Today is the first of our 4-part mini-series on British food, and we're going to talk about something you might not expect to appear in a series on British food: the oyster.

In today's episode we cover:

• Introduction to the mini-series on British food
• Oysters in Roman times (and how Romans were crazy about oysters)
• Oysters as a poor man's food
• How people used to eat oysters (with beer, salt and pepper, and in pies)
• A time when Londoners used to eat 1 oyster per day
• The meal (and scandal) that destroyed the oyster industry
• The future of oysters in Britain

Key vocabulary: Hot off the heels, Culinary, Oysters, Pearl, Fell completely out of favour, Distrusted, Slurping, Sitting, Prospect, Think much (of), Delicacy, Drift, Plucked, Cultivation, Ale, Flat, Drumming up business, Era, Heyday, Slimy, Substitute, Stretch, Banquet, Transpired, Batch, Contaminated, Dignitary, Typhoid, Esteemed, Sewers, Piped, Moguls, Sewage, Bitter, Litigation, Press charges, Amounted to, Nutrients, Award, Testified, Compensation, Clubbed together, Inscribed, Dodgy, Stocks, Depleted, Bolstered, On the off chance, Next in store, Cunning, Albeit, Cult, Allies

****

Full transcript and key vocabulary available on the website www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/british-food-part-1-oysters

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Episode #015 - English Learning for Curious Minds

Why Is All The News So Negative? And What If It Wasn't?

****

Why is the news always full of disasters? What would the world be like if it wasn't?

Let's take a look at some of the theories about why the news is always so negative, and imagine what kind of world might exist if it wasn't.

In today's episode we cover:

• What is the point of the news?
• What is the role of journalism?
• Who decides the news?
• If it bleeds, it leads (and why bloody stories always come first)
• Why are people attracted by negative stories?
• News organisations as commercial entities
• What negative news does to our brains
• The Gandhi Thought Experiment
• What if our news wasn't so negative? An introduction to solutions-based journalism
• How to avoid the negative news cycle

Key vocabulary: Famine, Tuning in, Bleak, Commonplace, Untold, Accountable, Noble pursuit, Lead with, Editorial, Prominence, Gravitate, Mortality, Gore, Gloating, Taken for granted, Captivate, Numerous, First and foremost, Eyeballs, Bursting your bubble, Revenue, Gravitating, Skewed, Mindset, Exposed to, Bombarded, Empathise, Bombardment, Perception, Perceived, Minuscule, Recalibrating, Anchoring, Implausible, Glued, Contradictory, Unwed, Back of our minds, Bushfires, Helpless, Advocating, Inspire, Uplift, Strike fear into, Optimistic, Fed up, News cycle, Retreat, Intake, Longer form, Fearmonger, Flicking through, Nutrition, Cut yourself off, Out of the loop, Outweighed, Freshness

Jodie Jackson's website: https://www.jodiejackson.com/

****

Full transcript and key vocabulary available on the website www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/why-is-all-the-news-so-negative-and-what-if-it-wasnt

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Have you ever wondered why January 1st is the start of the new year?

In today's episode we cover:

• History of the celebrations of New Year
• When New Year used to be in mid-March
• How the Romans tried to fix the calendar
• The longest year in history
• The Julian calendar (why it worked, and why it didn't)
• The pope who brought things back to January 1st
• New year today

Key vocabulary: Pressing, Conversation starter, Bringing in, Topical, Timely, Observed, Festivity, Falling out of sync, Toasted, Implemented, Leap year, Pagan, Befitting, Abolished, Circumcision, Circumcised, Reticent, Colonies, Millennia, Custom, Neglected, Myriad, Skipping over

****

Full transcript and key vocabulary available on the website www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/why-is-new-year-new-year

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Episode #011 - English Learning for Curious Minds

The Book That Made Christmas, Christmas

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Today we take a look at the book that is fundamental to our modern understanding of what makes Christmas, Christmas. No, it's not the Bible. It was written in Victorian London, and tells the story of an old miser who discovers the Christmas spirit.

