So there I was, sitting in a Turkish barbershop in Vienna, conducting an invisible orchestra with my hands while trying to explain how I wanted my hair cut. Twenty minutes later, I walked out looking like I'd lost a fight with a lawnmower – and that's when it hit me: we're approaching this whole universal language communication thing completely backwards. Here I am, a non-native English speaker hosting a podcast about building a better world... in English. The irony is so thick you could cut it with a linguistic knife, but it perfectly illustrates the trap we're all stuck in.

This episode dives deep into why English became the global lingua franca (spoiler: it wasn't because of superior grammar), how universal language communication could actually work through constructed international auxiliary languages, and why the future might need its own tongue. We're talking about power, oppression, connection, and the beautiful chaos of linguistic diversity – because if a simple haircut can turn into a communication disaster in multicultural Vienna, imagine what's happening in boardrooms, hospitals, and diplomatic meetings around the world. The goal isn't to replace languages but to create a universal second language that belongs to no one and everyone, designed for equity rather than empire.

This is the article the episode is based on: https://iandebay.com/the-good-system/why-we-need-a-universal-language/

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