In this episode, Joe Mazza, former Chief of the Translating Division at the U.S. State Department’s Office of Language Services, joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about language, translation, culture, and curiosity.

Drawing from a career that spans Cold War Russian translation, diplomatic negotiations, and more than four decades of public service, Joe reflects on the difference between knowing a language and translating meaning. We explore the freedom and responsibility of translators, the role of culture and identity in communication, the surprising stories hidden inside words, and why translation may be as much an art as it is a profession.

In this episode, writer and calligrapher Alice Mazzilli discusses her practice across hand lettering, style writing, and academic research. She explains her concept of “interior writing,” the idea that meaning is always changing, and how different writing systems shape the way we think and perceive the world.

Our conversation touches on the history of the Latin alphabet, the cultural hierarchies imposed through writing systems, and how rhythm, music, and hip-hop culture influence her approach to calligraphy. Alice also introduces “jamigraphy,” her rhythm-based method that helps people reconnect with their own handwriting and creative expression.

What if your handwriting could speak your truth — not just your thoughts, but your posture, your breath, your presence?

We sit down with Helen Magowan — researcher, writer, curator, and expert in 18th-century Japanese calligraphy. Together, we dive into a forgotten world where writing was more than text: it was performance, emotion, and embodied intimacy.