Truth.
It built our loyalties. It fueled revolutions. It shaped law, journalism, art—and everything we trust (or don’t).

In this special Foundations episode of Lexiconned, we explore the complex roots of one of humanity’s most powerful—and most contested—words.

From ancient oaths to Enlightenment science to today’s digital battlegrounds, truth has been worshiped, weaponized, and worn thin.

Where did it come from? How has it evolved?
And what does it still demand from us today?

Sources

• Oxford English Dictionary – Entries for truth, troth, trēowþ
• Online Etymology Dictionary – Proto-Germanic and Proto-Indo-European roots (treuwaz, deru-)
• The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle – Oaths and early law
• Magna Carta (1215) – Foundational texts and historical translations
• Novum Organum by Francis Bacon (1620) – Foundations of modern scientific truth
• Principia Mathematica by Isaac Newton (1687) – Scientific objectivity
• 1984 by George Orwell (1949) – Political manipulation of truth
• King Lear by William Shakespeare – Truth in tragedy
• Emily Dickinson, “Tell all the truth but tell it slant” (published 1890)
• Comparative linguistics resources for aletheia (Greek), Wahrheit (German), shinjitsu (Japanese), and vérité (French)

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What does justice really mean? In this powerful long-form episode, TJ breaks down the word that lives at the heart of courtrooms, protests, and moral debates around the world. From Hammurabi to hip-hop, Supreme Court rulings to superhero stories, we trace justice’s tangled roots through language, law, and culture—and ask whether it can ever truly live up to its name.

Links to Supreme Court Cases Referenced:
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Korematsu v. the United States
Buck v. Bell

Sources

• Oxford English Dictionary – "justice," "just"
• Online Etymology Dictionary
• The Code of Hammurabi, translation archives
• Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
• U.S. Supreme Court rulings: Dobbs v. Jackson, Students for Fair Admissions
• United Nations: Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Orlando Patterson, Freedom and Slavery and Social Death
• Legal linguistics and comparative law journals
• Translations and cultural references from Arabic, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Zulu, Mandarin

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For the month of May we are kicking off a series, I’m calling foundations. This is the first episode in that mini-series.

Freedom is one of the most powerful—and most misunderstood—words in the English language. In this extended deep-dive, TJ traces the word from its ancient Proto-Indo-European roots to its modern cultural clashes. Along the way, we examine what freedom meant to medieval peasants, Civil War soldiers, civil rights activists, post-9/11 veterans, and protestors across the globe. This isn’t just about politics—it’s about language, identity, and the stories we tell when we say we’re free.

This episode is dedicated to all those who have stood up, spoken out, and sacrificed for freedom.

Sources

• Oxford English Dictionary, "freedom," "free"
• Online Etymology Dictionary
• Declaration of Independence, U.S. Archives
• The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "I Have a Dream," 1963
• FDR's Four Freedoms Speech, 1941
• Arabic chant translations from the Arab Spring
• Scholarly work: Orlando Patterson, Freedom in the Making of Western Culture
• John Lewis interviews and writings
• Jon Meacham, The Soul of America
• Various translations from native speakers & linguistic databases

Music Credit Courtesy of Alegend from https://pixabay.com/users/jeremusic70-25199461/

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Share your suggestion for words or phrases, thoughts on the episodes, or just engage with us on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/lexiconnedpodcast/