The Allusionist

We’re returning to the theme of renaming, for two food-related renamings: the first one that mostly happened, the second that mostly did not - but in a good way. Dr Erin Pritchard persuaded a British supermarket to rebrand a type of sweets that had a slur in their name. And Chris Strikes recounts the renaming conflict that was the Toronto Patty Wars of 1985. Content note: the first part of the episode concerns an ableist slur, so there are incidences of that slur, and discussion of ableism and later anti-Black racism. Get the transcript of this episode, and find out more about the topics therein, at theallusionist.org/gemsandpatties. This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman. Martin Austwick of Neutrino Watch and Song By Song podcasts provides the Allusionist music. Become a member of the Allusioverse at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you get regular livestreams and watchalong parties - AND to hang out with your fellow Allusionauts in our delightful Disc

The word 'misophonia' describes a condition that statistically, 20 per cent of you have: an extreme reaction to certain sounds. "For me, it was a relief to have a word for what I'd been experiencing," says Dr Jane Gregory, author of the new book Sounds Like Misophonia: How to Stop Small Noises from Causing Extreme Reactions, "because I thought for a long time that I was really uptight or maybe a bit controlling over other people, and that that was a problem with my character, as opposed to it actually being a problem with the way that my brain processes sounds." Jane offers advice for handling with misophonia, including some very simple verbal techniques. Find out more about this episode and the topics therein and read the transcript at theallusionist.org/misophonia. This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman. Martin Austwick of Neutrino Watch and Song By Song podcasts provides the Allusionist music. Become a member of the Allusioverse at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent

All aboard, we're off to the 2023 Apple Festival at the University of British Columbia, to taste some apples and, most importantly, enjoy some apple names. And before that, we return to the classic Sporklusionist applesode to refresh our memory about how apple names are chosen - eponyms, portmanteaus, geography, or corporate R&D, just like how our ancestors named apples. Dan Pashman hosts The Sporkful podcast - head to the Sporkful podfeed or sporkful.com to listen to the companion episode where we learn about how new varietals of apples are made. Kate Evans, Kathryn Grandy and Joanna Crosby explain the history of apple names and the current process for coining new ones. My companions at the apple festival are Hannah McGregor of Material Girls podcast, and Martin Austwick of Neutrino Watch and Song By Song podcasts. Martin also provides the Allusionist music. Find out more about this episode and the topics therein, read the transcript, and see pictures of the apple festival at theallusionist.org/applefest

When Spanish missionaries arrived in what is now called Florida, there were 100,000-200,000 Timucua people in the region. Just two centuries later, there were fewer than 100. Soon, with all the people who spoke it dead, the Timucua language died out, too, preserved only in a few Spanish-Timucua religious texts. In the 21st century, linguistic anthropologist Aaron Broadwell and historian Alejandra Dubcovsky have been decoding and translating these texts to understand the Timucua language and the people who were writing it down. Find out more about this episode and the topics therein, and obtain the transcript, at theallusionist.org/timucua. Content note: in the episode there is mention of slavery, genocide, and mistreatment of the indigenous people of what is now called United States of America. Become a member of the Allusioverse at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you get regular livestreams and watchalong parties - AND to hang out with your fellow Allusionauts

Lexicographer, author and Dictionary Corner resident Susie Dent has been studying words to make us feel happy. She brings etymologies concerning cows, gas, guts and fat, of bellies and breathing and bonanzas. And some that came from the high seas and aren't made up! Find out more about this episode and the topics therein, and obtain the transcript, at theallusionist.org/siblings-of-chaos. Become a member of the Allusioverse at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you get regular livestreams and watchalong parties - AND to hang out with your fellow Allusionauts in our delightful Discord community. Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionistSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There's an abiding myth that the landmark dictionaries are the work of one man, in a dusty paper-filled garrett tirelessly working away singlehandedly. But really it took a village: behind every Big Daddy of Lexicography was usually a team of women, keeping the garrett clean, organising the piles of papers, reading through all the citations, doing research, writing definitions, editing, subediting...essentially being lexicographers, without the credit or the pay. Academic Lindsay Rose Russell, author of Women and Dictionary-Making, talks about the roles of women in lexicography: enabling male lexicographers to get the job done, but also making their own dictionaries, and challenging the very paradigms of dictionaries. Find out more about this episode and the topics therein, and obtain the transcript, at theallusionist.org/cairns. Become a member of the Allusioverse at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you get regular livestreams and watchalong parties - AND to ha

