logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2025
32m 51s

⭐ Feature: The Coast is Clear and The Gr...

Shana Thompson
About this episode
In this episode, you'll learn how to use the common English expression “the coast is clear,” which means it’s safe to proceed because no one is watching or in the way. After breaking down the literal and figurative meanings, as well as the origin, you'll hear three vivid examples—one featuring a mama bird, a cheating girlfriend, and shoplifting teens. The ... Show More
Up next
Jul 16
⭐ Feature: The Truth About Shark Attacks in U.S. Waters
Every year when I go to the beach, I have the same thought: Are there sharks out there in that dark water? It's not an irrational fear. Years ago, a student at my university, Lucas Ransom, was surfing off the California coast when a great white shark attacked him. I didn't know h ... Show More
22m 59s
Jul 6
216 - Soccer Vocabulary and the Miracle Match
While watching soccer matches in Brazil, I quickly realized I had no idea how to comment on a game in Portuguese. There were so many moments when I wanted to yell at the TV along with everyone else, but I needed an entire Portuguese lesson just to keep up! I figured the same thin ... Show More
27m 37s
Jun 30
215 - Countries and Nationalities (Pronunciation and Quiz!)
How do you say the names of countries and nationalities in American English? Is it Swiss or Switzerlanders? Spaniard or Spanish? Dutch or Netherlanders? In this episode, we'll practice the pronunciation of 48 World Cup countries that qualified this year, and along the way, you'll ... Show More
27m 57s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2023
The Escape from Alcatraz Prison
Locked cells, surrounded by an impenetrable concrete fortress, surrounded by high barbed wire fences, surrounded by water, on an island in San Francisco Bay. Alcatraz was considered the most 'inescapable' prison in the world. The worst of the worst were sent there. So how, in 196 ... Show More
52m 14s
Nov 2024
A History of Escaping from Alcatraz Prison
<p>Alcatraz was the jewel in the crown of America's prison system. The wind-swept island fortress was the final stop for the nation's most dangerous criminals, including the notorious gangsters Al Capone and George 'Machine Gun' Kelly. It was thought to be escape-proof - at least ... Show More
36m 48s
Oct 2008
Did someone really escape from Alcatraz?
<p>Alcatraz was one of the United States' most notorious prisons -- isolated on an island and surrounded by sharks. Check out this HowStuffWorks podcast to learn more about the fact and fiction surrounding escape attempts at Alcatraz.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices ... Show More
12m 4s
May 2022
The Impossible Escape From America’s Most Secure Prison | Escape From Alcatraz
It was known as the world’s most secure prison: The Rock. Sitting in the San Francisco Bay, surrounded by the freezing currents of the Pacific Ocean, it was a fortress from which there was no escape. But on June 12, 1962, three men hatched a plan to do just that. Today, we explor ... Show More
1h 18m
Oct 2024
Selects: How the Escape from Alcatraz Worked
In 1962, three ordinary criminals transcended into folk heroes when they crawled out of their cells in Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary took to the water in a homemade raft and were never heard from again. Could they have possibly survived? Find out more in this classic episode.See ... Show More
54m 30s
Nov 2017
Case 67: The Battle of Alcatraz
<div>In the 1940s, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in the San Francisco Bay was a state-of-the-art facility. Deemed to be completely escape-proof, convicts from all over the United States who were regarded as dangerous and incapable of rehabilitation were often transferred to the g ... Show More
1h 5m
Oct 2017
The Escape
In 1962, brothers John and Clarence Anglin, along with fellow incarcerated person Frank Morris, managed to escape the one prison in America that was supposed to be inescapable: Alcatraz. Alcatraz is surrounded by icy waters, so the men would’ve needed a raft in order to escape th ... Show More
28m 13s
Sep 2024
Occupy Alcatraz!
Alcatraz! For a lot of us, this former island prison occupies an iconic space in the American zeitgeist. It's been home to some of the country's most notorious criminals, and has been the inspiration for tons of top-notch works of fiction and cinema. Yet in today's episode, Ben, ... Show More
39m 49s
Mar 2024
Last Days of Alcatraz
Rerun: The world’s most famous high-security jail, Alcatraz, evicted its last prisoner on 21st March, 1963. Met by a huge crowd of reporters who asked him what he thought of ‘the rock’, armed robber Frank Weatherman responded, “Alcatraz was never no good for nobody.” For nearly t ... Show More
11m 29s
Mar 2023
Escape The Ghosts From Alcatraz
It’s true crime, mystery, and the paranormal all rolled up into one historic location – Alcatraz! Alcatraz Island is a small island a little over one mile off the coast of San Francisco. It’s home to the infamous Alcatraz federal prison which housed the worst of the worst crimina ... Show More
57m 58s