“The starting point is, and the research questions are all framed by: 'We know it's terrible to be fat, but how terrible is it?' Not: 'What would it take to give effective healthcare to fat people?'” says Aubrey Gordon, writer of the new book You Just need to Lose Weight and 19 Other Myths About Fat People, star of the documentary Your Fat Friend, and podcaster of Maintenance Phase. And it's not just healthcare where the alignment of 'fat' with 'unhealthy' - and 'thinner' with 'healthier' - becomes problematic and often very dangerous. "I really don't think people contend with the ways in which they are sending a message to everyone around them that there is a weight limit for people that they will love." Content note: this episode contains discussions of body size, body image, weight, anti-fatness, illness including cancer, diet culture, weight loss - intentional and un - and eating disorders. And there are some category A swears.  This is the second of two episodes about the word ‘fat’. In Fatlusionist part 1, Aubrey and I discuss euphemisms for fat, why people avoid saying ‘fat’, what else people mean when they say ‘fat’ and how it would be quite good if people said ‘fat’ as just a descriptive term for ‘fat’. Find out more about this episode and the topics therein at theallusionist.org/fat2, where there's also a transcript. Thanks so much to everyone who sent in their thoughts and feelings about the word 'fat'. The Allusionist is produced by me, Helen Zaltzman. Martin Austwick provides the original music. Hear Martin’s own songs via PaleBirdMusic.com. The cast of The Flab is Felix Trench of Wooden Overcoats podcast, find more of his acting and writing work via FelixTrench.com. Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get glimpses into how the podsausage is made, regular livestreams and watchalong parties, AND to hang out with your fellow Allusionauts in the delightful Allusioverse Discord community, sharing trinket pics, favourite podcasts, and awful portmanteaus. The Allusionist's online home is theallusionist.org. Stay in touch at facebook.com/allusionistshow,instagram.com/allusionistshow, youtube.com/allusionistshow and twitter.com/allusionistshow. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you want me to talk lovingly and winningly about your product or thing, sponsor an episode: contact Multitude at multitude.productions/ads. This episode is sponsored by: • Kitsch, who make products to care for your hair and skin - shampoo and conditioner bars, soaps, sleep bonnets, heatless rollers, satin hoodies and pillowcases... Get a whopping 30% off your entire order at MyKitsch.com/allusionist.• Catan, the endlessly reconfigurable social board game. Shop at catanshop.com/allusionist and get 10% off the original base game CATAN by using the promo code ALLUSIONIST at checkout. • Bombas, whose mission is to make the comfiest clothes ever, and match every item sold with an equal item donated. Go to bombas.com/allusionist to get 20% off your first purchase. • Squarespace, your one-stop shop for building and running a beautifully designed website. Go to squarespace.com/allusionist for a free 2-week trial, and get 10 percent off your first purchase of a website or domain with the code allusionist.Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionistSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It should just be an accurate descriptor of my body, but the word 'fat' has shaped so much more of my life, and our society. "There is this whole set of baggage that we are all culturally bringing to this word all the time," says Aubrey Gordon, writer of the new book You Just need to Lose Weight and 19 Other Myths About Fat People, star of the documentary Your Fat Friend, and podcaster of Maintenance Phase. In the next episode, Aubrey and I will discuss how the word 'fat' is often aligned with 'unhealthy', despite ample research demonstrating otherwise. Content note: this episode contains discussions of body size, body image, weight, fat, and anti-fatness. Find out more about this episode at theallusionist.org/fat1, where there's also a transcript, and head to the Contact page if you want to send me a voice note or written message about the role the word 'fat' has played in your life. The Allusionist is produced by me, Helen Zaltzman. Martin Austwick provides the original music. Hear Martin’s own songs via PaleBirdMusic.com. The cast of The Flab is Felix Trench of Wooden Overcoats podcast, find more of his acting and writing work via FelixTrench.com. Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get glimpses into how the podsausage is made, regular livestreams and watchalong parties, AND to hang out with your fellow Allusionauts in the delightful Allusioverse Discord community, sharing trinket pics, favourite podcasts, and awful portmanteaus. The Allusionist's online home is theallusionist.org. Stay in touch at facebook.com/allusionistshow,instagram.com/allusionistshow, youtube.com/allusionistshow and twitter.com/allusionistshow. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you want me to talk lovingly and winningly about your product or thing, sponsor an episode: contact Multitude at multitude.productions/ads. This episode is sponsored by: • Bombas, whose mission is to make the comfiest clothes ever, and match every item sold with an equal item donated. Go to bombas.com/allusionist to get 20% off your first purchase. • Squarespace, your one-stop shop for building and running a beautifully designed website. Go to squarespace.com/allusionist for a free 2-week trial, and get 10 percent off your first purchase of a website or domain with the code allusionist.Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionistSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oh, you thought the Eurovision Song Contest was about songs? Or a fun international TV event that brings people together in lots of different countries? Or watching extremely vigorous dance numbers? OK, it is, but it's also about some pretty thorny language-related politics. Historian Dean Vuletic, author of Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest, discusses Eurovision's many linguistic controversies, and the ways the contest has been exploited politically - and caused political kick-offs too. This is the second instalment of a two-part Eurovisionallusionist. In the first part: a whole lot of tussling about which languages to compete in. Find out more about this episode at theallusionist.org/eurovision2, where there's also a transcript. The Allusionist's online home is theallusionist.org. Stay in touch at facebook.com/allusionistshow,instagram.com/allusionistshow, youtube.com/allusionistshow and twitter.com/allusionistshow. Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get glimpses into how the podsausage is made, regular livestreams, AND membership of the delightful Allusioverse Discord community with whom I will be watching the Eurovision final on 13 May - join us! The Allusionist is produced by me, Helen Zaltzman. Martin Austwick provides the original music. Hear Martin’s own songs via PaleBirdMusic.com. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you want me to talk lovingly and winningly about your product or thing, sponsor an episode: contact Multitude at multitude.productions/ads. This episode is sponsored by: • Bombas, whose mission is to make the comfiest clothes ever, and match every item sold with an equal item donated. Go to bombas.com/allusionist to get 20% off your first purchase. • Kitsch, who make products to care for your hair and skin - shampoo and conditioner bars, soaps, sleep bonnets, heatless rollers, satin pillowcases and hoodies... Get a whopping 30% off your entire order at MyKitsch.com/allusionist.• Squarespace, your one-stop shop for building and running a beautifully designed website. Go to squarespace.com/allusionist for a free 2-week trial, and get 10 percent off your first purchase of a website or domain with the code allusionist.Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionistSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There aren't many multilingual, multinational television shows that have been running for nearly seven decades. But what makes the Eurovision Song Contest so special to me is not the music, or the dancing, or the costumes that range from spangletastic to tear-off: no, it's the people butting heads about language. Historian Dean Vuletic, author of Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest, recounts the many changes in Eurovision's language rules, and its language hopes and dreams. This is the first of a two-part Eurovisionallusionist. In the next instalment: dictators. Protests. Boom Bang-A-Bang Ding-a-Dong Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley. Find out more about this episode at theallusionist.org/eurovision1, where there's also a transcript. The Allusionist's online home is theallusionist.org. Stay in touch at facebook.com/allusionistshow,instagram.com/allusionistshow, youtube.com/allusionistshow and twitter.com/allusionistshow. Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get glimpses into how the podsausage is made, regular livestreams, AND membership of the delightful Allusioverse Discord community with whom I will be watching the Eurovision final next month. The Allusionist is produced by me, Helen Zaltzman. Martin Austwick provides the original music. Hear Martin’s own songs via PaleBirdMusic.com. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you want me to talk lovingly and winningly about your product or thing, sponsor an episode: contact Multitude at multitude.productions/ads. This episode is sponsored by: • Bombas, whose mission is to make the comfiest clothes ever, and match every item sold with an equal item donated. Go to bombas.com/allusionist to get 20% off your first purchase. • Squarespace, your one-stop shop for building and running a beautifully designed website. Go to squarespace.com/allusionist for a free 2-week trial, and get 10 percent off your first purchase of a website or domain with the code allusionist.Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionistSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"You can't redead the dead by you saying something shit," says Cariad Lloyd of Griefcast and author of You Are Not Alone; nevertheless when you're bereaved, people still are usually so nervous to say the wrong thing that they often don't say anything at all. And especially not the word 'dead'. Maybe what we need, says council funeral officer Evie King, author of Ashes To Admin, is a "jazzy snazzy term for death, the 'bottomless brunch' of death..." Content warning: this episode is about death*. And it contains mentions of cancer and Parkinson’s, and there are several category B swears and one category A swear. *But it’s a pretty fun listen, it doesn't get sad. Find out more about this episode and get extra information about the topics therein at theallusionist.org/death, where there's also a transcript. Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get behind-the-scenes glimpses of the show, regular livestreams, the delightful Allusioverse Discord community AND you get to listen to a one-off show I made with Arnie Niekamp of Hello from the Magic Tavern where we planned our own funerals! The Allusionist's online home is theallusionist.org. Stay in touch at facebook.com/allusionistshow,instagram.com/allusionistshow, youtube.com/allusionistshow and twitter.com/allusionistshow. The Allusionist is produced by me, Helen Zaltzman. Martin Austwick provides the original music. Hear Martin’s own songs via PaleBirdMusic.com. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you want me to talk beguilingly about your product or thing, sponsor an episode: contact Multitude at multitude.productions/ads. This episode is sponsored by: • Bombas, whose mission is to make the comfiest clothes ever, and match every item sold with an equal item donated. Go to bombas.com/allusionist to get 20% off your first purchase. • Squarespace, your one-stop shop for building and running a sleek website. Go to squarespace.com/allusionist for a free 2-week trial, and get 10 percent off your first purchase of a website or domain with the code allusionist. Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionistSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.