Sterling Martin was in grad school, studying C. elegans worms, when COVID19 hit and suddenly he found himself in lexicography, as part of a team creating a Navajo-English dictionary of science terms. Browse the dictionary at EnableNavajo.org, and donate to help the project add more educational materials at navajobiology.square.site. Find out more about this episode and the topics therein, and obtain the transcript, at theallusionist.org/projectenable. Become a member of the Allusioverse at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you get regular livestreams and watchalong parties - AND to hang out with your fellow Allusionauts in our delightful Discord community.Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionistSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's the annual etymology quizlusionist! I’m on a family holiday for the first time since 1988, so enlisted my brother Andy Zaltzman of the Bugle podcast to test his/your wits on singing goats, explosives, mythological Greek sweeteners, attics, left-handedness and whales.Can you beat Andy’s score? Play along using the interactive scoresheet at theallusionist.org/andyquiz.Become a member of the Allusioverse at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you get regular livestreams and watchalong parties - AND to hang out with your fellow Allusionauts in our delightful Discord community.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Have you ever wondered why the planets in our solar system are all named after Roman deities, except two of them? One of those exceptions is Earth. The other is Uranus. Content note: there are mentions of Ancient Greek and Roman deities and their terrible sexual behaviours and violent vengeance. Also category B and C swears. Find more information about this episode and a transcript at theallusionist.org/uranus. This episode was written, performed and produced by Helen Zaltzman and Martin Austwick. The Allusionist's online home is theallusionist.org. Stay in touch at facebook.com/allusionistshow, instagram.com/allusionistshow,  youtube.com/allusionistshow and twitter.com/allusionistshow. Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get regular livestreams and watchalong parties - in July, Little Shop of Horrors! - AND to hang out with your fellow Allusionauts in the delightful Allusioverse Discord community. And for a limited time only, you can s

This is the Tranquillusionist, in which I, Helen Zaltzman, say a load of words which aren’t really about anything, so that your brain gets a little gentle diversion from thinking and/or feeling. Today: a list of gay animals. Find a transcript at theallusionist.org/gay-animals. Several other Tranquillusionists and nearly 200 Allusionist episodes that are actually about something - are at theallusionist.org. Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get glimpses into how the podsausage is made, regular livestreams and watchalong parties, AND to hang out with your fellow Allusionauts in the delightful Allusioverse Discord community. The Allusionist is produced by me, Helen Zaltzman. Martin Austwick composed and played the original music. Hear Martin’s own songs via PaleBirdMusic.com. Information about gay animals was derived from Bruce Bagemihl's work Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity. The Allusionist's online hom

“The starting point is, and the research questions are all framed by: 'We know it's terrible to be fat, but how terrible is it?' Not: 'What would it take to give effective healthcare to fat people?'” says Aubrey Gordon, writer of the new book You Just need to Lose Weight and 19 Other Myths About Fat People, star of the documentary Your Fat Friend, and podcaster of Maintenance Phase. And it's not just healthcare where the alignment of 'fat' with 'unhealthy' - and 'thinner' with 'healthier' - becomes problematic and often very dangerous. "I really don't think people contend with the ways in which they are sending a message to everyone around them that there is a weight limit for people that they will love." Content note: this episode contains discussions of body size, body image, weight, anti-fatness, illness including cancer, diet culture, weight loss - intentional and un - and eating disorders. And there are some category A swears.  This is the second of two episodes about the word ‘fat’. In Fatlusionist part

It should just be an accurate descriptor of my body, but the word 'fat' has shaped so much more of my life, and our society. "There is this whole set of baggage that we are all culturally bringing to this word all the time," says Aubrey Gordon, writer of the new book You Just need to Lose Weight and 19 Other Myths About Fat People, star of the documentary Your Fat Friend, and podcaster of Maintenance Phase. In the next episode, Aubrey and I will discuss how the word 'fat' is often aligned with 'unhealthy', despite ample research demonstrating otherwise. Content note: this episode contains discussions of body size, body image, weight, fat, and anti-fatness. Find out more about this episode at theallusionist.org/fat1, where there's also a transcript, and head to the Contact page if you want to send me a voice note or written message about the role the word 'fat' has played in your life. The Allusionist is produced by me, Helen Zaltzman. Martin Austwick provides the original music. Hear Martin’s own songs via Pa

Oh, you thought the Eurovision Song Contest was about songs? Or a fun international TV event that brings people together in lots of different countries? Or watching extremely vigorous dance numbers? OK, it is, but it's also about some pretty thorny language-related politics. Historian Dean Vuletic, author of Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest, discusses Eurovision's many linguistic controversies, and the ways the contest has been exploited politically - and caused political kick-offs too. This is the second instalment of a two-part Eurovisionallusionist. In the first part: a whole lot of tussling about which languages to compete in. Find out more about this episode at theallusionist.org/eurovision2, where there's also a transcript. The Allusionist's online home is theallusionist.org. Stay in touch at facebook.com/allusionistshow,instagram.com/allusionistshow, youtube.com/allusionistshow and twitter.com/allusionistshow. Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this indep

There aren't many multilingual, multinational television shows that have been running for nearly seven decades. But what makes the Eurovision Song Contest so special to me is not the music, or the dancing, or the costumes that range from spangletastic to tear-off: no, it's the people butting heads about language. Historian Dean Vuletic, author of Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest, recounts the many changes in Eurovision's language rules, and its language hopes and dreams. This is the first of a two-part Eurovisionallusionist. In the next instalment: dictators. Protests. Boom Bang-A-Bang Ding-a-Dong Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley. Find out more about this episode at theallusionist.org/eurovision1, where there's also a transcript. The Allusionist's online home is theallusionist.org. Stay in touch at facebook.com/allusionistshow,instagram.com/allusionistshow, youtube.com/allusionistshow and twitter.com/allusionistshow. Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcas

"You can't redead the dead by you saying something shit," says Cariad Lloyd of Griefcast and author of You Are Not Alone; nevertheless when you're bereaved, people still are usually so nervous to say the wrong thing that they often don't say anything at all. And especially not the word 'dead'. Maybe what we need, says council funeral officer Evie King, author of Ashes To Admin, is a "jazzy snazzy term for death, the 'bottomless brunch' of death..." Content warning: this episode is about death*. And it contains mentions of cancer and Parkinson’s, and there are several category B swears and one category A swear. *But it’s a pretty fun listen, it doesn't get sad. Find out more about this episode and get extra information about the topics therein at theallusionist.org/death, where there's also a transcript. Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get behind-the-scenes glimpses of the show, regular livestreams, the delightful Allusioverse Discor

"The myths, or the received wisdom, about Portuguese language in Brazil is that, of course we know we speak a very different version of the language, but this has always been explained to us as maybe perhaps a defect of sorts?" says linguist and translator Caetano Galindo, author of Latim em Pó, a history of Brazilian Portuguese. "You look deeper into things and you find you have to wrap your mind around a very different reality.”  Content note: this episode discusses the enslavement of African people. Find out more about this episode and get extra information about the topics therein at theallusionist.org/brazilian-portuguese, where there's also a transcript. Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get behind-the-scenes glimpses of the show, fortnightly livestreams, and the delightful Allusioverse Discord community with their disco kettles and knitted octopus tentacles. The Allusionist's online home is theallusionist.org. Stay in touch at

Last episode, I mentioned that in London, Ontario, in 2019 a 9-year-old named Lyla Wheeler had launched a petition to rename her street, currently called Plantation Road. This episode, Lyla, now aged nearly thirteen, and her mom Kristin Daley recount the reasons why Lyla campaigned for this name change, how the neighbours reacted, what happened when the wider world heard about it, and why the street's name is still Plantation Road. I hope you will not be deterred from campaigning for different, better words. Content note: the episode contains references to enslavement of Black people and a brief description of the Canadian residential school system. This is an instalment of the Telling Other Stories series, about renaming. Find out more about this episode and get extra information about the topics therein at theallusionist.org/supplantation, where there's also a transcript. Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get behind-the-scenes glimp

Over the past few years, numerous products and places with the word 'plantation' in their names have rebranded. As for the word 'plantation' itself, architect and writer Kennedy Whiters of unRedactTheFacts.com advocates for replacing it with a more truthful term. She also watches out for use of the grammatical passive voice, because "It hides who did what to whom." Content note: this episode contains discussions of anti-Black racism, violence and sexual violence. This is an instalment of the Telling Other Stories series, about renaming. Find out more about this episode and get extra information about the topics therein at theallusionist.org/actively-passive, where there's also a transcript. Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get behind-the-scenes glimpses of the show, fortnightly livestreams, special perks at live shows, and best of all the Allusioverse Discord community. Over the next few weeks, we're watching Great Pottery Throwdown

Erwin Schrödinger is one of the "fathers of quantum mechanics". He also sexually abused children. Trinity College Dublin recently denamed a lecture theatre that had been named after him - but his name is still on an equation that won the Nobel Prize for physics. And a cat. Writer and historian Subhadra Das recounts how and why you rename a university building, and retired physicist Martin Austwick considers that renaming an eponymous equation or theory might be more difficult than unscrewing a sign from a wall. This is an instalment of the Telling Other Stories series, about renaming. Content note: this episode contains references to  racism and eugenics, and to the sexual abuse of children. There is also a Category B swear. Find out more about this episode and get extra information about the topics therein at theallusionist.org/box, where there's also a transcript. Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get behind-the-scenes glimpses of t

There’s been a recurring theme on the show over the years, of filling gaps in language, removing stigma and bias, finding better ways to express ourselves and talk about our feelings and our bodies. Today Kalle Rocklinger, sex educator with RFSU, the National Association for Sexuality Education in Sweden, talks about how and why over the years, the RFSU has come up with and publicised new terms for body parts and sexual acts, and what they would still like to change. This is the first part of the Telling Other Stories series, about renaming things. Content note: this episode contains discussions of sex and the associated body parts. Towards the end, there’s discussion of consent which includes references to rape (there are no descriptions of acts or anybody’s experiences). I mention when we’re about to arrive at that part of the conversation, so anybody who needs to duck out during that section has some warning. Find out more about this episode and get extra information about the topics therein at theallusion