Shady Characters
On @99percentinvisible again! This time round I spoke to Will Aspinall about the history of the storied em dash (‘—′, that is, rather than ‘–′ or ‘-′, but you knew that). Listen at https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/658-the-em-dash/, or read my own earlier piece on AI and the em dash at https://shadycharacters.co.uk/2025/08/the-dash-for-ai/.
The Em Dash - 99% Invisible

Last summer, Bryan Vance found himself in an argument with a stranger on Reddit. Vance, a Portland-based journalist who runs Stumptown Savings, a newsletter covering local grocery deals, had been accused of using ChatGPT to write his content. The evidence? His use of em dashes. “A Reddit user accused me of using AI, pointing to

99% Invisible
Feb 4 at 9:10pmFedica
Show threadDave bauerFeb 5
@shadychars @99percentinvisible This was a really good one!
Show threadDoug WilsonFeb 5
@shadychars @99percentinvisible Yeah! I'm in the middle of the episode now and was going to say you sound great.
Show threadShady CharactersFeb 5
@onpaperwings @99percentinvisible Thanks, Doug! It was very stimulating to talk to Will - he'd already thought a lot about the subject, so I was mostly filling in some small gaps.