Today on the podcast we're celebrating Star Trek's Captain of the Enterprise, Captain James T Kirk.  I'll talk a little bit about the show and share some quotes from the show.

You will also see an unexpected appearance of Tommy the cat in this episode. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to sit in the sun or not.

There isn't much vocabulary today, it's just a fun episode. 

Vocabulary

renowned - something that is well known

catchphrase - a commonly heard phrase related to a character, TV show or person

to boldly go - to go with courage and bravery

tackles - to deal with

the lot of man - there are many different meanings for 'lot' in English as you can see from this page on the Meriam Webster dictionary. this is use is 3B on the list, one's way of life or worldly fate

Today, in celebration of the International Day of Forests, I was reading from Elif Shafak's new book The Island of Missing Trees. This book is based both in Cyprus and the UK and covers a couple of different times. One of the main characters of the story is a Fig tree, brought over from Cyprus.

In addition, I mentioned Peter Wohlleben's book, The Hidden Life of Trees. This book is written by a man who is the custodian of a German forest, but began his career as a forester. He has a great respect for the trees and, as well as bringing us up to date with some of the modern scientific understanding about trees, he also tells stories about the trees in his care.

Fig tree - Apparently it's fairly common for people to bring fig trees to northern countries and burying the tree each year helps it to stay alive in the cold winter weather, however, it's quite traumatic for the tree.

Hawthorn - Is a very common genus of tree and provides food and support for over 200 kinds of insects, as such it is considered to have a high ecological value.

Today we also have a quick introduction to my Grandma's cat who was staying with me.

Vocabulary

emigrated immigrant - emigrate is to leave your country, immigrate is to arrive in another country to live. Unfortunately in English, immigrate, has a far more negative connotation than emigrate, despite effectively meaning the same thing. From a UK perspective, it's considered acceptable for British people to emigrate to Spain, but not acceptable (especially right now) for anyone, especially refugees and people in need to immigrate to the UK. The irony is real, but rarely discussed in the UK or America.

hermaphrodite - someone or thing that has both sexual organs

loggers - people who cut trees down as a job

Defoliated -to lose the leaves

scorched - to burn in the sun

stand-offish - to not be very friendly

swathes - very large areas of land

mycorrhizal networks - the root and fungus network between trees

dilemma - a difficult decision or situation where there is no clear or good answer

chloroplast - the green colour in plants

genetic variations - changes or differences at a gene level

offspring - children

transgenerational memory - memory that is known across generations

archaea - a group of micro-organisms that are similar to, but evolutionarily distinct from bacteria

isolated happenstance - something unpredicted that happened, serendipity

intrinsic - part of someone or something

solidarity - to stand together and support one another

immense sadness - extreme or great

sapling - a small tree, usually between 2-5 years old

In today's episode we're continuing to look at different internet newspaper sources you could use to help you learn English. We're trying to understand what you should look for to make sure you're choosing the right source for you. This includes making sure you don't feel overwhelmed by the article (because it's too hard or has too much new vocabulary) and today we're considering choosing your sources based on your values.

Today we're studying the story of Trump being reinstated on Facebook and Instagram. This is a little different to yesterday's story (Ep 118 - Marie Kondo) because Trump tends to be such a controversial person and because there are allegiances within the media that are either for or against Trump.

This time we will consider what to look for in your sources, as well as the background of your sources and how they might make you feel.

Article Links

Engoo -https://engoo.com/app/daily-news/article/donald-trump-allowed-back-on-facebook-after-2-year-ban/84yP7qCyEe2_eJfl4php1g

NPR - https://www.npr.org/2023/01/25/1146961818/trump-meta-facebook-instagram-ban-ends

Reuters -  https://www.reuters.com/technology/meta-restore-donald-trumps-facebook-instagram-accounts-2023-01-25/

Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jan/31/techscape-donald-trump-return-to-facebook-meta-instagram-chatbot

Fox News -  https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-issues-statement-meta-announces-year-facebook-ban

Vocabulary

Blocked - when you can't use social media any more because the company has prevented you from accessing your account

accounts restored - when you get access again

allegiance - where the loyalty lies. The people do you follow, pay attention to or take your leadership from.

twisted the truth - idiom - when someone changes the truth to suit their needs

unbiased - 'biased' means something that's in someone's favour, so 'unbiased' means something that doesn't benefit anyone in particular or benefits the public as a whole.

