Who are you?
Hello! I am Helen Zaltzman. I started podcasting almost 18 years ago, when my friend Olly Mann (The Modern Mann) asked me if I wanted to make a podcast and, not being able to think of a reason to say "no", I said "yes". We were podcasting out of my living room and had no relevant experience or skills, and there weren't resources around then, so we had to figure out how to do everything by ourselves. And all this time later, both of us are still going! A lot has changed in that time, but the fundamentals are mostly the same. I guess I'm a pro-am podcaster.
What’s the deal with the Allusionist?
Language is something that pretty much every human alive has to interact with, yet I was taught pretty much nothing about how it functions, or how we function with it. It's a fundamental tool of humanity, so we should be educated in how to operate it! But it should also be fun to hear about it, because my primary purpose in life is to make people's commutes/cleaning/insomnia a little less tedious.
There's also a live tour of the Allusionist happening right now, a show called Souvenirs, about unintentional swear words and unplanned legacies and frenemies and such. It'll be a very good way to spend an hour-and-a-bit of your time, I promise.
Why are you doing it?
Oh, I'm just in it for the money and glory. I didn't even get a free mattress like the other podcasters did. While I await the money and glory, I get to enjoy an enormous amount of self-education, and the very cool thing that is being in the lives of listeners all over the world.
What has the show taught you?
Wow, how long have you got? The first big lesson was that as soon as you spend even a small amount of time studying how language works, pedantry is unsustainable.
You start off thinking, "The English language is so interesting! So many weird stories!" and more and more move towards, "English is a MENACE with a global trail of destruction." Although to be fair, both these statements are true simultaneously.
Making this show was also my route into understanding the performance of gender and unsubscribing me from my own. Not to mention I've learned that people love to invent racist origins for words while ignoring the real ones that are already understood.
If you had to describe your show only using other podcasts, what would they be?
Hmmm how about Imaginary Worlds combined with No Such Thing As a Fish and the occasional dash of Imaginary Advice?
If someone's new to your show which episode should they start with?
If they're in a facty mood, Apples. If they want to feel feelings, Eclipse.
The Allusionist is currently touring the UK. Dates and tickets are available on the Allusionist website.
