This week, Emily and Kyle are joined by Gary Reddin, the creator of the modern-day bestiary Monstrum Obscura, to discuss ‘Blemmyes,’ an etymologically puzzling word that may cause you to lose your head about it.

Journeying through a history of the world, tales of Blemmyes and the like litter humanity’s story through myth, legend, and even cartography. And it’s not even Blemmyes all the way down! Mankind has an alarmingly lengthy list of words for headless humanoids, corporeal and beyond.

But where did these stories come from? Were they misunderstandings, metaphors, or cultural inventions to explain the unfamiliar? With echoes in Zoroastrian, Hindu, Chinese, and Japanese lore, the Blemmyes show just how far the myth of the headless man could travel, and how thin the line between history and monster can be.

Join us every week as we explore the fascinating origins and meanings of words, uncovering the hidden stories behind language and how it evolves over time, for language enthusiasts and etymology buffs alike.
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Produced by⁠ ⁠Seth Gliksman⁠⁠, Kyle Imperatore, and Emily Moyers

Main theme and accompanying themes by Kyle Imperatore