On today’s episode, I want to introduce you to a traditional British festival and celebration that you probably haven't heard of before! Bonfire Night, held on November 5th every year, is a day when we set off fireworks, light fires, and so on! However, it is the history connected to religious disagreements and failed terrorist plots that is the most interes ... Show More
Apr 27
385. Should We Boycott the 2026 World Cup? (English Vocabulary Lesson)
Four years ago, I made an episode titled “Should we boycott the Qatar World Cup?” As you might remember, the tournament in Qatar was surrounded by criticism. There were concerns about human rights, especially the treatment of migrant workers who helped build the stadiums. There w ... Show More
22m 25s
Apr 20
384. The Scramble for Africa (English Vocabulary Lesson)
In the 1870s, about ten percent of Africa had been colonised by European countries. But over the next few decades, over ninety percent of the continent was taken, occupied, divided, and partitioned by governments far away in places like London, Berlin, and Paris. We call this per ... Show More
29m 3s
Sep 2024
TERROR IN NEW YORK STOPPED: 20+ English Phrasal Verbs and Advanced Words
<p>Join us as we break down a recent news story involving a planned attack on a Jewish neighborhood in New York City. In this video, we'll explain 18 important terms from the report, including ‘alleged,’ ‘propaganda,’ and ‘Hasidic Jews,’ to help English learners improve their ... Show More
18m 15s
Sep 2025
The Penal Laws: An Irish Apartheid?
<p><em>This podcast opens a broader series on the 1798 Rebellion, but also works as a stand alone episode.</em></p><p>For over a century, Irish Catholics and Presbyterians were subjected to the Penal Laws. Although the vast majority of the population, they were banned from voting ... Show More
47m 19s
Mar 2025
235. The Viceroy, The Psychopath, and The Merchant: The Irish in Empire (Ep 3)
Ireland may have been England’s first colony but, by the 17th century, Irishmen were carving out their own imperial legacies in India. Gerald Aungier, an ambitious East India Company official, saw Bombay as a new frontier for plantation and trade. Drawing from his family’s planta ... Show More
51m 58s