Ethos English

This week we look at articles from the Verge and Reuters on a proposed EU copyright law. Copyrighted text and images are being used to build generative AI platforms like ChatGPT through a process called scraping yet the owners of this intellectual property stand to gain nothing. What is the future for creators?

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This week we look at articles from The Financial Times and The Economist on Fox News' record-breaking $787.5 million defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems. Find out how corrupt journalists allowed conspiracy theories to become mainstream and the role played by former Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson in compromising media integrity.

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I share insights from my coach training programme, specifically ideas taken from a talk by Marcus Buckingham called "9 Lies About Work" and how real progress depends on our ability to focus on our strengths and giving up on the fantasy of being well-rounded.

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The word "stake" has a variety of metaphorical meanings. It can represent ownership, risk, investment, commitment - and even belonging and is used to talk about everything from territorial disputes to the health of the planet. When we explore the etymology and metaphors behind everyday expressions they become cognitively sticky and therefore easier to remember.

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This week I share insights from Psychology Today and the book Nonviolent Communication that will help you communicate far more effectively in high-stakes situations like speaking exams, job interviews... and on your next date.

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One of the greatest writers in our language only started learning English at the age of 21. This week I look at more compelling goals than sounding like a native-speaker.

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Puffin Random House, publisher of Roald Dahl’s works, has hired a company to make the author’s books more politically correct by removing references to race, gender, body size and other potentially offensive content. The move has prompted criticism that children are being shielded from difficult truths about the world, with some critics arguing that sanitising Dahl’s work removes important cultural commentary. I explore the history of bowdlerisation from Shakespeare in the 19th century to the more recent example of a revised version of Huckleberry Finn that removes the "n" word.

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Many learners overlook everyday uses of inversion. This grammar structure is not limited to formal and literary English and should be part of your repertoire as a proficient English speaker. Learn a few of the most frequently used inversions, conveniently presented in sentence frames and chunks.

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Surveys suggest that we're spending far less time with friends than we used to. More and more people - especially men - report having fewer or even no close friends. This week I explore psychological concepts like learned helplessness and mere exposure to help you reflect on how to make your own social life more rewarding. 

To read the transcript of the episode go to https://ethosenglish.com/podcast/ 

The World Cup might be a distant memory but the political scandals linking Qatar to European lawmakers are far from over. This week find out about corruption in Brussels as well as the origin of the suffix -gate to refer to scandals.

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