The Allusionist
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allusionistshow.bsky.social
The Allusionist
@allusionistshow.bsky.social
Podcast of adventures in language with @helenzaltzman. theallusionist.org patreon.com/allusionist
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Me ranting about pronouns, why it's ok to make a mistake & how to ask for help.
January 22, 2026 at 2:01 PM
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Today is @allusionistshow.bsky.social's eleventh birthday! Happy birthday, show! My voice has returned sufficiently so there'll be a new episode this week, and there are 200+ not-new ones at theallusionist.org to catch up on if this is your first time hearing that this podcast exists
The Allusionist
Episodes of The Allusionist
theallusionist.org
January 14, 2026 at 10:14 PM
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Welp, laryngitis has compelled me to postpone the last episode of the year (and also AMT) to 2026. But now is a fine time to listen to some Festivelusionists, which are gathered in a playlist at theallusionist.org/festivelusionist
Festivelusionists — The Allusionist
'Tis the season for the festive Allusionists! Here’s your playlist of episodes from the back catalogue, which are all also available in your podcast app, of course: A Christmas Carol I read the ...
theallusionist.org
December 23, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Welp, laryngitis has compelled me to postpone the last episode of the year (and also AMT) to 2026. But now is a fine time to listen to some Festivelusionists, which are gathered in a playlist at theallusionist.org/festivelusionist
Festivelusionists — The Allusionist
'Tis the season for the festive Allusionists! Here’s your playlist of episodes from the back catalogue, which are all also available in your podcast app, of course: A Christmas Carol I read the ...
theallusionist.org
December 23, 2025 at 10:40 PM
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8. @allusionistshow.bsky.social reading the whole of A Christmas Carol with music and sfx by @martinaustwick.bsky.social is a festive delight. Well worth 2 and a bit hours of your time www.theallusionist.org/allusionist/...
Allusionist 222. A Christmas Carol — The Allusionist
Today, we read the novelisation of The Muppet Christmas Carol , also known as the 1843 festive lit hit A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
www.theallusionist.org
December 23, 2025 at 10:28 PM
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Did you guys know they made a book out of that really good Muppet movie?
December 9, 2025 at 12:43 PM
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If you've not yet before experienced @helenzaltzman.bsky.social's festive offerings, you're in for a treat! She and @martinaustwick.bsky.social create such a wonderful, cosy mood with their readings. Plus, once you've experienced the book, you'll realise just how close the Muppet version is!
December 10, 2025 at 9:01 AM
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Things I’m not mad about today:
2) Enjoying @hels.bsky.social reading “A Christmas Carol” on @allusionistshow.bsky.social and hearing “Keep it in your pants, Dickens!” 😂
December 9, 2025 at 8:33 PM
New episode in your podfeed: I read all of A Christmas Carol, with musical backing from @martinaustwick.bsky.social. It’s a banger! theallusionist.org/christmascarol
Allusionist 222. A Christmas Carol — The Allusionist
Today, we read the novelisation of The Muppet Christmas Carol , also known as the 1843 festive lit hit A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
theallusionist.org
December 9, 2025 at 11:12 AM
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new episode is in your podfeed! @timbrookes.bsky.social of #EndangeredAlphabetsProject takes us on a delightful journey of handwriting. Listen/read via theallusionist.org/scribe and find Tim's book By Hand at endangeredalphabets.com
Allusionist 221. Scribe — The Allusionist
"I have never felt so naked. That's how exposed I felt at the idea that my handwriting was going to be seen by the world," says Tim Brookes, founder of the Endangered Alphabets Project and author of t...
theallusionist.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:12 PM
new episode is in your podfeed! @timbrookes.bsky.social of #EndangeredAlphabetsProject takes us on a delightful journey of handwriting. Listen/read via theallusionist.org/scribe and find Tim's book By Hand at endangeredalphabets.com
Allusionist 221. Scribe — The Allusionist
"I have never felt so naked. That's how exposed I felt at the idea that my handwriting was going to be seen by the world," says Tim Brookes, founder of the Endangered Alphabets Project and author of t...
theallusionist.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:12 PM
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November 18, 2025 at 11:37 AM
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I hate portmanteau words but “slopaganda” is magnificent
Gone down a weird rabbithole with far-right Facebook slopaganda* about celebrities cancelling things as a result of the New York election result.

*I just invented this word: AI-generated disinformation content pumped onto social media by right-wing think tanks, and "slopaganda" was right there.
November 15, 2025 at 6:15 AM
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Powered by vegan chocolate truffles & queer feminism, this was SO MUCH (fun). Intense & exhilarating!
November 11, 2025 at 7:20 PM
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I *just* listened to this excellent episode of @allusionistshow.bsky.social about Dr. Alex Ketchum’s Feminist Restaurant Project and went to check out Bloodroot…only to learn they announced *today* that they’re closing after nearly 50 years!
November 12, 2025 at 10:38 PM
New episode in your podfeed, starring @suchmayer.bsky.social, whose new book #BadLanguage is out next week! We talk about many things, including coming out as a speech act, power, shame, finding vocab for oneself... Listen/read via theallusionist.org/disobedience and The Podplaces
Allusionist 220. Disobedience — The Allusionist
“The more we look into social structures, the more many of us realize we don't fit into them," says So Mayer, author of the new book Bad Language, "So each phrase or set of vocabulary is another piece...
theallusionist.org
November 11, 2025 at 7:15 PM
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Excellent real world example of a chilling effect @allusionistshow.bsky.social
SCOOP: Last year, Ubisoft cancelled an Assassin's Creed game set during Reconstruction. Was to feature a Black Assassin who, among other things, fought the rise of the Klan

Sources: Leadership nixed it over concerns re: U.S. political climate, backlash to Yasuke

www.gamefile.news/p/scoop-ubis...
Scoop: Ubisoft cancelled a post-Civil War Assassin’s Creed last year
Company leadership deemed the project too controversial for the moment, sources tell Game File
www.gamefile.news
October 9, 2025 at 5:30 AM
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@allusionistshow.bsky.social I think this might be relevant to a recent episode, 6:27 specifically! youtu.be/yRh6OTPPVwM?...
Let's Look at the Super Sewer!
YouTube video by Jago Hazzard
youtu.be
September 26, 2025 at 7:26 AM
Happy tenth anniversary of Pig-gate theallusionist.org/gate
September 20, 2025 at 2:26 PM
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like so many products to come out of silicon valley in the last decade or so, AI is a legal innovation masquerading as a tech innovation. the legal theory seems to be that AI is entitled to everything but liable for nothing.
AI advocates have warned that if every author in the class action filed a claim, it would "financially ruin" the entire industry.
Authors celebrate “historic” settlement coming soon in Anthropic class action
Advocates fear such settlements will “financially ruin” the AI industry.
arstechnica.com
August 27, 2025 at 6:10 PM
The finale of Four Letter Word season is heading to your podfeed this weekend. Which word do you think it’ll be about?
September 5, 2025 at 11:26 PM