The Allusionist

Late 2019 will see the biggest apple launch of our lifetimes. 22 years in the making, ripening on millions of trees into picture-perfect redness, here comes the WA38, more snazzily known as the Cosmic Crisp. The name was the result of a year of focus groups, taste tests and word associations - a far cry from when apples were named after whichever end of a cat they resembled. This episode is a collaboration with The Sporkful podcast, where we have released companion episodes about apples: hear us talking about the naming of apples on this episode of the Allusionist, and on their episode ‘ . Find out more about this episode at . The Allusionist's online home is . The Allusionist live show No Title is on tour in North America - come to see us! For all event listings, visit . The Allusionist is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX, a collective of the finest podcasts on the interwaves. Find them at . Also! I’m making a NEW PODCAST! Veronica Mars Investigations, wherein Jenny Owen Youngs (of Buffering the Vampire Slayer podcast) and I investigate every episode of Veronica Mars from the beginning. Find Veronica Mars Investigations in your podcast-getting app of choice, and at VMIpod on the social medias and . In October 2019, the Allusionist is sponsored by: • , and use the code ALLUSIONIST for 10% off your first month. • . •  and get 20% off your first purchase. •  to find out more, and text ALLUSIONIST to 484848 to try it for free. •  for a free trial, and use the code ALLUSION to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Ever misspelled a word or committed a typo? It wasn’t your fault; you were demonically possessed. Ian Chillag from Everything is Alive podcast introduces us to Titivillus, the typo demon. Find out more about this episode at . The Allusionist's online home is . The Allusionist live show No Title is heading off on a tour of North America from October. For all event listings, visit . The Allusionist is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX, a collective of the finest podcasts on the interwaves. Find them at radiotopia.fm. Also! I’m making a NEW PODCAST! Veronica Mars Investigations, wherein Jenny Owen Youngs (of Buffering the Vampire Slayer podcast) and I investigate every episode of Veronica Mars from the beginning. Find Veronica Mars Investigations in your podcast-getting app of choice, and at VMIpod on the social medias and VMIpod.com. In September 2019, the Allusionist is sponsored by: •  for a free trial, and use the code ALLUSION to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. •  and get 20% off your first purchase. •  to find out more, and text **ALLUSIONIST **to 484848 to try it for free. • and see how much you could be saving. Discounts not available in all states and situations.

When is cheese not cheese, or crab not crab? When it’s spelled cheez or krab or even ch’eese or cra’b… Novelty spellings for foods-that-aren’t-made-out-of-the-thing-they-sound-like-they’re-made-out-of go back a pretty long way - ‘cheez’ was THE cheese-like substance of the 1920s - but right now, with plant-based foods on the rise, we’re seeing more of them. Branding consultant and name developer Nancy Friedman casts her expert glance over the apostrophes and deliberate misspellings on foodstuffs; and vegan restaurant owner Melanie Boudens recounts how, this summer, the words ‘cheddar cheese’ on her menu landed her in trouble. Find out more about this episode at . The Allusionist's online home is . The Allusionist live show No Title is playing in London in September and in the US from October. For all event listings, visit . The Allusionist is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX, a collective of the finest podcasts on the interwaves. Find them at radiotopia.fm. Also! I’m making a NEW PODCAST! Veronica Mars Investigations, wherein Jenny Owen Youngs (of Buffering the Vampire Slayer podcast) and I investigate every episode of Veronica Mars from the beginning. Find Veronica Mars Investigations in your podcast-getting app of choice, and at VMIpod on the social medias and .com. In September 2019, the Allusionist is sponsored by: •  for a free trial, and use the code ALLUSION to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. •  and get 20% off your first purchase. •  to find out more, and text **ALLUSIONIST **to 484848 to try it for free. • and see how much you could be saving. Discounts not available in all states and situations.

It’s Food Season at the Allusionist. Last episode we learned all about compiling recipes, turning food into words. This time, we meet someone who turns words into food - no, she doesn’t make Alphabetti Spaghetti. When Kate Young of the Little Library Cafe spots a foodstuff or a feast in a novel, she finds ways to cook it in reality, whether it’s delicious (Babette’s Feast), evil (Edmund’s Turkish delight in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe) or poisonous (the crab and avocado in The Bell Jar). Find out more at . The Allusionist's online home is . The Allusionist live show is coming to London in September. For all event listings, visit . The Allusionist is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX, a collective of the finest podcasts on the interwaves. Find them at radiotopia.fm. Also! I’m making a NEW PODCAST! Veronica Mars Investigations, wherein Jenny Owen Youngs (of Buffering the Vampire Slayer podcast) and I investigate every episode of Veronica Mars from the beginning. Find Veronica Mars Investigations in your podcast-getting app of choice, and at VMIpod on the social medias and .com. In August 2019, the Allusionist is sponsored by: •  for a free trial, and use the code ALLUSION to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. •  and get 20% off your first purchase. •  to find out more, and text **ALLUSIONIST **to 484848 to try it for free. • and see how much you could be saving. Discounts not available in all states and situations.

When recipe writing is done well, the skill and effort involved might not be evident. But explaining the different steps clearly so that people of varying culinary abilities and equipment can cook it, and indeed want to make it, and translating flavour and physical actions and sensory experiences into words - all that takes work. Recipe writers MiMi Aye and Felicity Cloake and cookbook editor Rachel Greenhaus consider the verbal ingredients of a well-written recipe. Find out more at . The Allusionist's online home is . The Allusionist live show is coming to London in September. For all event listings, visit . The Allusionist is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX, a collective of the finest podcasts on the interwaves. Find them at radiotopia.fm. In August 2019, the Allusionist is sponsored by: •  for a free trial, and use the code ALLUSION to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. •  and get 20% off your first purchase. •  to find out more, and text **ALLUSIONIST **to 484848 to try it for free. • and see how much you could be saving. Discounts not available in all states and situations.