English Learning for Curious Minds | A More Interesting Way To Learn English

  Today is the first of our 4-part mini-series on British food, and we're going to talk about something you might not expect to appear in a series on British food: the oyster. In today's episode we cover: Introduction to the mini-series on British food Oysters in Roman times (and how Romans were crazy about oysters) Oysters as a poor man's food How people used to eat oysters (with beer, salt and p...

  Episode #015 - English Learning for Curious Minds Why Is All The News So Negative? And What If It Wasn't? **** Why is the news always full of disasters? What would the world be like if it wasn't? Let's take a look at some of the theories about why the news is always so negative, and imagine what kind of world might exist if it wasn't. In today's episode we cover: What is the point of the news? W...

  Have you ever wondered why January 1st is the start of the new year? In today's episode we cover: History of the celebrations of New Year When New Year used to be in mid-March How the Romans tried to fix the calendar The longest year in history The Julian calendar (why it worked, and why it didn't) The pope who brought things back to January 1st New year today Key vocabulary: Pressing, Conversat...

  Episode #011 - English Learning for Curious Minds The Book That Made Christmas, Christmas **** Today we take a look at the book that is fundamental to our modern understanding of what makes Christmas, Christmas. No, it's not the Bible. It was written in Victorian London, and tells the story of an old miser who discovers the Christmas spirit. In today's episode we cover: The publication of A Chri...

  Part 3 of the 3-part series on "Who owns the sea, sky, and space?" We humans do a pretty good job of dividing up ownership of the world. But what about beyond that? Who owns space? Who decides who owns that, and why does it matter? In today's episode we cover: Why nobody used to even think about space ownership The Cold War (and what people thought it meant for weapons in space) The Space Treaty...

  Part 2 of the 3-part series on "Who owns the sea, sky, and space?" Ever wondered who actually owns the sky?  Today we'll discuss who owns it, why it's still not clear who does own most of it, and why that doesn't actually really matter. What does 'the sky' actually mean? Different parts of 'the sky' Why only the very bottom of the sky matters The 13th Century law upon which western laws are base...

  Part 1 of the 3-part series on "Who owns the sea, sky, and space?" Who Owns The Sea (And Why Does It Matter)? *** Ever wondered who actually owns the sea? Learn about who owns 2/3 of the surface area of the world, why countries want to claim ownership of rocks in the middle of nowhere, and why this matters. In today's episode we cover: Introduction to the 3-part mini series Who owns the world's...

  "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun" - Mao Zedong, 1927 "In the 21st century, culture is power" - Park Geun-hye (ex President of South Korea, home of Gangnam Style) How do other countries win the political game without force? Why is language such a fantastic tool to project power across the world? What is Donald Trump doing for US interests outside the US?  Learn about how soft pow...

  In today's podcast we go in depth into why you should use podcasts to learn English, and explain some of the best techniques to maximise your English learning with podcasts. We'll explain how you can take a 10 minute English podcast and turn it into an intensive 2 hour lesson, where you work on your English listening, speaking, reading and writing.  Then you can decide whether you're a serious E...

  Today we're going to be taking a look at 5 of the most amazing prison escapes in history.  We'll travel to South Korea, Mexico, Germany, and the US, and discover some of the ingenious ways in which prisoners evaded their guards. Escape 1: John Herbert Dillinger and the wooden pistol Escape 2: Choi Gap Bok, the South Korean yoga expert Escape 3: The Alcatraz escape - but did it really happen? Esc...

  Ever wondered if there are places in the world where planes can't fly?  From mountainous regions to hostile states, from theme parks to ancient temples, it's time to find out where planes can and can't fly. A time when Western aeroplanes couldn't go over all of Russia and China How countries use their airspace as a political tool Why planes can't go over Tibet Why planes don't fly over Antarctic...

  Wondering what the English Learning for Curious Minds podcast is all about, who is behind it, and whether it's for you? In today's inaugural episode, we'll cover who should be listening to the podcast ( hint - if you want to improve your English and learn interesting things about the way the world works, this is you ), who is behind the podcast ( an English native speaker and avid language learn...

Learning English doesn't need to be boring. You don't need to drown in grammar books, you don't need to spend hours memorising phrasal verbs. English Learning for Curious Minds is the podcast that teaches you English through teaching you fascinating things about the world. No boring listening exercises, no drills, no scripted conversations. Just thoroughly researched, utterly fascinating stories....