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The Allusionist

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A PODCAST ABOUT LANGUAGE
BY HELEN ZALTZMAN

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The Allusionist

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Allusionist 207. Randomly Selected Words from the Dictionary

January 17, 2025 The Allusionist

Today’s episode is in the Tranquillusionist style, to give your brain a break while I say words that are not too consequential over a soothing backing track. And this time, the words are all the randomly selected words from the dictionary from every episode of the show, in reverse chronological order.

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In transcript, Tranquillusionist Tags serene, serenity, ASMR, calm, calmness, meditation, sleep, mood, emergency, Tranquillusionist, relaxation, tranquil, tranquillity, etymology, vocabulary, lexicography, lexicon, words, language, history, dictionary, pricket, trivia, yarak

Tranquillusionist: Ex-Constellations transcript

September 26, 2024 The Allusionist

Let’s hear it for some of the constellations that we used to have but are now ex-constellations. 

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In Tranquillusionist, transcript Tags history, lexicon, society, culture, words, language, etymology, vocabulary, serene, serenity, ASMR, calm, calmness, meditation, sleep, mood, Tranquillusionist, relaxation, tranquil, tranquillity, stars, sky, firmament, celestial, Ptolemy, asterism, IAU, International Astronomical Union, Hadrian, dogs, technology, printing press, Gutenberg, Uranus, William Hershel, Johann Bode, Zeus, goats, crabs, myth, Greek myth, Ancient Rome, Romans, Latin, Greek, gods, deities, saints, relics, Saint Veronica, Jesus, Ancient Greece, astronomy, astronomers, Cerberus, John Hill, Henry Fielding, beeves, beef, feuds, Jerome Lalande, cats, sycophancy, royals, monarchy, monarchs, King Charles II, Prussia, King George III, King Charles I, scepters, sceptres, slugs, login, log line, log book, worms, constellations, asterisms, Phaeton, Helios, Hercules, reindeer, Mapertuis, Alessandro Volta, Jacques Cassini, Capra, Titans, telescopes, Maximilian Hell, conception, pregnancy, navigation, pangolin, ventifact

Tranquillusionist: Person In Scene transcript

February 23, 2024 The Allusionist

This is the Tranquillusionist, in which I, Helen Zaltzman, soothe your brain by saying a load of words that don’t really mean very much, to give you an emotional break by temporarily supplanting your interior monologue with something you can benignly ignore. This isn’t like the usual episodes of the Allusionist, there’ll be no learning, no journey, you don’t have to feel or think anything. And you’ll find previous editions of the Tranquillusionist at theallusionist.org/tranquillusionist, featuring champion dogs, gay animals, punchlines with no setups and more. 

Today’s theme was requested by Lachlan, so long ago that Lachlan will have perhaps forgotten, but at some point in the past they wanted a Tranquillusionist featuring the characters from films that don't have names - so in the credits they’re listed as "man in shop", "lady with pram", "angry customer 2".

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In Tranquillusionist, transcript Tags serene, serenity, ASMR, calm, calmness, meditation, sleep, mood, emergency, Tranquillusionist, relaxation, tranquil, tranquillity, movies, films, credits, bit parts, actors, haecceity

Allusionist 184 Misophonia transcript

November 6, 2023 The Allusionist

JANE GREGORY: Misophonia is an extreme reaction to certain sounds and not an aversion to all sounds, but an extreme reaction to specific sounds. And the most common sounds are eating and heavy breathing and kind of repetitive sniffing and coughing and things like that. Which are also sounds that most people don't like the sound of, but people with misophonia will get a much more intense reaction, so it might be more like a fight or flight kind of response, a feeling of anger or panic as opposed to feeling annoyed or irritated or disgusted by the sound. And there's a bit more to it in terms of what goes on around the sounds as well. So it might be feeling trapped or helpless when they can't get away from these sounds. It might be listening out for sounds, even when there aren't any, or continuing to listen to see if the sound is still going, even if it's stopped. And doing things to organize your life around sounds or to cope with sounds. when they happen. So most people who don't like a sound will just deal with it. For people with misophonia, they have to do things to not be able to hear it or to be able to cope with their reactions to it. 
HZ: Rather than just grimacing. 
JANE GREGORY: Exactly. I mean, there's also some grimacing, but probably also some glaring.

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In transcript Tags words, language, vocabulary, etymology, psychology, bodies, brains, medical, psychological, Jane Gregory, misophonia, conditions, sounds, noises, mouth noise, eating, sniffing, breathing, hearing, coughing, autism, ASD, ASMR, ADHD, neurodivergent, neurodivergence, sibilance, Marsha Johnson, disorder, theories, therapy, and, but, emotions, Social Exchange Theory, reciprocation, Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth II, miso soup, pigeons, moist, alexithymia, hyperacusis, mesearch, obelise, obelize, obelus

Tranquillusionist: Gay Animals transcript

June 10, 2023 The Allusionist

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. This is not a regular episode of the Allusionist where you’re supposed to think and/or feel things. The Tranquillusionist is meant to be a bit dull, and maybe it’ll help you get to sleep or at least turn your existential screaming down to 11.

Today I shall be reading a list of gay animals.

