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Self-help is a multibillion dollar genre of books, and Kristen Meinzer and Jolenta Greenberg of By the Book podcast have lived by the advice of more than eighty of them. They discuss the ways these books use language to get into your brain, the negging and the euphemisms, what can actually be helpful, and why we should be more like dog.
Content note: we discuss dieting and sizeism, and there are fleeting mentions of rape and abuse. There are also category A and B swears.
EXTRA MATERIALS:
Kristen talks more about the concept of manifesting on this episode of the excellent language podcast Subtitle.
“Despite the many trials of Victorian life, Smiles refused accept that people were — to use modern terminology — victims. Instead, he believed that all men and women were personally responsible for their own success or failure.”
“Halitosis makes you unpopular. It is inexcusable,” declared Listerine, to tout a product that hadn’t really shifted units when it was being sold as an antiseptic/floor cleaner/gonorrhoea treatment.
About Audre Lorde and self-care.
Otherlusionists: No Title covers the etymology of ‘doctor’. Behave discusses the use of mantras. Trust is about how our credulity is stoked/exploited.
Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and not only are you funding this independent podcast, you get fortnightly patron-exclusive video livestreams and a Discord community full of language chat, craft pics and word game camaraderie! It’s a delightful scene.
Here’s my copy of Self Help by Samuel Smiles:
YOUR RANDOMLY SELECTED WORD FROM THE DICTIONARY:
spitchcock, noun: an eel that has been split and grilled or fried. Verb: prepare (an eel or other fish) this way. ORIGIN 15th century: of unknown origin; cf. SPATCHCOCK
CREDITS:
Kristen Meinzer and Jolenta Greenberg are the hosts of the podcasts By the Book and Romance Road Test, among others, and they wrote the book How To Be Fine: What We Learned from Living by the Rules of 50 Self-Help Books. Listen to By the Book in all the podplaces and follow the show on Instagram and Twitter.
This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman. The original Allusionist music is by Martin Austwick. Download his songs at palebirdmusic.com and listen to his podcasts Song By Song and Neutrino Watch.
Find the Allusionist at twitter.com/allusionistshow, facebook.com/allusionistshow, twitter.com/helenzaltzman and instagram.com/allusionistshow.