In today's episode we cover:

• The publication of A Christmas Carol
• When and why the British stopped celebrating Christmas
• Summary of the story of A Christmas Carol
• Dickens' moral tale about the importance of Christmas
• The cultural importance of A Christmas Carol
• The linguistic importance of A Christmas Carol
• How the Christmas card was invented
• Merry Christmas

Key vocabulary: Dare say, Tables may be turned, Instrumental, Enduring, Further afield, Consensus, Puritanical, Sabbath, Headed off, Inherently, Sinful, Degenerate, Reluctant, Wholeheartedly, Underlying, Vivid, Seized upon, Recap, Squeezing, Wrenching, Grasping, Scraping, Clutching, Covetous, Sinner, Self-serving, Fate, Befallen, Paralysed, Infamous, Alter, Resonated, Utterly, Horrific, Rallying call, Stamped, Crippled, Vulnerable, Smash hit, Inexorably, Frantically, Civil servant, Caught on, (give) a shot, Deed

****

Full transcript and key vocabulary available on the website www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/the-book-that-made-christmas-christmas

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Part 3 of the 3-part series on "Who owns the sea, sky, and space?"

We humans do a pretty good job of dividing up ownership of the world. But what about beyond that? Who owns space? Who decides who owns that, and why does it matter?

In today's episode we cover:

• Why nobody used to even think about space ownership
• The Cold War (and what people thought it meant for weapons in space)
• The Space Treaty (and what its real intention was)
• Where does space start?
• What happens if a shuttle crashes when in space?
• Why you can't really buy a piece of the moon

Key vocabulary: Customary, Captivated, Realm, Supernatural, Implausible, Into orbit, Realms of possibility, Logical, Implied, Figurative, Catchy, Side note, Ban, Vice versa, Loose, Demarcation, Provision, Mine, Proliferation, Framework, Untapped, Sovereign territory, Interpreted, Set up, Grab yourself, Holding up, Plough, Lunar, Tycoon, Congested, Thorny

****

Full transcript and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/who-owns-space

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Part 2 of the 3-part series on "Who owns the sea, sky, and space?"

Ever wondered who actually owns the sky? 

Today we'll discuss who owns it, why it's still not clear who does own most of it, and why that doesn't actually really matter.

• What does 'the sky' actually mean?
• Different parts of 'the sky'
• Why only the very bottom of the sky matters
• The 13th Century law upon which western laws are based
• How do countries use ownership of the sky to help their political goals
• Where does the sky end?

Key vocabulary: Contextualise, Extends, Slice, Stick with, Round off, Lump, Soil, Stood the test of time, Encroach on, Amendments, Advent, Trespassing, Infinite, Extract tariffs, , Routine, Hard and fast, Obscure, Proportion, Stretch out, Come in pretty handy, For starters, Revenue, Air traffic control, Nice little earner, Handy, Exert, Leader on, Consensus, Bypass, Crises, Frontier

****

Full transcript and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/who-owns-the-sky

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Part 1 of the 3-part series on "Who owns the sea, sky, and space?"

Who Owns The Sea (And Why Does It Matter)?

***

Ever wondered who actually owns the sea? Learn about who owns 2/3 of the surface area of the world, why countries want to claim ownership of rocks in the middle of nowhere, and why this matters.

In today's episode we cover:

• Introduction to the 3-part mini series
• Who owns the world's land?
• History of sea ownership & the cannon shot rule
• The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
• Why the US hasn't signed the convention
• Different types of ownership of different parts of the sea
• Why countries are rushing to claim ownership of the Arctic ocean
• What happens in the 'high seas' (spoiler alert: pirates not allowed)
• Why countries in East Asia are fighting over abandoned rocks
• The man who orchestrated it all: Arvid Pardo

Key vocabulary: Frontier, Sovereign, Straightforward, Enshrined in law, Come in pretty handy, Glossing over, Cannon, Cannonball, Anomalies, Consensus, A body of water, Demarcate, Zero-sum, Gargantuan, Undermines, Open up, Dent, In short, Boil this down, Impinges, , Submerged, Ended up, Recap, Ratified, Scrambling, Prevalent, Abide by, Engaged in, Piracy, Get round, Violating, Maritime, Claim jurisdiction, Unintended, Uninhabited, Prized, Flare up, Single out, Gives you the measure, Orphaned, Penniless, Tirelessly, Impassioned, Treacle, Heritage

