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All about live Christmas trees
Episode 824
Today's story: Though most Christmas trees are plastic, millions of families like to get live Christmas trees every year. Real trees are grown at spe…
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Tracking monarch butterflies as they migrate
Episode 823
Today's story: Scientists used to rely on stickers to track monarch butterfly migration—but that only showed where a butterfly started and ended. Now…
4 months, 3 weeks ago
The world’s biggest butterfly migration
Episode 822
Today's story: Monarch butterflies migrate thousands of kilometers from across the U.S. and Canada to just a few mountain forests in central Mexico. …
4 months, 4 weeks ago
America has minted its last penny
Episode 821
Today's story: The United States Mint struck its final penny in November 2025, ending a 232-year run of producing the one-cent coin. The decision fol…
5 months ago
The zipper is getting an upgrade
Episode 820
Today's story: Zippers are everywhere: on clothes, bags, and accessories. But the basic design of a zipper hasn't changed in a century. Now, though, …
5 months ago
![Is 'premium economy' worth it? [archive]](https://artwork.captivate.fm/1be30c3a-462f-40a7-883f-935113d5f17f/pe-podcast-main-show.png)
Is 'premium economy' worth it? [archive]
Episode 223
We're opening up the archives to repeat episode 223 from January 2020, just before COVID-19 halted air travel. Enjoy!
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In between economy class (in t…
5 months, 1 week ago
💰 Black Friday: Get 2 free months of Plain English
Black Friday is here, and Plain English is ready to support your English learning with a great introductory offer:
Join Plain English Plus+ today and …
5 months, 1 week ago
The hot new trend is an ice-cold bath [archive]
Episode 583
Today's episode is one from the archives, originally number 583. Enjoy!
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Cold plunges are the new health trend championed by high-fliers and ordinary…
5 months, 1 week ago
Parkrun is the world’s free running club
Episode 819
Today's story: Parkrun is a free, volunteer-run event that takes place every Saturday morning in parks around the world. Participants run, jog, or wa…
5 months, 2 weeks ago
The quest to make snake bites less lethal
Episode 818
Today's story: Snake bites kill over 100,000 people each year, but antivenom (the treatment for poisonous snake bites) has hardly changed in a centur…
5 months, 2 weeks ago