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'Phobia' gets used for anything from a mild aversion to a debilitating anxiety response to various forms of bigotry. Deboki Chakravarti and Sam Jones of the podcast Tiny Matters join to consider the term from its comedic origins with one of the founding fathers of the USA, via rabies and Greek deities, to its role in their lives today.
CONTENT NOTE: we’re not trying to stoke anyone’s phobias, but we do discuss some common phobia-inducers, including snakes, germs and small holes, and there’s a brief mention of tarantulas. There’s also talk about OCD and rabies.
We meet up in Vancouver on Sunday 13 September to watch the zucchini races
✨ Info: theallusionist.org/events ✨
We meet up in Vancouver on Sunday 13 September to watch the zucchini races ✨ Info: theallusionist.org/events ✨
EXTRA MATERIALS:
Otherlusionists: I refer to Mind My Mind, -gate and Uranus. Since this episode is on a topic of psychological responses to stimuli that other people are unflapped by, I’ll recommend another one: Misophonia.
The book I mentioned: Kate Summerscale’s Book of Phobias and Manias A History of the World in 99 Obsessions.
Read a taster of said book. “All phobias and manias are cultural creations: the moment at which each was identified – or invented – marked a change in how we thought about ourselves.”
This phobia name may have been coined for a humorous word list in the 1970s, but it is a very real phobia: “Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth, not a fear of peanut butter itself. This phobia often stems from a broader fear of choking (pseudodysphagia) or sticky textures, though it can also exist independently.”
The Wikipedia entry for ephebiphobia – fear of teenagers/youth - is quite fascinating.
Dickinsoniophobia is a phobia characterized by an irrational fear, anxiety, or aversion toward Dickinsonia, an extinct genus of Ediacaran organisms. If you want a phobia to be very specific.
I haven’t played Ortographobia, the game where “words are your only weapon — and your greatest fear” – but I’m sold on the ominous strapline “The bees are watching. And the dictionary won’t save you.”
Mentioning the etymology of the word ‘rage’ reminded me of watching the Australian music TV show Rage. Ah, few things I enjoy more: performing a live show in Aus then sitting in my hotel bed, tired but not ready to sleep, watching Rage! I wish this was my life every day! (Want to book the Allusionist live show, for Australia or elsewhere? Get in touch. It is a really good show.)
Sign up at theallusionist.org/donate to fund the continuing existence of this independent podcast. In return, you can join me for regular livestreams where I read relaxingly from my ever-expanding collection of vintage dictionaries, plus you get bonus written content including behind the scenes info about every episode, membership of the Allusioverse Discord community, and watchalong parties for films and TV shows: together we'lll watch the 2026 season of Great British Bake Off and like last year there'll be some particularly chaotic bonus content. For $5/month or above, get the ad-free version of the show.
YOUR RANDOMLY SELECTED WORD FROM THE DICTIONARY:
mascon, noun, astronomy:
a concentration of denser material below the surface of the moon or other body, causing a local increase in gravitational pull.
Origin 1960s: from mas(s) con(centration).
CREDITS:
Deboki Chakravarti and Sam Jones are the hosts of the podcast Tiny Matters, about tiny things — from molecules to microbes — that have a big impact.
This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman, on the unceded ancestral and traditional territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
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 youtube.com/allusionistshow, instagram.com/allusionistshow, facebook.com/allusionistshow, @allusionistshow.bsky.social… Essentially: if I’m there, I’m there as @allusionistshow.
Back in two weeks with a new episode - HZ.
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