****

Full transcript and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/who-owns-the-sea

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"Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun" - Mao Zedong, 1927

"In the 21st century, culture is power" - Park Geun-hye (ex President of South Korea, home of Gangnam Style)

How do other countries win the political game without force? Why is language such a fantastic tool to project power across the world? What is Donald Trump doing for US interests outside the US? 

Learn about how soft power is a vital tool in the global diplomatic toolbox, and how countries use it to advance their diplomatic aims.

Topics covered:

• The history of soft power
• Why it is no longer acceptable to attack other countries
• What components go into soft power
• Why language is the ultimate example of soft power (and why countries promote the learning of their language)
• The UK's soft power across the world
• The Soft Power Report (and who came top in 2019)
• Why the UK, France, Italy, the US, Sweden and Estonia all do well in terms of soft power
• China's soft power initiatives
• Why you can't buy soft power
• Why politicians neglect soft power
• What Europeans think of the US since 2016

Key vocabulary: Self-proclaimed, Geopolitics, Zero-sum, Projected, Coercion, Sanctions, Aspirational, Coined, Lingua franca, Dominant, Packs a sizeable punch, Prevalence, Gradual, Decline, Institutions, Slipped, Footprint, Republican, Imprint, Mastery, Amplifies, Deemed, Agenda, Funding, Portray, Toolbox, Timeframes, Reap, Foster, Blossom, Soundbites, Hostile, Struggle, Ranked, Bound, Dividends, Set in motion, Shift, Packs a substantial soft power punch, Neglect

Full transcript and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/what-is-soft-power-and-why-does-it-matter

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In today's podcast we go in depth into why you should use podcasts to learn English, and explain some of the best techniques to maximise your English learning with podcasts.

We'll explain how you can take a 10 minute English podcast and turn it into an intensive 2 hour lesson, where you work on your English listening, speaking, reading and writing. 

Then you can decide whether you're a serious English learner and want to test it, or you'd rather just put on Netflix and trick yourself into thinking that you're learning.

In today's episode we cover:

• Why listening is underrated
• Why learners find English podcasts hard
• Understanding language without visual cues
• Detailed explanation of how to use a 10 minute podcast to create a 2hr lesson
• How this compares to a 2hr film in English
• Final 2 tips on listening to podcasts in English

Key vocabulary: Dear to my heart, Underrated, Turbocharge, Toolkit, Attuned, Exposed, Superficial, Comes down to, Indulging, Switch off, Revert, Cues, Get by, First things first, Tend to, Spellcheck, Beneficial, Fundamental, Does wonders for, Akin to, Pastime, Inbuilt, Set aside a time, Brainlessly, Flicking, In your heart of hearts

Full transcript and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/how-to-use-podcasts-to-learn-english-like-a-boss

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Today we're going to be taking a look at 5 of the most amazing prison escapes in history. 

We'll travel to South Korea, Mexico, Germany, and the US, and discover some of the ingenious ways in which prisoners evaded their guards.

• Escape 1: John Herbert Dillinger and the wooden pistol
• Escape 2: Choi Gap Bok, the South Korean yoga expert
• Escape 3: The Alcatraz escape - but did it really happen?
• Escape 4: The Great Escape - how 600 men managed to keep an escape plan hidden from their guards
• Escape 5 (and 6): El Chapo, $2.5 million, laundry baskets, tunnels, and motorbikes

Key vocab: Protagonists, Ingenious, Dummies, Without further ado, Ringing a bell, Notorious, Carved, Lured, Shootout, Brute, Wriggle, Perished, Cult, Shark-infested, Tides, Feat, Raft, Intriguing, Immortalized, Squadron, Sheer, Barbed wire, Implicated, Evade, Extradited, Bribe

****

Full transcript and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/the-most-amazing-prison-escapes-in-history

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