60 Words

<p>Annie McEwen went to a mountain in Pennsylvania to help catch some migratory owls. Then Scott Weidensaul peeled back the owl’s feathery face disc, so that she could look at the back of its eyeball. No owls were harmed in the process, but this brief glimpse into the inner worki ... Show More

<p>In the weeks following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a young doctor in Germany sees that abortion pills are urgently needed in Ukraine. And she wants to help. But getting the drugs into the country means going through Poland, which has some of the strictest abortion laws ... Show More

<p>In this episode, first aired in 2011, we talk about the meaning of a good game — whether it's a pro football playoff, or a family showdown on the kitchen table. And how some games can make you feel, at least for a little while, like your whole life hangs in the balance. This h ... Show More

Book bans, disinformation, the wild world of the internet. Free speech debates are all around us. What were the Founding Fathers thinking when they created the First Amendment, and how have the words they wrote in the 18th century been stretched and shaped to fit a world they nev ... Show More

Over 100 years of conflict, two warring nations, five monarchs on either side and countless casualties in a dispute over claims to the throne: in this episode, <a href="https://podfollow.com/gone-medieval/view" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gone Medieval's</a> Matt Le ... Show More

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the idea of a just war. There were theories about a justified or noble war before the birth of Christ, but it was his reported teachings and a powerful influence, particularly on the Emperor Constantine, which set the standard which had to be kept ... Show More

The history of the English Language: 1066 is the most important date in the history of English.  Why does English have a "double vocabulary system"?  Why do some words feel casual, while others feel formal?  Why is English spelling so confusing?  The answers to those questions ca ... Show More

It is a war with many names - The Yom Kippur War, the Ramadan War, the October War. What is clear 50 years after it was fought is that it was a conflict that really did change the world. Michael Goldfarb tells the story of the war that began on the 6 October 1973 and ended less t ... Show More

<p>Today we have a great question from a student who asked about the difference between the words <a href= "https://www.espressoenglish.net/lifetime-vs-lifelong-vs-lifespan/"> <strong>lifetime, lifelong, and lifespan.</strong></a></p> <p>These words all seem to refer to the time ... Show More