English spelling largely reflects the state of the language in the late 1500s. In this episode, we look at one of the first English spelling books, and we explore several plays by William Shakespeare to examine the way he rhymed words. We also explore the way modern spellings reflect the pronunciation of words during the Elizabethan period. Works discussed i ... Show More
Jul 15
Episode 184: Spelling Says a Lot (Part 1)
Over the course of the 1500s, English spelling started to become standardized, but the pronunciation of the language continued to change. By the early 1600s, English scholars noticed that spellings no longer reflected the way words were pronounced, and they recommended phonetic r ... Show More
1h 20m
May 2025
Episode 183: The Fabric of Our Lives
In the early 1600s, cotton fabrics made in India were in high demand throughout Asia and Africa. When the English and Dutch arrived in India and Japan, they realized how popular the fabric was, and they soon began to ship it back to northern Europe. In this episode, we explore ho ... Show More
1h 16m
Apr 2025
932. What is so great about Shakespeare? 🎭 (with Mum & Dad)
In this episode I talk to my parents about the topic of William Shakespeare. We discuss the enduring appeal and significance of William Shakespeare's work, biographical details of his life, the key themes in Shakespeare’s plays, and the impact of his language on modern English. W ... Show More
1h 30m
Sep 2018
Macabre Part 1: The Gruesome Tale of Burke and Hare
In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we begin by discussing a random quick fact involving the curious old practice of mailing children.
We then move on to discussing the show’s first sponsor, RXBar. For 25% off your first order, visit https://rxbar.com/brainfood and enter the ... Show More
1h 31m
Jun 2023
FULL SHOW: The Day We Played Homophonic Spelling Bee
Today on our show we played 2 amazing games. First was the Homophonic Spelling Bee where we asked you to spell a word, but since it’s a homophone, you don’t know which word you’re spelling! We also played a game of can you guess this TV show theme song! Today, Diamond also shares ... Show More
1h 52m
Sep 4
Bitesize Ep 105: A Shocking Chapter of British History: The Day London Nearly Drowned in Dung
📥 Grab the FREE PDF with 15 advanced expressions from this episode, complete with quizzes and example sentences, to learn today’s vocabulary 3x faster! 🎓 Join my weekly online group lessons In this episode, we dive into a shocking chapter of British history: The Great Hors ... Show More
26m 37s
Aug 20
Speak Better English with Harry | Episode 549
In this episode, you will learn how native English speakers talk when they are not exact. This is common in everyday conversation when people speak about numbers, amounts, or descriptions. Instead of giving a precise answer, they use simple words to give only a general idea. You ... Show More
12m 19s