The edge of the Grand Canyon. A remote mountaintop. A medieval cathedral. Some places are so mystical you feel like you're close to another dimension of space and time. There's a term for such locales: thin places. And: did you ever go tick-tacking a few nights before Halloween? It's pranks like tapping ominously on windows without being caught or tossing co ... Show More
Nov 24
Deep Fried Air (Rebroadcast) - 24 November 2025
Eels, orts, and Wordle! Sweden awarded its most prestigious literary award to a book about . . . eels. The Book of Eels reveals the mysterious life cycle of this sea creature and its significance for famous figures from Aristotle to Sigmund Freud. Plus, what's an ort? It's the ... Show More
53m 45s
Nov 17
No Bones - 17 November 2025
Whippoorwills, bob whites, and chickadees. How do we decide the names of birds and what to call their calls? Plus, the last syllables of Arkansas and Kansas are pronounced differently, but they come from the same etymological root. And: What’s the best word to describe your relat ... Show More
53m 45s
Apr 2023
#215 Animal Idioms You Can Use in Daily Conversation
<p>In this week's episode, we're exploring the fun topic of animals, except we're not learning simple animal words or noises they make. This is more advanced.<br/><br/>We'll be looking at a few animal idioms, expressions and phrasal verbs that you can use in y ... Show More
32m 38s
Oct 2017
The Big Lick
The Tennessee Walking Horse has a natural gait that's famously smooth. And, if trained in a certain way, it can perform a walk that's even more spectacular, called the Big Lick. But, there's a secret behind how, exactly, these horses are trained to do the crowd-pleasing step they ... Show More
25m 35s
Sep 2023
151 - Expression: To Steer Clear
This lesson has two parts. In part one, you'll learn the common English expression "to steer clear," you'll hear a joke and you'll do some pronunciation exercises.
In part two (which will be posted shortly), we'll be talking about moose in the US. You know what a moose is, right? ... Show More
16m 21s
Mar 2021
A Rather Large Cat (Pre-Intermediate)
Buy me a coffee to say thank you for the podcast!
===
Kåre catches a polar bear and decides to take him to the King of Denmark as a present. On the way, they stay the night in Dovrefjell. There, on Christmas Eve, the trolls come to eat all the people's food. But they aren't exp ... Show More
18m 3s
Nov 2021
Horses | Gentle Bedtime Reading for Sleep
Ease into rest with this calm bedtime reading on horses, a peaceful way to quiet the mind and find relief from insomnia. Benjamin’s soothing cadence explores the history, biology, and cultural significance of these remarkable animals, from their domestication to their role in hum ... Show More
34m 5s