Inciting - to encourage

reinstated - to be able to do your job again

guardrails - literally protective rails, in this case it means the protection for people on social media platforms

sufficiently - enough

receded - to move back from.

banned - not allowed to do something or go somewhere anymore

storm the Capitol - in this context 'storm' means for many people to run into a building

implementing - to put into action

mass media machine - describes the system of private owners and corporations who control or run large conglomerations of media outlets, often across more than one country.

blind spots - idiom, it means something you aren't good at paying attention to or noticing, or something you purposefully overlook

mark a rocky new age for online discourse - 'mark' to identify or notice, 'rocky new age' 'rocky' as in uncomfortable or not easy, 'discourse' just means conversation. or discussion So, to identify a difficult time for online conversation

Fox News is a right wing American media company - 'right wing' means the more conservative and less socialist part of government

integrity - to follow your values and do what you said you would do

chide - to tell off or be angry with

niche - a small identified group of people

deplatforming - to ban a user from a social media platform, a new word

insurrection vs riot - insurrection means an illegal attempt to take power (aka coup), a riot is a group of people who are violent and causing damage

coup - an illegal take-over of power

whitewashing - whitewash is a paint-like mixture that is used to cover walls cheaply. It covers damage and makes everything look clean and nice. If we use whitewash like this we're using it as an idiom to mean covering something up and making it look nice.

legal disputes - disagreements that require legal support

fake news - news that is made of misinformation or lies instead of facts.

In today's episode we're looking at lots of articles about the same story. The goal is to figure out how we can identify good learning sources for English quickly and easily. We will consider the source, the vocabulary, the tone of the writing, the grammar and the purpose of the writing.

In today's episode I mention many different articles. You can find them all in the links below. The person our articles focus on is Marie Kondo.

Tomorrow we'll be doing a similar exercise with a different story.

Engoo

https://engoo.com/app/daily-news/article/marie-kondo-has-kind-of-given-up-tidying-her-house/NrRLOqMCEe2RFENmiYDh8w 

Financial Times

https://www.ft.com/content/432c520c-c4e3-41a7-85c3-7a47fa1cb506

Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/home/2023/01/26/marie-kondo-kurashi-inner-calm/

The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/jan/30/queen-of-clean-marie-kondo-says-she-has-kind-of-given-up-on-tidying-at-home

Channel News Asia

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/marie-kondo-tidying-mess-appreciate-life-children-family-3256916

NPR

https://www.npr.org/2023/01/29/1152149068/marie-kondo-revealed-shes-kind-of-given-up-on-being-so-tidy-people-freaked-out

Homes and Gardens

https://www.homesandgardens.com/news/marie-kondo-given-up-on-tidying

Watergate Scandal

In this episode I referenced the Watergate Scandal. This is an infamous scandal that took place in 1972. It involved President Nixon, who was involved in a cover-up of criminal activity.

https://www.britannica.com/event/Watergate-Scandal

Vocabulary

revelation - something that is revealed, usually dramatically

broken the internet - a modern phrase that means something became very popular

change of heart - idiom - to change your mind

bear in mind - to remember something or keep it in your mind.

paywall - when you find a page on the internet that you have to pay to access.

epiphany - when you have a 'brainwave' or sudden idea that makes everything you were confused about clear and understandable.

clinical tidiness - extreme, or more than normal levels of tidy

journalistic integrity - staying true to the values of good journalism, which includes seeking and unveiling the truth, revealing corruption, being honest and factual.

frazzled - overwhelmed, tired and worn out

Having trouble keeping up - idiom - having trouble maintaining a similar pace to everyone else.

Never fear - phrase, meaning don't be scared

hinge - literally, metal piece that help a door open and close. As an idiom 'everything hinges on this' - means a vital piece of information that changes everything

liberal broad pages - generally left leaning, or more socialist, 'broad pages' is the big page newspapers, alternatively the small page newspapers are called 'tabloids'. The broad pages are usually aimed at intellectual educated readers, where as the tabloids are typically aimed at the working class.

decluttering guru - 'guru' is often used to say someone is considered an expert at something. It follows the thing they are an expert in.

pivot to mess epitomizes - 'pivot' is similar to 'hinge' so this sentence means 'move or change direction' to mess is a perfect example of...

Meticulously - to do carefully and in detail

Clutter - stuff everywhere that isn't needed and has no place

Unfurled - similar to uncurl, often used to describe the way leaves uncurl.

Neat and tidy - idiom - used to describe tidy and well organised places

Lifestyle magazines - magazines, usually for women, that focus on homes, furniture, and lifestyle

Let's not even start - phrase used to say 'I've had enough, I don't want to talk about this'

Binge watched - to watch many episodes all at once

Organizer - someone or something that is good at or enjoys organising things

Reshaping - to change the shape of something

Decluttering - to take away all of the unnecessary or unneeded things or to find them a place.

