Podcast Episodes

#622 | A Short History of Fire

A million years ago, in a cave in South Africa, our ancestors did something no other animal has ever done: they controlled fire.

Fire cooked our fo…

8 hours ago

#619 | Wyatt Earp | The Man Behind the Legend (English Listening Practice)

In 1881, a 30-second gunfight in Tombstone, Arizona made Wyatt Earp a legend of the Wild West. 

Earp was a gambler, a lawman, a fugitive, and later a…

2 weeks ago

#617 | Bob Denard: The Mercenary Who Ruled the Comoros (English Listening Practice)

In 1975, a French mercenary landed in the Comoros, a chain of small islands off East Africa, and decided he was going to run the place. 

Bob Denard s…

4 weeks ago

#614 | The Conquest of Ireland: How England Never Left (English Listening Practice)

How did a small band of Norman soldiers in 1170 begin 800 years of English control over Ireland? 

It started as a deal between rival Irish kings. It …

1 month, 1 week ago

#612 | Should Britain Abolish Jury Trials? (English Listening Practice)

Who should decide if you are guilty: the state, or a group of 12 ordinary citizens? 

England is now considering getting rid of jury trials for thousa…

1 month, 3 weeks ago

[From The Vault 🔐] Thomas Cook | The Father of Modern Tourism

From The Vault 🔐 — normally a member-only episode, unlocked this month for everyone.

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He has been called the father of modern tourism and was respons…

2 months ago

#609 | A Short History of Blasphemy in Britain (English Listening Practice)

When Thomas Aikenhead was hanged in 1697 for questioning the Bible, it was the last time someone was executed for blasphemy in Britain. But it didn'…

2 months, 1 week ago

[From The Vault 🔐] Penny Dreadfuls | “The Victorian Video Game”

From The Vault 🔐 — normally a member-only episode, unlocked this month for everyone.

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In 1972, a plane carrying a Uruguayan rugby team crashed high i…

2 months, 2 weeks ago

#607 | The Life of JD Vance (English Listening Practice)

JD Vance grew up in a struggling Ohio town, escaped poverty, and wrote a memoir that made him famous across the world.  

Then, having spent years att…

2 months, 3 weeks ago

#604 | Otto Warmbier: The American Tourist Who Never Came Home (English Listening Practice)

In 2016, a 21-year-old American student was arrested in North Korea after allegedly stealing a political poster. 

Weeks later, he appeared in a stran…

3 months, 1 week ago