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Long Covid: the lingering mystery after the disease | Learn the English expression ‘for a living’
Episode 373
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“Long Covid” refers to the approximately ten percent of Covid sufferers whose symptoms do not go away within a few weeks. For some, the lingering e…
4 years, 10 months ago
Belarus hijacked plane to seize opposition journalist | Learn the phrasal verb ‘cover up’
Episode 372
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A Ryanair flight from Greece bound for Lithuania was hijacked by the government of Belarus. The flight received a message that there was a bomb thr…
4 years, 10 months ago
Chile is hitting refresh on its 1980 constitution | Learn the English expression ‘hold out hope’
Episode 371
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The current Chilean constitution is a controversial document, and many people don’t consider it legitimate. The group in charge of drafting the new…
4 years, 10 months ago
Why does America still write checks? | Learn the English expression ‘reverse course’
Episode 370
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Check-writing is a low-tech, burdensome, and time-consuming form of payment. Some countries, like China, South Korea, and Japan, completely skipped…
4 years, 11 months ago
How ransomware hackers shut down a critical U.S. gasoline pipeline | Learn the phrasal verb ‘lock out’
Episode 369
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Every 11 seconds, a company is a victim of a ransomware attack. Often, companies discreetly pay the ransom to avoid embarrassment. But recently, a r…
4 years, 11 months ago
China’s recent census reveals slowing growth | Learn the phrasal verb ‘make up’
Episode 368
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China is the world’s most populous country, and according to the recent 2020 census, China now has 1.41 billion people. But over the last ten years…
4 years, 11 months ago
The high cost of cognitive switching | Learn the phrasal verb ‘leave off’
Episode 367
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What is cognitive switching? It’s when you switch your attention from one task, or one type of task, to another. Cognitive switching could be robbi…
4 years, 11 months ago
A preventable tragedy in Mexico City | Learn the English expression ‘in charge of’
Episode 366
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A metro overpass collapsed in Mexico City as a train was traveling over it. Before the deadly accident, it was obvious there were structural proble…
4 years, 11 months ago
Updates on justice for George Floyd, Tokyo Olympics, WeWork, and more | Learn the English expression ‘hold firm’
Episode 365
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This lesson reviews the latest news on previous Plain English topics: justice for George Floyd in the Derek Chauvin case; Volkswagen’s all-electric…
4 years, 11 months ago
The rise of Brood X, the 17-year cicadas | Learn the phrasal verb to ‘live on’
Episode 364
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Cicadas are one of nature’s strangest mysteries. Trillions of insects live underground for 17 years and all emerge at the same time for a few weeks…
4 years, 11 months ago