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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 229. Draculae part 3: Hunting Down the Count transcript

June 9, 2026 The Allusionist
A boggle set spelling out Draculae 3

IRIS ICHISHITA: There's so many different ways to try and understand this text. And there are so many different pieces of evidence that point us in these different directions. Is it fan fiction? Is it pirated fiction? Is it pastiche? Is it creative licence, creative liberty? Is it an alternate version? Could it have been Bram Stoker's original version, his director's cut? What are these texts in relationship to each other?
HZ: Well, they are first cousins, I'd say?
IRIS ICHISHITA: Yeah, yeah. If not shadowy twins.
HZ: Maybe it's more like identity theft.

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In transcript Tags Draculae, arts, history, literature, books, fiction, novels, Bram Stoker, Dracula, vampires, Iceland, Sweden, Icelandic, Swedish, Powers of Darkness, Makt Myrkranna, Mörkrets makter, Iris Ichishita, Will Trimble, Hans de Roos, translation, cover versions, fan fiction, adaptation, Count Dracula, blood, transfusion, hypnotism, hypnosis, copyright, serialisation, mysteries, Florence Stoker, films, Nosferatu, lawsuits, rights, theatre, plays, Bela Lugosi, censorship, Sherlock Holmes, Victorian, sex, piracy, bearbetning, jeremiad

Allusionist 211. Four Letter Words: -gate transcript

June 23, 2025 The Allusionist

The Watergate Scandal’s linguistic legacy: the suffix ‘-gate’

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In transcript Tags society, culture, words, language, arts, history, vocabulary, four letter words, snowclone, libfix, suffixes, scandal, gate, -gate, Watergate Hotel, Watergate Complex, Watergate Scandal, Washington DC, Watergate, Richard Nixon, Foggy Bottom, Mr Blobby, Blobbyland, England, Noel Edmonds, theme parks, politics, food, entertainment, sport, sports, wine, football, soccer, corruption, curling, butter, Ariana Grande, Royal Family, monarchy, King Charles III, Princess Diana, Queen Camilla, Prince Charles, Sarah Ferguson, Fergie, meats, tabloids, headlines, newspapers, media, Australia, Tony Abbott, Theresa May, onions, David Cameron, Boris Johnson, Mumsnet, biscuits, Mauritius, Macarena, Aotearoa New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, Argentina, Venezuela, Denmark, mink, Panama Papers, UK Government, Downing Street, prime minister, covid, coronavirus, lockdown, police, doughnuts, donuts, Nutella, Quebec, French, pasta, pasties, chess, blood, rugby, fake, NFL, balls, farts, crime, Gamergate, gaming, baseball, GBBO, Great British Bake Off, Baked Alaska, ice cream, TV, television, Academy Awards, Oscars, Moonlight, Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Chicago, Super Bowl, poop, radio, Harry Styles, spit, Chris Pine, politicians, zwitterion

Allusionist 49: Bonus 2016 - transcript

December 30, 2016 The Allusionist

Why is gaslighting 'gaslighting'? What do bodily fluids have to do with personality traits? Why does 'cataract' mean a waterfall and an eye condition? And do doctors really say 'Stat!' or is that just in ER?

It's the end-of-2016 bonus edition of the Allusionist, containing some of your etymological requests and extra chat from some of this year's guests

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In transcript Tags four humours, four humors, sanguine, blood, bloody, Isaac Siemens, medicine, quack, cataract, waterfall, branding, care, hospital, doctors, bonus episode, bonus, Nancy Friedman, marijuana, Jane Solomon, search, words, dictionary.com, dictionary, dictionaries, gaslighting, gaslight, breaking up, divorce, nuchal, etymology, Nick Allen
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Featured
Allusionist 229. Draculae part 3: Hunting Down the Count
Allusionist 229. Draculae part 3: Hunting Down the Count
queer playlist
Allusionist 228. Draculae part 2: Surprises in the Vaults
Allusionist 228. Draculae part 2: Surprises in the Vaults
Allusionist 227. Draculae part 1: Enter the Castle
Allusionist 227. Draculae part 1: Enter the Castle
Allusionist 226. Suburbia
Allusionist 226. Suburbia
Allusionist 225. Hues
Allusionist 225. Hues
Allusionist 224. Cosmic Hairball
Allusionist 224. Cosmic Hairball
Allusionist 223. Bonus 2025
Allusionist 223. Bonus 2025
Allusionist 222. A Christmas Carol
Allusionist 222. A Christmas Carol
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
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The Allusionist by Helen Zaltzman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.