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In Tranquillusionist, transcript Tags serene, serenity, ASMR, calm, calmness, meditation, sleep, mood, emergency, Tranquillusionist, tranquil, tranquillity, relaxation, animals, insects, fish, reptiles, birds, mammals, humans, creatures, queer, LGBTQIA, gay, bisexual, pansexual, zoology, gay animals, muid

Tranquillusionist: Australia's Big Things transcript

July 19, 2022 The Allusionist

Some of them are sculptures. Some of them are essentially a three-dimensional billboard. Some are buildings. Some are playground features. Some are just…there to be a big thing.

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In Tranquillusionist, transcript Tags serene, serenity, ASMR, calm, calmness, meditation, sleep, mood, emergency, Tranquillusionist, Australia, big things, Australian, sculptures, size, huge, tourist attractions, apples

Tranquillusionist: 282 Salads transcript

August 14, 2021 The Allusionist
282 Ways of Making a Salad cover.jpeg

Today, I will be reading from the book 282 Ways of Making a Salad.

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In Tranquillusionist, transcript Tags words, language, serene, serenity, ASMR, calm, calmness, meditation, sleep, mood, Tranquillusionist, mental health, salads, celebrities

Tranquillusionist: Home and Garden transcript

August 28, 2020 The Allusionist
Allusionist 120.2 Home & Garden logo.png

This is the Tranquillusionist: Home and Garden Edition, in which I, Helen Zaltzman, read the names of original programmes on HGTV, and the copy from lawnmower ads from before I was born.

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In Tranquillusionist, transcript, episodes Tags Helen Zaltzman, words, language, serene, serenity, ASMR, calm, calmness, meditation, sleep, mood, Tranquillusionist, anti-anxiety mulching, mulchers, mulch, grass, cuttings, grass cuttings, mowers, lawns, lawnmowers, mowing, gardens, yards, lawncare, HGTV, homes, houses, reno, property, urticate

Tranquillusionist: Punchlines transcript

April 13, 2020 The Allusionist
Tranquillusionist Punchlines logo.jpeg

This is the Tranquillusionist, in which I, Helen Zaltzman, in the interests of temporarily trying to stop that feeling where you think your brain is trying to claw its way out of your skull, read the punchlines to classic jokes. No setups; just the punchlines.

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In Tranquillusionist, transcript Tags Helen Zaltzman, words, language, serene, serenity, ASMR, calm, calmness, meditation, sleep, mood, emergency, Tranquillusionist, jokes, punchlines, cheesy jokes, bad jokes, knock knock, doctor doctor, puns, wordplay, Oulipo, gags

Tranquillusionist: Best In Show transcript

April 5, 2020 The Allusionist
Tranquillusionist Best in Show.jpeg

This is the Tranquillusionist, in which I, Helen Zaltzman, for the purposes of calming a frazzled brain, read the winners of the Best in Show at the Westminster Dog Show.

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In Tranquillusionist, transcript Tags Helen Zaltzman, words, language, serene, serenity, ASMR, calm, calmness, meditation, sleep, mood, emergency, Tranquillusionist, dogs, best in show, Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, champions, terriers

Tranquillusionist: Nmgiiea transcript

March 23, 2020 The Allusionist

This is the Tranquillusionist, in which I, Helen Zaltzman, for the purposes of quelling anxiety and stress and sleeplessness, read the lyrics to ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon, with the words arranged in reverse alphabetical order.

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In Tranquillusionist, transcript Tags Helen Zaltzman, words, language, serene, serenity, ASMR, calm, calmness, meditation, sleep, mood, emergency, Tranquillusionist, John Lennon, Imagine, lyrics, songs, music

Tranquillusionist: Your Soothing Words transcript

March 20, 2020 The Allusionist
Tranquillusionist soothing words logo.JPG

This is the Allusionist, in which I, Helen Zaltzman, read out the words that you've told me you find the most soothing.

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In transcript, Tranquillusionist Tags Helen Zaltzman, words, language, serene, serenity, ASMR, calm, calmness, meditation, sleep, mood, emergency, Tranquillusionist
Allusionist Patreon
Featured
Festivelusionists
Allusionist 221. Scribe
Allusionist 221. Scribe
Allusionist 220. Disobedience
Allusionist 220. Disobedience
Allusionist 219. Making Trouble
Allusionist 219. Making Trouble
Allusionist 218. Banned Books
Allusionist 218. Banned Books
Allusionist 217. Bread and Roses, and Coffee
Allusionist 217. Bread and Roses, and Coffee
Allusionist 216. Four Letter Words: Terisk
Allusionist 216. Four Letter Words: Terisk
Allusionist 215. Two-Letter Words
Allusionist 215. Two-Letter Words
Allusionist 214. Four Letter Words: Bane Bain Bath
Allusionist 214. Four Letter Words: Bane Bain Bath
Souvenirs on BBC Radio 4
Souvenirs on BBC Radio 4
Allusionist 213. Four Letter Words: Dino
Allusionist 213. Four Letter Words: Dino
Allusionist 212. Four Letter Words: Park
Allusionist 212. Four Letter Words: Park
Allusionist 211. Four Letter Words: -gate
Allusionist 211. Four Letter Words: -gate
Allusionist 210. Four Letter Words: 4x4x4 Quiz
Allusionist 210. Four Letter Words: 4x4x4 Quiz
queer playlist
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The Allusionist by Helen Zaltzman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.