Tidier - comparative adjective of 'tidy'

Happy International Women's Day!

I am always impressed by how much time and effort my students have put into learning English over the years. I know, to you, it often feels like it isn't enough or you haven't got as far as you'd have liked, but I find it inspiring and impressive. I'm grateful you put all of that time and effort in. I hope it helps you change your life. And maybe, in a little way, I can help you keep going on this journey.

Vocabulary

Stressed out - a phrase we use when we feel stress right now

broaden your horizons - the horizon is the point where the land meets the sky. This is an idiom which means we want to increase what you can see and what you know.

perspective - view or way of seeing things

different sources - from different places or people

major commitment - big or important task, or job or thing you have decided and agreed to do.

fantastically - very great or wonderful

super impressed/super guilty - the use of 'super' like this is very American and quite a recent slang development, it just means 'really'.

infamously - if something is 'famous' we all know about it, if something is 'infamous' we all know about it but because it's a bad thing.

have a gateway - we can use this term to mean 'a way in' or 'access point' to information or a different perspective or opinion that we otherwise couldn't see.

looming - something that is big, so big we can't really see around it. We often say 'looming on the horizon' to describe something that is going to be a big problem soon.

preachy - this is from the verb 'to preach' which is what religious people do. By adding a 'y' we make it more casual and instead describe when a person is trying to tell you to do something or change something in a way that is too obnoxious.

indigenous - groups of people who are native to a country or land

downhill from here - idiom - riding your bike up a hill is hard right? But riding it downhill is easy. So if something is 'downhill from here' then it's going to be easy from now on.

In today's episode I'm reading a poem called Uomini Cadranno, Italian for 'Men will fall' written by Seema Begum when she was 14. This poem considers the patriarchal society and the reality that within the patriarchy men push women down and hurt women and children so that they can progress.

You can watch Seema read her poem in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmHOZNU1RIg

For someone so young this poem is beautifully written, very emotive and brilliantly and powerfully constructed. I hope you enjoy it.

The poem is from the collection of stories, poems and non-fiction writing from British Muslim women in the book 'The Things I Would Tell You', which is edited by Sabrina Mahfouz. You can buy the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Things-Would-Tell-You-British/dp/0863561462

As I mentioned in the podcast, one of the things I love about poetry is the way that it breaks all the rules. What I mean by that is all of the things you've spent so long learning about English, sentence structure, punctuation, grammar, we can change all of it in a poem.

This is great, from a creative perspective, but very challenging from a learner's perspective.

This poem is no different. The structure, how it looks is different to how a normal piece of writing looks. The sentence structure is different, in some cases short sentences 'Tick Tock Tick Tock. 4 seconds.' In other cases very long and repetitive sentences.

In addition, with English poetry rhythm is often very important too. Here she uses the 'Tick Tock Tick Tock. 4 seconds' to set a rhythm for the piece. In English 'Tick Tock' is the sound a ticking clock makes so we get this clear rhythm to follow.

We can also see a careful use of words and ideas that really create very vivid pictures. The repetition of 'endless cold, endless storm, endless torture, endless war, endless genocide' really gives us this very dark and violent picture. Seema also connects stories and ideas. Later when the father 'cradles his anger in his heart', the way that we hold a new baby is by 'cradling it in our arms' so having him here instead cradling anger rather than his baby daughter is quite a clever use of language and gives us a vivid picture to get angry about.

Vocabulary

devouring - eating completely

torture - pain caused with a goal to extract information or more pain

genocide - killing a nation or group of people

seeds of greatness - the 'seeds' of anything in this kind of non-garden-related thing means the beginning or potential, so the potential for greatness

pure and spirited - 'pure' meaning pure of heart and 'spirited' meaning having energy or passion

audacity - boldness

foresaw - to see something before it happens, in this case I think she's being ironic, she's demonstrating that they can't see the future, or if they can they're prioritising the wrong thing.

cradles his anger in his heart - a cradle (noun) is the word we use to describe the place we put a baby to sleep, 'to cradle' (verb) is the word we use to describe the action of holding a baby safely in our arms.

weave a spell - 'weaving' is how we make material and a 'spell' is the idea of magic. This is another clever word use; connecting what's considered 'women's' work (weaving) with the magic that historically women around the world have been accused of. For example the witch burning of Christian history. But here instead, the women are being asked to use their magic to lure a man, exactly the thing they have been blamed for throughout time.

charm a man - charm is the act of flirting and flattering to make someone like you

prosperity - wealth

humbleness - to be humble is to be modest

be disciplined - to be well organised and motivated to do thing, in this case behave in an 'appropriate way'

prohibited - not allowed, either by law or some other rule.

stanza - when we read poetry it is often broken down into verses or stanzas, this is the alternative to a paragraph in other kinds of writing.

