224. Cosmic Hairball

224. Cosmic Hairball

From The Allusionist by Helen Zaltzman

February 9, 2026 · 16 min

About this episode

This episode explores etymology related to space and discusses the podcast's community and support options.

Pack your oxygen tank, we're going to space. There’s a lot of etymology up there. Visit theallusionist.org/cosmic-hairball for more information about the topics in this episode plus a transcript of the episode. The singing and score is by Martin Austwick. Download his own songs that aren't about space milk at palebirdmusic.com and on Bandcamp. The show is taking a little break, and will return early April 2026. To keep in touch in the meantime, head over to theallusionist.org/donate where from as little as $2/month, or as much as $infinity per month if you prefer, you get written bonus content including behind-the-scenes info about every episode; you also get membership of the charming and nurturing Allusioverse Discord community, where we hang out and keep each other company; watch parties such as Chungking Express, Belle and The Ice Storm, and the current season of Great Pottery Throwdown; AND you get more regular livestreams with me reading from my ever-growing collection of dictionaries. AND you're keeping this independent podcast going, so thanks very much for doing that and sparing it from going to the farm upstate. You can also sign up for a free account at the same…

People in this episode

Host: Helen Zaltzman

Topics covered

  • etymology
  • space
  • independent podcast
  • community
  • livestreams

Keywords

  • etymology
  • space
  • podcast
  • community
  • livestreams
  • independent

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Allusionist, palebirdmusic.com, Bandcamp

Places: xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), space

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