Jen Porter

Give Me Listening, Or Give Me... (Episode 025) July 2026 In honor of World Listening Day (July 18), we are exploring the true roots of the word listen. The dictionary will tell you it traces back to Old English hlysnan, kin to hlyst — “hearing” — which is, ironically, also kin to loud. 🤔 (Wonder how that came about: "Linda, Linda...!") And I'm sure we've all likely heard the adage "two ears, one mouth: so you can listen twice as much as you talk." But long before the word listen showed up in...

No Questions (Episode 024) May-June 2026 Fathom comes from Old English fæthm, meaning "outstretched arms." The theory being that sailors measured depth by using a rope representative of how far they could reach. They were describing the wrong kind of reaching. The Vulcan Science Academy established fthm as a standard unit of cognitive depth — the precise cognitive distance at which a mind loses itself in the process of finding an answer. Beyond one fthm, the inquiry ends. The mind continues,...

*Nudge* (Episode 023) April 2026 Etymologists will tell you nudge arrived in English sometime around the 17th century, probably from a Scandinavian root meaning “to push gently.” Probably. What they mean is they have no idea, because the beings responsible never filed paperwork with anyone whose records survived. The Vorlons were not known for their paperwork. What they were known for was the nudge: the minimum intervention required to redirect a lesser species without technically violating...

Triggered (Episode 022) March 2026 In this episode: Lost in Metaversal Translation Truth for March Get The Frozen for FREE True Story Tech The Status of Making Things Up Featured Book Deals Free & Bargain Book Sales Rate this Issue Ever feel like your life is a series of “triggering” events? In light of the doubly bad-luck-inducing alignment of Friday the 13th 👺 and National Open an Umbrella ☂️ Indoors Day (also today) — and also given the storm we had this morning in the Midwest! — I feel...

Awkward... (Episode 021) February 2026 In this episode: Lost in Metaversal Translation Truth for February Featured Author The Status of Making Things Up Serial Fiction with Friends Featured Book Deals Free & Bargain Book Sales Rate this Issue In honor of International Networking Week (February 2-8), we bring you awkwardness. According to terrestrial linguists, the root word awkward was first recorded in writing in Middle English somewhere around 1300-1350 AD, having arrived from Old Norse...

'Operating Within Parameters' (Episode 020) January 2026 In this episode: Lost in Metaversal Translation Truth for January True Story Tech (& Science) The Status of Making Things Up Serial Fiction with Friends Featured Book Deals Free & Bargain Book Sales Rate this Issue Every year, someone likely insists you audit your annual goals. Etymologists claim the word audit comes from the Latin audītus “the sense or act of hearing.” But Dr. Daniel Jackson left breadcrumbs that tell us the word...

I Come Bearing [Only] Gifts! (Episode 019) December 2025 In this episode: Christmas Gift from Jen Truth for December Featured Freebies Free & Bargain Book Collections Merry Christmas, Reader! I planned to skip December’s newsletter so I could pour every spare minute into The Erebi — and spare you one more email amid the holiday avalanche... But then the ever-amazing Mike Domeny finished the last edits on The Refuge audiobook, and I realized I did want to pop in — with a Christmas gift! You...

Nothing's For Sale (Episode 018) November 2025 In this episode: Lost in Metaversal Translation Truth for November Poll & Freebie True Story Tech (& Science) The Status of Making Things Up Serial Fiction with Friends Featured Book Deals Free & Bargain Book Sales In honor of Buy Nothing Day this month (a.k.a. Black Friday, November 28), we're exploring the metaversal evolution of the word nothing — a word whose resumé is really...something. According to the terrestrial dictionary, nothing comes...

Galactic Girl Bosses (Episode 017) October 2025 In this episode*: A Word From Our Sponsors Truth for October Grab This Book! True Story Tech (& Science) The Status of Making Things Up Introducing My New Intern Serial Fiction with Friends Featured Book Deals Free & Bargain Book Sales October is a cosmic convergence of administrative paperwork and inspirational youth. With International Day of the Girl Child (Oct. 11) inspiring greatness and International Checklist Day (Oct. 30) demanding...