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The Allusionist - 216. Four Letter Words: Terisk

Watching the film Legally Blonde one day with the subtitles on, numerous perfectly innocuous words were partially asterisked out, because of a technological problem I can't name here lest this episode be blocked from your podfeed, thus becoming an example of the problem itself.

Who's to blame? A 900-year-old man from Lincolnshire. Although he didn't ask for this either.

Content note: this episode contains SWEARS. Educational though!

Visit theallusionist.org/terisk for more information about today's topics, plus a transcript of the episode.

Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get behind-the-scenes info about every episode; livestreams with me, Martin and my ever-growing collection of dictionaries, and the charming and nurturing Allusioverse Discord community, where we're watching the current seasons of Great British Sewing Bee and Great British Bake Off, and our previous watchalong of Legally Blonde begat this episode.

This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman, on the unceded ancestral and traditional territory of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Martin Austwick sings and composed the music. Download his own songs at palebirdmusic.com and on Bandcamp, and listen to his podcasts Song By Song and Neutrino Watch.

Find the Allusionist at youtube.com/allusionistshow, instagram.com/allusionistshow, facebook.com/allusionistshow, @allusionistshow.bsky.social… If I’m there, I’m there as @allusionistshow. 

Our ad partner is Multitude. If you want me to talk compellingly about your product, sponsor an episode: contact Multitude at multitude.productions/ads. This episode is sponsored by:

• Squarespace, your one-stop shop for building and running your online forever home. Go to squarespace.com/allusionist for a free trial, and get 10 percent off your first purchase of a website or domain with the code allusionist.

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NPR's Book of the Day - Tamara Yajia’s memoir recounts a chaotic upbringing between the U.S. and Argentina

Tamara Yajia’s memoir Cry for Me, Argentina describes a chaotic upbringing between Argentine and American cultures. A big focus of the memoir is her “insane” family, who exposed Yajia to a high level of sexual openness, including group excursions to Buenos Aires’ red-light district. In today’s episode, the writer speaks with NPR’s Ailsa Chang about her mixed experience as a childhood performer, a formative moment involving Madonna’s “Like a Prayer,” and the way humor has “kept [her] alive.”


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Opening Arguments - Do You Swear You’re Not A Subversive Person?

Continuing their "Good Law" series, Matt and Jenessa talk about Baggett v. Bullitt. This case held that "a State cannot require an employee to take an unduly vague oath containing a promise of future conduct at the risk of prosecution for perjury or loss of employment, particularly where the exercise of First Amendment freedoms may thereby be deterred." Jenessa gives a fascinating science breakdown on cognitive dissonance and what the effect of these vague oaths actually is. It's counter-intuitive and very interesting!

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It Could Happen Here - It Was Never About Crime feat. Prop

Okay, with all this talk about deploying troops in our cities, especially DC, it's very clear to me that that “crime” is just a means to remove black, brown, poor and unhoused people from your city. Because if you really cared about crime, there are proven interventions that actually work to reduce crime… and it happens to be Black mayors puttin' in the work.

Sources:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10567-025-00534-6#Sec9 

https://www.thebanner.com/community/criminal-justice/baltimore-homicides-drop-WTR3QQN7LRGFXOVCGAAMNYMUBE/ 

https://theconversation.com/data-driven-early-intervention-strategies-could-revolutionize-phillys-approach-to-crime-prevention-258756

https://genius.com/Freeway-what-we-do-lyrics

https://www.baltimorepolice.org/about/baltimore-police-crime-plan

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/16/baltimore-violent-crime-trump

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Global News Podcast - Supporters of Brazil’s Bolsonaro stage huge demonstrations

A huge demonstration has taken place in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo to denounce the Supreme Court trial of the former president, Jair Bolsonaro. He's accused of plotting a failed military coup against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva after losing his bid for re-election nearly three years ago. He denies the charges. The court is widely expected to convict Mr Bolsonaro in the next few days. Also: Zelensky condemns "ruthless attack" after Russia hits main government building in Kyiv, and have you seen the Blood Moon - a total lunar eclipse?

The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

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Good Bad Billionaire - George Lucas and Peter Jackson: Film stories

George Lucas created Star Wars and Peter Jackson directed the Lord of the Rings films, two of the movie world’s most epic adventures. Ahead of a new season of Good Bad Billionaire, presented by Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack, here’s another chance to hear how these two film directors went from zero to a billion, in episodes originally released in 2023 and 2024.

Good Bad Billionaire is the podcast that explores the lives of the super-rich and famous, tracking their wealth, philanthropy, business ethics and success. This season we want to hear YOUR thoughts about our billionaires. And we’ll be heading back to the movies… To contact the team, email goodbadbillionaire@bbc.com or send a text or WhatsApp to +1 (917) 686-1176. Find out more about the show and read our privacy notice at www.bbcworldservice.com/goodbadbillionaire

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The Economics of Everyday Things - 105. Light Bulbs

Why did it take so long to invent a longer-lasting bulb? Zachary Crockett finds the answer illuminating.

 

  • SOURCES:
    • Heather Dillon, mechanical engineering professor at the University of Washington in Tacoma.
    • Jane Brox, author of the 2010 book Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light.
    • Markus Krajewski, philosopher and historian of technology at the University of Basel in Switzerland.

 

 

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the memory palace - Episode 236: The Times

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm.

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. 

Music

  • A couple by C. Diab: Tiny Umbrellas and Crypsis
  • The beginning of Cats Cradle (Iris) by Hannah Epperson
  • Dawning and Wind by Shida Shihabi
  • A couple from Ceeys: Neighbour II and Union

Notes

  • I really enjoyed reading both Lew Irwin's Deadly Times: the 1910 Bombing of the L.A. Times and America's Forgotten Decade of Terror, and Bread and Hyacinths: the Rise and Fall of Utopian Los Angeles, by Lionel Rolfe
  • As an, at this point, long-time Angeleno, I highly recommend visiting the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
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Consider This from NPR - What happens when democracies use military force to occupy their own territory?

Over the weekend, President Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as a character from the war film “Apocalypse Now” and, in that same post, seemingly threatened “WAR” in Chicago; later, the president indicated that sending in troops would be to clean up cities, not to go to war. But weeks of talk of sending federal troops into Chicago has set the city on edge.

NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Dr. Robert Pape, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago who has studied political violence for 30 years, and who worries his city could be a powder keg.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. 

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Henry Larson and Avery Keatley.

It was edited by Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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