logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2025
6m 43s

Did a civilisation exist on Earth before...

BBC Radio
About this episode

Do you believe that life exists on other planets? Well, here's an even more mysterious idea: Have you ever considered that there might have been another civilisation with advanced technology on planet Earth... before humans? Beth and Phil discuss this and teach you some new vocabulary.

Find a full transcript, worksheet and interactive quiz for this episode at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english_2025/ep-251023

THE READING ROOM Improve your reading here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/features/the_reading_room

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER: ✔️ https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/newsletters

FIND BBC LEARNING ENGLISH HERE: Visit our website ✔️ https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish Follow us ✔️ https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/followus

LIKE PODCASTS? Try some of our other popular podcasts including: ✔️ Learning English Stories ✔️ Learning English from the News ✔️ Learning English for Work

They're all available by searching in your podcast app.

Up next
Jul 30
The Enhanced Games
What would the world of athletics look like if athletes were allowed to take drugs? Pippa and Neil discuss the Enhanced Games. Learn English from authentic BBC programme clips. Get a free worksheet, quiz and transcript for this episode: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/engli ... Show More
6m 37s
Jul 23
Children in warzones
The most recent figure from 2024 says that 520 million children are living in conflict zones. That's about one in every five children worldwide. Some of the discussions in this episode will be about death and trauma. Neil and Becca hear from a journalist who has spent some time w ... Show More
6m 44s
Jul 16
What's in a footballer's brain?
Football players are faster than ever before. But in a game where every tiny decision counts, elite clubs are turning to neuroscience to understand how players can think, decide and perform even faster. Neil and Georgie discuss this and teach you some new vocabulary.Get a free wo ... Show More
6m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2024
Aliens from Earth?
Was there a technologically advanced species living on Earth long before humans? And if one had existed, how would we know? (Updated from 2022) For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Als ... Show More
26m 44s
Jun 2022
Lost Worlds: Aliens from Earth?
Was there a technologically advanced species living on Earth long before humans? And if one had existed, how would we know? This is the first episode of our new four-part series, Lost Worlds. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts ... Show More
26m 53s
May 2024
The Silurian Hypothesis
The idea that we aren’t the first advanced civilization to live on Earth sounds like a fringe theory, but it raises a good question: How can we be so sure that a civilization didn’t arise and die on Earth so long ago that any trace of it has been erased?See omnystudio.com/listene ... Show More
49m 10s
Dec 2022
Do Aliens Exist?
How likely is it that we’ll find intelligent alien life on other planets? Are there extraterrestrial civilizations that we could contact - or that could contact us? And what would these aliens be like? We’re going to try to answer these big questions with the help of two scientis ... Show More
20m 53s
Oct 2024
The Shadow Biosphere: Is There Other Life on Earth?
As far as we know life evolved once in the universe – here on Earth in the form of life as we know it. Could life have originated in other conditions with different raw materials? If so, we may be sharing the planet with lifeforms we don’t recognize yet.See omnystudio.com/listene ... Show More
42m 42s
Oct 2023
Life On Earth & Elsewhere
This episode features a conversation I had with Paula Kirby at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in Scotland, tackling themes of life as we know it - how it came to be on earth, and where else it may occur in our universe. We mused on the likelihood of alien lifeforms app ... Show More
45m 40s
Jan 2022
The Silurian Hypothesis
If an advanced civilization existed on earth several million years ago, would we actually be able to detect that they were here? It may sound like conspiracy theorist bait, but a serious and balanced look at the question reveals a lot about geology, climate and the search for ali ... Show More
58m 6s
Oct 2020
3. Life on Venus? (English Vocabulary Lesson)
FULL TRANSCRIPT NOW AVAILABLE: https://thinkinginenglish741418158.wordpress.com/  On today’s episode, we will discuss the recent discovery of signs of life on the Planet Venus, talk about why it is surprising, and think about whether searching for alien life is important.   Che ... Show More
12m 53s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami