English Learning for Curious Minds

 His early life was full of tragedy and misfortune, but Ray Charles never let this get in his way.In this episode, we'll learn about how Ray Charles overcame adversity to become one of the most loved musicians in American history. The early life of Ray Charles: born to a teenage mother in an institutionally racist countryRay Charles: "Even compared to other blacks we were on the bottom of the ladder looking up at everyone else. Nothing below us except the ground"The death of Ray Chales' younger brotherGoing blind and being sent to a school for the blindLearning to play the piano (while blind)The death of his mother and moving to JacksonvilleTrying to make ends meet playing musicCopying the style of Nat King ColeDeciding to move to SeattleMaking a name for himself in Seattle and meeting Quincy JonesGetting his first record deal & "I Got A Woman"Ray Charles' style: a combination of blues, jazz & gospelWhy Ray Charles was unpopular with many pastorsRay Charles as an excellent businessmanWhere his confidence comes from - “you’re blind, you ain’t stupid”Battling his heroin addictionRay Charles and womenLater life and legacyFull interactive transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/ray-charles ---You might like:🔓 Unlock bonus episodes, interactive transcripts, subtitles & vocabulary lists✨ 5 Powerful Tips for Learning English with Podcasts (Faster & Effectively!) [YouTube]📹 A look inside Leonardo English membership 📧 Join our FREE weekly newsletter---Keywords: Learn English, vocabulary, lessons, idioms, aprende inglés, idiomas, aprender inglês, apprendre l'anglais, imparare l’inglese, ingilizce öğren,英語を習う, تعلم الإنجليزية

 As a general rule, people are very bad at predicting the future.In this episode, we'll take a look at some predictions of the future from the past, looking at what people thought our "today" would be like, the times they got it wrong, the times they got it eerily correct, and we'll also look at some predictions about what the future holds for future generations.Why there was never a great need to "predict" the future until recentlyA Roman born in 100BC being transported 1,000 years into their futureThe prediction of Robert Malthus in 1798 about populationPaul Ehrlich's 1968 prediction: "The Population Bomb"John Maynard Keynes's 1930 prediction about a reduced working weekPredictions from 1900 about what cities would look like: flying cars, roofs, driving shipsThe Millennium Bug predictionThe man who could predict the future: Nikolas TeslaTesla predicting self-driving carsTesla predicting video callingTesla incorrectly predicting fashion choicesTesla predicting an increasing expenditure on scientific discovery vs. warPredictions today about our future: cancer, multi-planetary, metaverseThe terrible predictions top 3: computers, silent films & everything being inventedFull interactive transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/predictions-of-future ---You might like:🔓 Unlock bonus episodes, interactive transcripts, subtitles & vocabulary lists✨ 5 Powerful Tips for Learning English with Podcasts (Faster & Effectively!) [YouTube]📹 A look inside Leonardo English membership 📧 Join our FREE weekly newsletter---Keywords: Learn English, vocabulary, lessons, idioms, aprende inglés, idiomas, aprender inglês, apprendre l'anglais, imparare l’inglese, ingilizce öğren,英語を習う, تعلم الإنجليزية

 He was the most famous bank robber in American history and is still thought of as a Robin Hood-type figure in popular culture.Learn about how John Dillinger went from a quiet life to becoming America's Public Enemy Number One, and how the law finally caught up with him.The early life of John Dillinger: a naughty but not inherently bad boyMoving out of the city to stay out of troubleBeing arrested for car theft and joining the navyBriefly getting his life back on trackMeeting Ed Singleton and planning his first robberyThe robbery that went wrong and subsequent arrestBeing advised badly and going to prison for 9 years"I will be the meanest bastard you ever saw when I get out of here"Learning how to rob banks while in prisonBeing released from prison and returning to a life of crimeBeing arrested again and then rescued by friends from prisonGoing on the run and starting the bank-robbing spreeBeing arrested (again) and breaking out of prison by making a fake gunBeing chased by the FBIMaking front-page newsGrowing a moustache, dyeing his hair, then having plastic surgeryBeing betrayed by Anna SageThe final cinema trip of John DillingerThe legacy of John DillingerFull interactive transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/john-dillinger ---You might like:🔓 Unlock bonus episodes, interactive transcripts, subtitles & vocabulary lists✨ 5 Powerful Tips for Learning English with Podcasts (Faster & Effectively!) [YouTube]📹 A look inside Leonardo English membership 📧 Join our FREE weekly newsletter---Keywords: Learn English, vocabulary, lessons, idioms, aprende inglés, idiomas, aprender inglês, apprendre l'anglais, imparare l’inglese, ingilizce öğren,英語を習う, تعلم الإنجليزية

 The Peaky Blinders were a violent gang that terrorised the streets of Birmingham in the late 19th century. Who actually were these men, what did they do, to who and why, and were the "real" Peaky Blinders anything like the ones in the TV series?The start of the TV series "Peaky Blinders"Life in Victorian EnglandLife in 19th century BirminghamPetty crime and drinking in urban areasThe creation of the police forceThe "sloggers" of BirminghamThe first "Peaky Blinders"Did the Peaky Blinders put razor blades in their caps?The genius of the Peaky Blinders TV series: transport the gang into the 1920sThe real Peaky Blinders of the 1920sBilly Kimber, Alfie Solomons & Charles SabininCriminal activity at the race tracksThe Epsom Road BattleFull interactive transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/real-peaky-blinders ---You might like:🔓 Unlock bonus episodes, interactive transcripts, subtitles & vocabulary lists✨ 5 Powerful Tips for Learning English with Podcasts (Faster & Effectively!) [YouTube]📹 A look inside Leonardo English membership 📧 Join our FREE weekly newsletter---Keywords: Learn English, vocabulary, lessons, idioms, aprende inglés, idiomas, aprender inglês, apprendre l'anglais, imparare l’inglese, ingilizce öğren,英語を習う, تعلم الإنجليزية

 In the space of fewer than 100 years, fast food has fundamentally changed the global culinary landscape.In this episode, we explore how it has managed to grow so much and what it is doing to our societies, world and bodies, and ask ourselves whether we'll ever kick our fast-food addiction.1% of the world's population will eat at McDonald's todayThe entire population of Scotland is flipping burgers in the United StatesThe power of the fast-food lobbyHow the US government pays for Big MacsWhy the fast-food industry won't stop growingFast food during COVID-19Changing dining habits during the pandemicThe rise of "fast-casual"The rise of environmentally friendly fast foodHow fast-food restaurants are changing (or not changing) to accommodate changing tastesImpact of fast food on our bodies and healthFuture of the fast-food industryFull interactive transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/fast-food-3 ---You might like:🔓 Unlock bonus episodes, interactive transcripts, subtitles & vocabulary lists✨ 5 Powerful Tips for Learning English with Podcasts (Faster & Effectively!) [YouTube]📹 A look inside Leonardo English membership 📧 Join our FREE weekly newsletter---Keywords: Learn English, vocabulary, lessons, idioms, aprende inglés, idiomas, aprender inglês, apprendre l'anglais, imparare l’inglese, ingilizce öğren,英語を習う, تعلم الإنجليزية

 Every day 1% of the world's population will eat at McDonald's, and hundreds of millions more will eat burgers, chips and all sorts of different fast food.But just how popular is it, how is it so cheap and where did it come from in the first place?Ancient "fast food"The first modern fast food at White Castle in 1921Bringing the automobile assembly line to the kitchenWhy there was an early emphasis on cleanlinessThe 5 cents "Slider"Why White Castle didn't expand all over AmericaThe arrival of The Great DepressionRichard & Maurice McDonald & the birth of the modern McDonald's restaurantThe "Speedee Service System"The fast-food boom of the 1950sRay Kroc discovers (and then buys) McDonald'sWhy McDonald's is so successfulAdapting fast food to fit American cultureFull interactive transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/fast-food-1 ---You might like:🔓 Unlock bonus episodes, interactive transcripts, subtitles & vocabulary lists✨ 5 Powerful Tips for Learning English with Podcasts (Faster & Effectively!) [YouTube]📹 A look inside Leonardo English membership 📧 Join our FREE weekly newsletter---Keywords: Learn English, vocabulary, lessons, idioms, aprende inglés, idiomas, aprender inglês, apprendre l'anglais, imparare l’inglese, ingilizce öğren,英語を習う, تعلم الإنجليزية

 Within the course of a few years, Robert Baden-Powell created a global movement that united children from all over the world.In this episode, we'll take a look at how he came up with the idea, why it was so appealing, and the legacy that he has left on the world.The early life of Robert Baden-PowellDoing what was expected of an upper-class Englishman in the Victorian eraBaden-Powell in The Boer WarThe Siege of MafekingReturning to the UK a heroThe first-ever scouting tripThe publication of Scouting for BoysThe 1909 Jamboree and the arrival of girl scoutsThe Scouts as a socially-progressive organisationThe appeal of the Boy ScoutsThe Scouts PromiseThe Scouts during World War IThe Scouts in the post-war periodCreating a mass global movement & becoming ​​“Chief Scout of The World”The death of Baden-Powell and his legacyScouting todayThe controversies The Scouts have facedThe future of The ScoutsFull interactive transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/baden-powell-scouts ---You might like:🔓 Unlock bonus episodes, interactive transcripts, subtitles & vocabulary lists✨ 5 Powerful Tips for Learning English with Podcasts (Faster & Effectively!) [YouTube]📹 A look inside Leonardo English membership 📧 Join our FREE weekly newsletter---Keywords: Learn English, vocabulary, lessons, idioms, aprende inglés, idiomas, aprender inglês, apprendre l'anglais, imparare l’inglese, ingilizce öğren,英語を習う, تعلم الإنجليزية

 Although there have always been children, the concept of "childhood" is more recent than many people think, with one French historian declaring that childhood didn't exist until the 17th century.In this episode, we'll explore how ideas of childhood have changed, from John Locke to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, from the English Romantic poets right through to the creation of the teenager in post-war America.What exactly is a child? What is childhood? When do you stop being a child, and for what reasons?Phillipe Ariès: the author of “Centuries of Childhood”Infant mortality in the Medieval eraMedieval ideas of childhoodChildhood in the EnlightenmentJohn Locke's idea of childhood: a tabula rasaJean-Jacques Rousseau's idea of childhood: innate and natural, guided by emotionsThe Romantics on childhood: a blissful innocenceChildhood during the Industrial RevolutionWorking 68 hours a week in Victorian BritainThe Victorians develop children's literatureThe invention of the teenagerChildhood today: better, worse, or just different?Full interactive transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/history-of-childhood ---You might like:🔓 Unlock bonus episodes, interactive transcripts, subtitles & vocabulary lists✨ 5 Powerful Tips for Learning English with Podcasts (Faster & Effectively!) [YouTube]📹 A look inside Leonardo English membership 📧 Join our FREE weekly newsletter---Keywords: Learn English, vocabulary, lessons, idioms, aprende inglés, idiomas, aprender inglês, apprendre l'anglais, imparare l’inglese, ingilizce öğren,英語を習う, تعلم الإنجليزية

 There is a lot about the English language that makes very little sense at all.In this episode we look at some of these illogicalities, paying close attention to homonyms, homographs, homophones, and even something called lonely negatives.How many words are there in English?English: The Mongrel LanguageA quick history of the English language: Anglo-Saxons, Vikings & FrenchThe scribes making English spelling very complicatedThe typesetters introducing new spellingsFinding classical ancestry for words in EnglishConfusing English #1: HomophonesFork candles vs. Four candlesConfusing English #2: HomophonymsConfusing English #3: HomophographsConfusing English #4: Lonely NegativesAn extremely confusing sentenceFull interactive transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/illogicality-of-english ---You might like:🔓 Unlock bonus episodes, interactive transcripts, subtitles & vocabulary lists✨ 5 Powerful Tips for Learning English with Podcasts (Faster & Effectively!) [YouTube]📹 A look inside Leonardo English membership 📧 Join our FREE weekly newsletter---Keywords: Learn English, vocabulary, lessons, idioms, aprende inglés, idiomas, aprender inglês, apprendre l'anglais, imparare l’inglese, ingilizce öğren,英語を習う, تعلم الإنجليزية

 He is the most famous spy in the world and has been drinking vodka martinis and driving fast cars since 1952.In this episode, we'll look at the history of 007, his creator Ian Fleming, how Bond has changed over the years, and the fascinating family business behind the UK's most famous special agent.The classic image of James BondIan Fleming: the creator of the James Bond novelsThe first hit: Casino RoyaleHow the James Bond novels are different from the James Bond filmsWhy did he choose the name "James Bond" for 007?The very English death of Ian FlemingWhy Sean Connery was a controversial choice to play James BondRoger Moore, Pierce Brosnan & Daniel CraigHow the James Bond character has changedThe (family) business of James BondThe future of James BondThe accents of James BondJames Bond speaking Russian & GermanFull interactive transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/history-of-james-bond ---You might like:🔓 Unlock bonus episodes, interactive transcripts, subtitles & vocabulary lists✨ 5 Powerful Tips for Learning English with Podcasts (Faster & Effectively!) [YouTube]📹 A look inside Leonardo English membership 📧 Join our FREE weekly newsletter---Keywords: Learn English, vocabulary, lessons, idioms, aprende inglés, idiomas, aprender inglês, apprendre l'anglais, imparare l’inglese, ingilizce öğren,英語を習う, تعلم الإنجليزية