Welcome to part 2 (there are 4) of our International Women's Day celebration. In this episode I'll read a short excerpt from Reni Eddo-Lodge's book 'Why I'm no longer talking to white people about race.'

Reni is an award winning British journalist, author and podcaster who's writing has a focus on feminism and structural racism. The book began as a blog post and after release quickly became a best seller.   

You can find out more about her work on her website: https://renieddolodge.co.uk/

As I mentioned in the podcast, if you want to know more there are three ways you can access this work. You can buy the book. You can read the blog post or you can watch the Emma Watson interview. 

Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Longer-Talking-White-People-About/dp/1408870584

Blog Post: http://renieddolodge.co.uk/why-im-no-longer-talking-to-white-people-about-race/

Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JklR7jZT-zU 

Vocabulary

It flew off the shelves. - Idiom used to describe best selling books, or anything that sells well.

It's not, for the record. - 'for the record', idiom used before or after a phrase we want to clarify as true or factual.

tip of the iceberg - idiom, it literally means the small part of the iceberg that sits above the water and that we can see. When we talk about something being 'the tip of the iceberg' what we mean is that there is a lot more we don't know about.

monolith - literally tall column, in this case used to demonstrate something imposing and difficult to move or change

insidiousness - something that moves gradually or slowly but is very harmful

noxious - overpowering or bad, most commonly used to describe smells.

elusive - something that isn't easy to find, see or capture

intensification of personal prejudices of group think - there are two parts to this, first the 'intensification of personal prejudices' this means the increasing anger people feel about people who are different to them. The second part is 'group think', this is the idea that a lot of people can have similar ideas and once they connect it's hard for any of them to change their mind.

hierarchies - systems or people grouped so that some have a higher level or importance, priority or power than others.

pervasive - something that is starting to happen everywhere

take up the mantle - idiom, perhaps from the bible. The 'mantle' in this idiom refers to a cloak. The idea is that when the leader leaves his cloak the next leader picks it up and wears it. So, to 'take up the mantle' means to take on a role or commit to doing something someone else was doing before.

pipe up - British phrasal verb meaning to 'speak up'

inviting inertia - inertia is the tendency to do nothing or remain the same, so in this statement she means rather than moving forward we are trying to stay the same.

keenly feel - 'keenly' means acutely, so to 'keenly feel' something means you feel something deeply.

dismantle - to take apart

narratives - narratives are just stories, in this case the stories we tell ourselves.

we can't wait for a hero to swoop in - idiom, from superhero stories, especially Superman, meaning expecting someone to come and save the day.

feel the fire coursing through your veins - idiom, this means to feel anger or fury. Sometimes when we get so angry our whole body feels like it's on fire, this idiom describes that feeling.

household name - idiom meaning something that is commonly known, known by every family or household. this is commonly used to describe big brands for example we could say 'heinz is a household name'.

chipping away - phrasal verb meaning to slowly change something over time. It comes from the idea of creating a statue, where we chip away at the rock to create something else. It gives the idea that this will take time but change can happen.

warped power relations - when something is 'warped' it is bent or no longer flat. In this context it means something that isn't the way it should be, it's not a straight or clear power relationship.

This is episode one of our 4 part International Women's Day celebrations. In this episode I will be reading an excerpt from Jane Goodall's book 'Reason for Hope'. 

We are listening to Jane's thoughts on compassion and love. 

Jane is a world-recognised expert on Chimpanzee behaviour. She began as a young woman sent out to Africa to study wild chimpanzees. At 88 she is still very active working with children to raise awareness of the importance of wildlife and the natural world. 

If you're interested in reading the book yourself you can find it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reason-Hope-Spiritual-Jane-Goodall/dp/0446676136

If you'd like to know more about Jane Goodall's work you can head to the Jane Goodall Institute: https://janegoodall.org/

Jane Goodall (88)- Sent to Gombe National Park in Tanzania to study chimpanzees.

Dian Fossey - Sent to the Virunga National Park in Rwanda to study Mountain Gorillas. Dian was murdered at 53 for her work protecting the Gorillas.

Biruté Galdikas (76)- Sent to Borneo to study Orangutans

Leakey was an archeologist he asked these three women to go and study ape behaviour.

