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Find every episode of the Allusionist at http://theallusionist.org.

The Allusionist is a proud member of @radiotopia from PRX, a collective of the best podcasts around. http://radiotopia.fm

The Allusionist

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Languages die. But if they're lucky, a thousand-odd years later, someone unearths an artefact that brings them back to life.

Laura Welcher of the Rosetta Project shows us the Rosetta Disk, a slice of electroplated nickel three inches in diameter that bears text in 1500 languages for future linguists to decipher. Ilona Regulski of the British Museum describes how its namesake, the Rosetta Stone, unlocked hieroglyphics. 

Find out more about this episode at http://theallusionist.org/rosetta. Find me at http://twitter.com/allusionistshow and http://facebook.com/allusionistshow. 

The Allusionist is a proud member of Radiotopia.fm from PRX.org.

Allusionist 42. The Key part I: Rosetta

A Bugle update

If you don't have a Rosetta Stone to hand, deciphering extinct languages can be a real puzzle, even though they didn't intend to be. They didn't intend to become extinct, either, but such is the life (and death) of languages.

NB: There is a CATEGORY B swear word towards the end of this episode. But it IS there for educational purposes only.

ALSO NB: After the episode was released, I was alerted that listener Ryan's request was about a FAKE Mike Pence statement. I CAN NEVER TRUST YOU AGAIN, RYAN! The etymological content still stands.

There's more about this episode at http://theallusionist.org/vestiges. It is a companion to episode 42: The Key part I: Rosetta, which is at http://theallusionist.org/rosetta.

Find me at http://twitter.com/allusionistshow and http://facebook.com/allusionistshow. 

The Allusionist is a proud member of Radiotopia.fm from PRX.org.

Allusionist 43: The Key part II - Vestiges

What is your beautiful brain up to as you comprehend language? Cognitive psychologist Jenni Rodd takes a peek.

Visit http://theallusionist.org/brain for more information about this topic.

Find me at http://twitter.com/allusionistshow and http://facebook.com/allusionistshow. 

The Allusionist is a proud member of Radiotopia.fm from PRX.org.

Allusionist 44: This Is Your Brain On Language

"Accent is identity. It's a way of encoding and signaling - almost completely at an unconscious level for most people - who they feel like they are, who they want to be seen as, what group they feel like they belong to." The podcast Twenty Thousand Hertz investigates how accents have evolved in the UK and USA.

Hear Twenty Thousand Hertz at http://20k.org and find out more about this episode at http://theallusionist.org/evolution-of-accents.

Stay in touch at http://twitter.com/allusionistshow and http://facebook.com/allusionistshow.  

The Allusionist is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX, a collective of the best podcasts on the interwaves. Find all our podcasts at http://radiotopia.fm

Allusionist 63: Evolution Of Accents

You've encountered technobabble when Doc Brown is shouting about flux capacitors in Back To The Future, or when Isaac Asimov writes about positronic brains. Astrophysicist Katie Mack and NASA JPL technologist Manan Arya discuss how science fact relates to science fiction. 

This episode is a collaboration with Eric Molinsky of Imaginary Worlds; listen to his episode about technobabble, featuring ACTUAL HOLLYWOOD TECHNOBABBLERS, at http://imaginaryworldspodcast.org.

The show's online home is http://theallusionist.org. Stay in touch at http://twitter.com/allusionistshow and http://facebook.com/allusionistshow.  

The Allusionist is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX, a collective of the best podcasts on the interwaves. Find all our podcasts at http://radiotopia.fm.

Allusionist 64: Technobabble

Roman Mars returns for our annual dose of eponyms - words that derive from people's names. This year: explosive revelations about the origins of the word 'guy'. Find out more about this episode at http://theallusionist.org/guy. 

CONTENT NOTE: the episode contains a description of 17th century torture and execution. 

The show's online home is http://theallusionist.org. Stay in touch at http://twitter.com/allusionistshow and http://facebook.com/allusionistshow.  

The Allusionist is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX, a collective of the best podcasts on the interwaves. Find all our podcasts at http://radiotopia.fm.

Allusionist 65. Eponyms III: Who's That Guy?

From Me To You’s Alison Hitchcock and Brian Greenley didn’t know each other well. But when Brian was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, Alison offered to write him letters. 100 letters later, their lives were changed.

One of the newest members of Radiotopia is Ear Hustle, a podcast made inside San Quentin by and about the men incarcerated there, in collaboration with Nigel Poor. In prison, a letter is a precious thing.

Find out more about this episode at http://theallusionist.org/open-me-1. The Allusionist is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX, a collective of the best podcasts on the interwaves. It’s Radiotopia’s annual fundraiser: to keep our shows going, become a supporter (and get some excellent gifts!) at http://radiotopia.fm.

The show's online home is http://theallusionist.org. Stay in touch at http://twitter.com/allusionistshow and http://facebook.com/allusionistshow.

Allusionist 66: Open Me part I

You're holding a letter. What's inside? A weather report from 5,000 miles away? Some devastating family history? A single word? A heartfelt dispatch from your past self that's about to change the course of your life?

Find out more about this episode at http://theallusionist.org/open-me-2. 

The Allusionist is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX, a collective of the best podcasts on the interwaves. It’s Radiotopia’s annual fundraiser: to keep our shows going, become a supporter (and get some excellent gifts!) at http://radiotopia.fm.

The show's online home is http://theallusionist.org. Stay in touch at http://twitter.com/allusionistshow and http://facebook.com/allusionistshow.

Allusionist 67: Open Me part II

Small adventures in the English language, by Helen Zaltzman from @AnswerMeThis for @Radiotopia from PRX.

Visit http://theallusionist.org, and/or subscribe on iTunes http://tinyurl.com/iTunesAllusionist.