English with Dane

Strange news is back! In this episode, we’re reading three bizarre news stories from around the world while picking up plenty of useful English vocabulary along the way. A flight from New Jersey to Mallorca gets turned around because of a suspicious Bluetooth device name, Uber reveals the strangest items passengers have left behind in their cars, and a man in China attempts a highly questionable c...

Here's an article I came across from that had a good lesson to teach. It's about self-serving bias, and how we protect ourselves and blame others when we feel like the idea we have of ourselves is challenged. As always, we'll mine it for vocabulary, so make sure you write down the words that catch your eye.  Let me know what you think.

I really enjoyed putting this episode together. I've lived both in the U.S and Europe, and I've always been intrigued by the cultural differences. I thought it would be interesting to explore some of these differences, specifically around work. I think there's a fundamental difference in philosophy when it comes to this topic and understanding where it comes from gives us a good ide...

Your English is fine. But something still feels a bit off, right? In this episode I want to show you something I learned at university that completely changed the way I understand how language works. It's one of those things that once you start paying attention, you'll see it everywhere. This episode is all about something I like to call "pre-loading" and how you can use to rea...

Let's talk about the things that make your English sound natural without you having to think about grammar every two seconds. The phrases that carry tone, attitude, and meaning way beyond the literal words. We're going to cover "chunking", "discourse markers", and the hidden layer of communication that controls tone, intention, and flow.

Episode Transcript I started teaching again and I noticed a common mistake that people make regardless of level. I think it's because it feels like it's just a minor detail, but minor or not, I don't want you to make this mistake anymore. + We read a short article about an interesting topic that happens to be packed full of useful vocabulary, so get ready to level up.

Three bizarre news stories from around the world that are sure to give us a bunch of new vocabulary. A man who accidentally hacked into 7000 robot vacuums, a man who introduced a WW1 era bomb into his body, and Draco Malfoy goes viral in China. I swear I didn't make any of these up. Controlling 7000 robots Frenchman with lodged projectile Malfoy viral in China

CLASSES I have a list of stuff that I keep adding to, of words, expressions, phrases, etc that I want to talk about on the show. This episode is me going through this list and telling you all about how to use them, the nuances behind each one, and giving you ways in which you can incorporate them into your day-to-day with practical examples.

GROUP SESSIONS I LOVE THIS EPISODE. It's really strange to hear myself like this. This was one of the first every episodes of English with Dane and you can definitely tell. I was listening to old episodes, to see if I noticed much of a difference, and wow. It feels like a totally different person. This episode talks about stuff that we don't really consider in our day-to-day but that I f...

TRANSCRIPT (follow along while you listen) A fun, varied little mix. We're starting off with the first Human vs Machine chess duel (1996), followed by the story of a family that tried to scam a restaurant in Sydney by putting armpit hair in their food, and then we're finishing off with questions from listeners who are understandably looking for advice. A bunch of great vocabulary and exp...

TRANSCRIPT Get ready to learn a bunch of great vocabulary while analysing the importance of Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime show. We're going to read an article that features not only a review, but also provides the cultural context necessary to really grasp what we watched.

TRANSCRIPT What if there was a tool that could help your kids improve their English in a way they ACTUALLY like, while also allowing you the chance to connect with them? What if this tool also helped their critical thinking, problem solving and spatial-motor skills? What if I told you that this tool was video games? Before you dismiss this as a gimmick (a flashy or clever trick) let me try to remo...

Advanced Listening Practice - EPISODE TRANSCRIPT A New York Times article read-along about the ongoing clashes between ICE agents and the people of Minneapolis. You'll find that this episode is a bit more demanding than others I've put out in the past, in that it features more complex sentence structures and trickier vocabulary. I want this to be a test of your listening and general comp...

Some tragic news regarding a high-speed train accident in Spain. At around 19:30 on Sunday 18th, a high-speed train derailed and crashed into another oncoming train. At the time of recording, at least 39 people have lost their lives, with dozens more in critical condition. On this episode, we read the news story surrounding the events that took place, in order to gain further insight into what hap...

We are OBSESSED with sports metaphors. I think it's because in the U.S sport have become a religion, and the corporate culture that they have exported mirrors this. Anywhere you look you find things like "the final stretch", "a heavy hitter" "out of left field", but do you know how to use them, or even for where they come from? This episode is a guide on how to u...

I thought it would be cool to share this with you. I've been on a journey the last few years, and this past year (2025) was really the year it all clicked (or made sense). This is a bit of a personal episode, but hopefully that wont deter you from listening to it. There's some great vocab in there as always, and a challenge for you at the end of the episode. WARNING: you're going to...

Here's part two of this article read along, that features what are probably the two most important ways in which we sabotage ourselves. Thinking of the WHOLE instead of the next part, and also lying to ourselves with what it is we actually want. This article has really helped me to reevaluate things in my life and I hope it does the same for you.

This article I came across had a refreshing perspective on the psychology behind how we stop ourselves from reaching our goals and how we kid ourselves (cómo nos engañamos) when it comes to actually changing things in our lives. With New Year's resolutions around the corner, what better time to reflect on how we're holding ourselves back. I thought it was a fun article to read together b...

Learning English with TV Shows is all good. But not all genres are created equal . This is a guide to the most underrated genres of shows that you might be ignoring. Yes, Friends and How I Met Your Mother are fun and stuff, but you might be sleeping on where the learning is actually happening. This episode is a wake up call for those of you whose main exposure to English is related to your TV. + L...

Read this article with me. We change the way we speak depending on who we're talking to. I think we can all agree on that. Some do it more than others, and some ethnicities HAVE to do it more than others, in order to try to avoid being stigmatised or stereotyped. I thought this was SUCH an interesting article about the Costs of Code-Switching and how we are impacted by it. This article focuse...

A look into some of the most common phrases and verbs you can use at work to sound like you know what you're talking about 😉. To circle back, to touch base, to sync up and more. + Dane's new immersion project right here in Madrid.

Conversación en inglés para practicar. This conversation features my friend and celebrity hairstylist / make up artist Ruben Ramos @theawakeningofstyle We talk about the importance of feeling good about yourself and how that impacts how you act upon the world, if beauty standards are getting away from us a bit, if botox and other procedures are a "slipper slope", and more. Ruben's E...

¿Es posible criar hijos bilingües sin aunque tú no lo seas? Pues sí. Y no lo digo yo, lo dice la ciencia. Este episodio responde a muchas preguntas que tenemos como padres sobre la educación de nuestros hijos en cuanto a la enseñanza de idiomas. ¿Se van a confundir si les exponemos al inglés desde muy pequeños? ¿Qué podemos hacer desde hoy mismo para que puedan desarrollar esta habilidad? ¿Me teng...

Noticias en inglés para practicar. Cómo Trump esta arrinconando a los Latinos y por qué los jóvenes están tan desilusionados con todo . I hope you enjoy this type of episode, because I think it's really imporant (and interesting) to talk about these kinds of things. This isn't a political podcast, as you know, but sometimes we need to talk about the world to try to make sense of it. Tell...

Hoy hablo con mi amigo Coco Montes ( @coco.montes ), uno de los chefs más talentosos de España y creador de PABÚ, un restaurante que hace poco recibió su primera estrella Michelin 🌟Hablamos sobre el proceso secreto de evaluación de la guía Michelin y si realmente es como lo pintan en las pelis o en los programas de cocina. También sobre por qué ser chef puede ser una experiencia tan solitaria, qu...