The Allusionist

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Small adventures in language by Helen Zaltzman from Answer Me This . Visit theallusionist.org .

Series

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3 Pieces

festive episodes of The Allusionist

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27 Pieces

Small adventures in language with Helen Zaltzman. Visit http://theallusionist.org


Pieces

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Naming something after yourself: a grand display of egomania, or the humble willingness to be overshadowed by your own product? Stationery expert J...

  • Added: Oct 24, 2015
  • Length: 17:56
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La la la, dum di di dum, a wop bop a loo bop a wop bom bom - what are all those non-words doing masquerading as words in songs? Hrishikesh Hirway f...

  • Added: Oct 24, 2015
  • Length: 13:44
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Why do we all sound like idiots when we talk to babies?

Bought by WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass. and PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 08, 2015
  • Length: 11:37
  • Purchases: 2
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“Talking about music is like dancing about architecture” is a problematic statement: not just because nobody can agree on who came up with it, but ...

Bought by WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass., WABE, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Sep 24, 2015
  • Length: 27:04
  • Purchases: 3
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The messiness of English is the price of its success. It is the most widely spoken language in the world, geographically, being an official languag...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Sep 14, 2015
  • Length: 28:03
  • Purchases: 1
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Words are all over the place. So how do you turn them into fun games? Here to show the way is Leslie Scott, founder of Oxford Games and inventor of...

Bought by WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass. and PRX Remix


  • Added: Aug 14, 2015
  • Length: 27:35
  • Purchases: 2
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'Step-', as in stepparents or stepchildren, originated in grief. Family structures have evolved, but are stepmothers now so tainted by fairytale as...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Aug 12, 2015
  • Length: 38:16
  • Purchases: 1
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Emoji allow communication without words. Could emoji be the universal language of the 21st century?

Bought by WABE


  • Added: Jul 27, 2015
  • Length: 16:54
  • Purchases: 1
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Sometimes words can become your worst enemy.

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Jul 02, 2015
  • Length: 28:27
  • Purchases: 1
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It’s June; the President of the USA has officially designated it LGBT Pride Month, and there’ll be Pride events around the world. But how did the w...

Bought by WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass., KZMU Moab Community Radio, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Jun 03, 2015
  • Length: 14:08
  • Purchases: 3