Allusionist 30: US Election Lexicon

iTUNES • RSS • MP3

The 2016 US election isn't going away anytime soon, so let's seek refuge in etymology. Consider the linguistically appropriate age of a senator, and whether Congress should get sexy. And we revisit the UK Election Lexicon - http://theallusionist.

The 2016 US election isn't going away anytime soon, so let's seek refuge in etymology, as we did before in the first Election Lexicon.

EXCESS BAGGAGE:

• Oxford Dictionaries have had enough of these political terms, and perhaps so have you.

• Lo, here's a short history of filibustering.

• The linguistics of mass persuasion: how politicians make ‘fetch’ happen.

• And in case you needed to know about the sex lives of politicians during primaries, the escorts they hire are here to tell you.

• Here's the original Election Lexicon episode.

If you want podcasts about the US Election, I've heard good things about FiveThirtyEight, Bandwagon, Presidential, Slate's Political Gabfest, Candidate Confessional, Left, Right & Centre, The Pollsters, Whistlestop... And there's this episode from our pals Mortified.

RANDOMLY SELECTED WORD FROM THE DICTIONARY:
flockmaster

CREDITS:

• You heard from Jonathan Mitchell from The Truth; Benjamen Walker from Theory of Everything; Lauren Spohrer from Criminal; Hrishikesh Hirway from Song Exploder; Nick van der Kolk from Love + Radio; and Avery Trufelman and Katie Mingle from 99% Invisible.

• This episode was produced by Matt Hill and me. The theme tune is by Martin Austwick.

• Say hello at facebook.com/allusionistshow, twitter.com/allusionistshow and twitter.com/helenzaltzman, regardless of on which shoulder you sport your parrot.

Meet you back here in a fortnight.

- HZ

P.S. Thanks to listener Matt for designing this bumper sticker after hearing the episode. We've got a chance of winning this, people...

Allusionist 10: Election Lexicon

iTUNES • RSS • MP3

On the eve of the 2015 General Election in the UK, take a jaunt through the etymology of election-related words. Find out why casting a vote should be more like basketball, and why polling is hairy. There's more about this episode at http://theallusion...

On the eve of the 2015 General Election in the UK, join me for a jaunt through the etymology of election-related words.

Find out why casting a vote should be more like basketball, how debating could descend into fisticuffs, and why polling is hairy.

FURTHER READING:

• Producer Matt and I went out in a high wind with a megaphone to record at the place for shouting about politics through a megaphone: Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park. Here's a brief history of Speakers' Corner, where people have been blowing high wind through megaphones for more than a century.

• For those who insist upon continuing to do their campaigning indoors, here's a potted history of lobbying in the US.

• I only briefly mentioned the origins of the Tories' name: it has a very knotty history. Read more about that here.

• Swingometer fans! Thanks to the BBC, here're some archive videos and pictures of swingometers through history.

• Here is the transcript of this episode.

RANDOMLY SELECTED WORD FROM THE DICTIONARY:
pismire

View fullsize

See you in a fortnight, unless etymologocracy wins the day and I'm too drunk on power to make this show.

- HZ

CREDITS

• This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman, with megaphone assitance from Matt Hill. Matt tweets as @virtualmatthill and makes numerous podcasts and apps, including Spark London and the Media Podcast. Find more of his work at rethinkdaily.co.uk.

• All the music is by Martin Austwick. Hear more of it at http://thesoundoftheladies.bandcamp.com/.

• Find me at facebook.com/allusionistshow, twitter.com/allusionistshow and twitter.com/helenzaltzman.

View fullsize

So goddamn windy that day. The campaign trail is more challenging than I had expected.