We have books for language-lovers and recommendations for history buffs. • How did the word boondoggle come to denote a wasteful project? The answer involves the Boy Scouts, a baby, a craft project, and a city council meeting. • Instead of reversing just individual letters, some palindromes are sentences with reversed word order. • Also squeaky clean, dad, i ... Show More
May 19
Bean Counting - 19 May 2025
In the 1920’s, Americans were warned of a new danger sweeping across the country. This menace that harmed people’s health, ruined minds, and threatened marriages. The culprit? The national obsession with a new form of entertainment: crossword puzzles. Plus: why are accountants re ... Show More
53m 45s
Mar 2023
140.2. - The Story of Dr. Seuss ("The Father of Children's Literature")
If you don't know who Dr. Seuss is, you should!He was a cartoonist and author that brought us The Cat in the Hat, The Grinch, Green Eggs and Ham and over 40 other incredible books for children and adults around the world. He's been called "the father of contemporary children's li ... Show More
39m 49s
Dec 2022
135.2 - The Story of "Jingle Bells"
In today’s lesson you’re going to hear the story of the creator of Jingle Bells, his questionable character and we’ll go through the lyrics of the song so if you want to sing it in English, you can. This is Part 2. In Part 1, we spoke about the common English expression Bells a ... Show More
34m 56s
May 2024
How Can We Be More Effective With Language?
Have you ever wondered what’s up with double negation, the history of gender neutral pronouns, or why swearing is taboo? Then get ready for this week’s guest, linguist Anne Curzan! Anne and Jonathan talk about how the English language has evolved since the 1300s and how our words ... Show More
55m 20s
Mar 2023
140 - Expression: Cat Got Your Tongue?
It's a ridiculous visual, is it not?! If the cat's got your tongue, you can't talk, you're speechless! And that's pretty much how we use it in English conversation. We often ask someone "Cat got your tongue?" in situations when they can't respond, or they don't respond. Listen to ... Show More
19m 57s
Sep 2022
129.2 - The Monster Study
The Monster Study (aka Tudor Study) is an unethical psychology experiment that was conducted in 1939 on 22 orphans in Davenport, Iowa. The goal was to a test the theory that by deeply worrying about starting to stutter, one may develop the speech disorder. Mary Tudor, a graduate ... Show More
35m 57s
May 2024
Your English Five a Day #30.1
E278: 🎙️ Welcome to The English Like a Native Podcast with me, your host, Anna! Tune in to Week 30, Day 1 of Your English Five a Day where we dive into vocabulary enrichment. Join us on this journey as we explore five new words each weekday to boost your lexicon.
😂 In today's e ... Show More
14m 31s
May 2024
Air worms and fire breathing dragons: Old English animal stories with Hana Videen
982. This week, we delve into the fascinating world of Old English with medievalist Hana Videen, author of "The Deorhord." We'll uncover the secrets of Old English animal names, from "walking weaver" for spider to the ominous "unland" for a whale's deceptive island. Find Hana Vi ... Show More
30m 56s