tablet nerd on and chat with Andrew Belisle. He tells us how he got into interpreting, and we dive really deep into the how's and why's of consecutive interpreting. Plus, we discuss tablet interpreting.

  • 39: Interpreter Training with Andy Gillies

    22 August 2019  |  1 hr 25 mins
    training

    While Alex G is on assignment, Jonathan and Alex D sit down with renowned interpreter trainer and book author Andy Gillies to discuss his career in the profession, the ins and outs of how to train interpreters, and the books he has translated and written.

  • 38: Interpreting for the EU

    18 July 2019  |  1 hr 33 mins
    hosts-only, institutions

    Interpreting for the large political institutions of this world is quite separate from working on the freelance market. This is why in this episode, the Troublesome Terps take an extra close look at how working for the European Union really is. From the requirements, the scheduling, the different topics (and the lack of invoicing!), this is an episode stuffed to the brim with know how, insights and nuggets covering everything you ever wanted to know about being an interpreter at the EU.

  • 37: English as Lingua Franca w/ Karin Reithofer

    20 June 2019  |  1 hr 13 mins
    english, linguistics

    Everybody can English - or: a story of ELFs and BSE! English is generally recognized as the number one language around the world, both in the world of business as well as for general communication purposes. Naturally, this begs the question, what impact does it have on the interpreting space? What is the underlying research?

    Two thirds of the Troublesome Terps talk about this exact topic to Vienna based researcher and EU-accredited freelance conference interpreter Karin Reithofer-Winter - an interesting discussion worth keeping on! So let us know how English spoken by non-native speakers has impacted and/or influenced your interpreting career!

  • 36: Interpreting - This is a Woman's World

    22 May 2019  |  1 hr 12 mins
    gender, hosts-only

    While the Troublesome Terps have covered gender in interpreting before already, it is a topic that will never not be relevant. For this reason, Sarah Hickey - conference interpreter and professional researcher at Nimdzi Insights - is joining us this episode to discuss the ‘feminisation’ of conference interpreting from female interpreters' perspectives.
    An interesting, well researched and entertaining look into the gender dynamics of the profession!

  • 35: Talking Business with Florian Faes of Slator.com

    17 April 2019  |  1 hr 12 mins
    business

    Sometimes it feels like language professionals forget that they are just that - professionals with a business "attached" to them. While being a wordsmith or having "a way with words" is perfectly fine, the economic elements must not be forgotten.
    Enter Florian Faes, co-founder and managing director of slator.com, the language industries biggest (and only?) business focused one-stop-news-shop. The Troublesome Terps grill him on the origins of the website, business trends is seeing across the globe and why we should care in the first place.