All three women have left a lasting legacy of excellent work and organisations that continue to carry out their efforts.

Vocabulary

I was hooked. - if we're 'hooked' then that means we want to keep doing something for ever.

eradicating - to erase or make something disappear completely

inhibitions were sometimes swept aside - 'inhibition' means something that makes you feel uncomfortable, added with the phrasal verb 'sweep aside' this phrase means to stop worrying about the things that made you uncomfortable

his small charge - 'charge' used in this way means someone you are responsible for

buffeted - to be pushed or moved around

fend for himself - idiom meaning to be independent or to survive on your own

moat - a river or body of water that surrounds a building, usually a castle. Traditionally used for added security.

evolutionary biologists - a term used to describe the work done by scientists who carry on Charles Darwin's work proving and studying evolution

altruism - the act of caring for others before ourselves or without reason

kin - an old word meaning family

thus - an old meaning 'and so', rarely used in everyday language but still relatively common in scientific language

reciprocal altruism - 'reciprocal' means to do something with the idea that it will be returned, added to 'altruism' it gives us the idea that we do something nice because we expect someone will do something nice for us later

sociobiological - a scientific term meaning studying the social and biological aspects of something.

reductionist - a word describing a thought process or frame of belief that over-simplifies things, makes a complicated situation simple or overlooks the complexity in favour of a more simplistic, and therefore incomplete view

genetic endowment - 'endowment' is something that is possessed or inherited from someone. So used together here it means genetics that we get from our parents.

honorary - something that is done or given because someone is important or has deserved something, rather than because they have followed the expected or required route. For example many universities give honorary degrees to famous people to recognise their work or effort.

plight - a dangerous or difficult situation

evokes - creates or imagines

social standing - social position or reputation

denigrate - to criticize unfairly and often rudely

truly noble - in this case 'noble' doesn't mean royal but rather 'elevated' or 'better' in a more philosophical sense, as a wonderful person.

history resounds - 'resound' sort of means 'echo' so in this case it means 'history is filled with'

This episode is a little different to normal. This month is Black History Month in America, in the UK Black History Month is October. I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce you to four Black American musicians. All four were active at around the same time. All four were active in the American Civil Rights Movement and all four had their own, major impact on music.

I managed to figure out how to get some music on the podcast, so you will hear a little clip of each of the songs but if you'd like to hear more then please check out the videos below. I have also made a playlist for you on the YouTube channel.

The artists and songs I will talk about today are:

Nina Simone, Sinnerman

Ray Charles, What'd I Say

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Summertime

I hope you enjoy these songs and find it interesting to learn about these very cool and accomplished people. 

See you next week!

Vocabulary

Civil Rights Movement - In this episode I am referring to the American Civil Rights Movement that fought for equality for Black people in America. The movement is ongoing but is commonly thought of as being at its height in the 50s-60s.

If you book Ella - 'book' to reserve or organise for someone to play or to go somewhere. You can 'book a meeting'.

on closer inspection - idiom -In the episode I got confused with my idioms! This is what I was going for 'on closer inspection' means when we look closer at something.

Today is Pancake Day in the UK, otherwise known a Shrove Tuesday. This is the day before Ash Wednesday, or the beginning of lent. Traditionally people made pancakes to try to use up all the things in their cupboard before lent.

In this episode we'll talk a little about the religious days that Pancake day is a part of. Then we'll look at the ingredients for pancakes. We'll look at the differences between British, American and French pancakes and finally we'll talk about the most important factor...toppings!

See you tomorrow!

British Slang:
rubbish - not very good

naff - boring, not interesting or not very good

If you'd like to have a go yourself try:

British Pancakes: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/easy-pancakes

American Pancakes: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/american-pancakes

French Crepes: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/20931/french-crepes/

You can watch French Crepes being made on this YouTube video. Skip to 5:27m to see the crepe tool in use. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX6ghyT6Ig0

If you're wondering why maple syrup is so special check out this short video on how maple syrup is made. It shows you some of the traditional methods before showing you the modern system.

Vocabulary

preemptive - intending to prevent something before it happens

although you'd be forgiven for thinking it is - common phrase to let people know they are doing or thinking what most people would do or think

finite - limited

we go all out - phrase meaning we do everything we can

toss a pancake/flip a pancake - to turn a pancake over either by moving the pan or with a tool

is beyond me - phrase meaning something I don't understand or can't imagine

Golden syrup - a syrup made from sugar

Maple Syrup - a syrup made from sugar, but it comes from the Maple tree

Mesmerising - something that you can't take your eyes off