English Learning for Curious Minds | A More Interesting Way To Learn English

British politics can feel confusing, with a king, a Prime Minister, and noisy debates in an old building.
 

This episode explains how the system works, from Parliament and voting to why two parties have ruled for so long.
 

Magna Carta and early Parliament shaped British politics.

Westminster: Parliament's home with Commons and Lords.

Parliament: Commons of elected MPs, Lords of appointed members.

Monarch's role: ceremonial, appoints PM, opens Parliament.

Voting system: constituencies and First Past the Post.

Two-party dominance challenged by rising Reform party.

Forming governments, general elections, choosing the Prime Minister.

MPs' duties, constituency work, and Prime Minister’s Questions.

Leadership contests and votes of no confidence.

Devolution: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland; West Lothian Question.

Full interactive transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/guide-british-politics

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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 a mathematical genius who vanished into the wilderness... and became one of America’s most notorious terrorists.
 

In this episode, we'll explore the life of the Unabomber, the manifesto that finally exposed him, and the manhunt that lasted 17 years.
 

1995 newspapers publish manifesto; FBI hopes someone recognises author.

Manifesto argues technology enslaves and crushes freedom.

David Kaczynski recognises his brother’s writing style.

Ted’s childhood genius, social isolation, and a Harvard study.

Leaves academia; Montana cabin life fuels anti-technology radicalisation.

Bombings kill three, injure twenty-three; targets linked to technology.

Long, expensive manhunt; few clues for years.

Language analysis helps arrest; cabin raid finds crucial evidence.

Trial, plea deal, life sentences, death in 2023.

Anti-technology message spreads online, despite his original intentions.

Full interactive transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/unabomber

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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

What do “truthiness”, “selfie”, and “goblin mode” have in common?
 

In this episode, we'll see how Words of the Year are chosen, look at some of the most pertinent from history, and explore the winners of this year's prize.
 

What "Word of the Year" means

How dictionaries choose: data and expert judgement

Sometimes a public vote decides the winner

Common themes: politics, culture, technology, internet language

2005 "truthiness": feels true, not actually true

2013 "selfie": rise of phone photos of yourself

2016 "post-truth": emotions beat facts in politics

2022 "goblin mode": lazy, messy, not sorry attitude

2025 "6 7": young people's meme with unclear meaning

Collins winner "vibe coding": using AI to write code

Full interactive transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/2025-words-of-the-year

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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

Is AI really a disaster for the environment, or are the fears exaggerated?
 

In this episode, we'll discuss the environmental cost of Artificial Intelligence.
 

From a water controversy in Scotland to the heat of Arizona, we look at how much energy AI really needs, and whether we should be worried.
 

BBC report on AI water use in Scotland.

Scotland's data centres use 0.005% of water supply.

What data centres are; cooling also uses energy.

AI requests create answers, needing powerful chips and energy.

Each query uses tiny energy, CO2, and water.

Headlines exaggerate AI's impact; context shows minimal effect.

Data centres use 1.5% of global electricity.

One burger's water equals millions of AI queries.

Energy source matters; location and water scarcity change impact.

AI use growing fast, but efficiency improving a lot.

Full interactive transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/ai-vs-planet

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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

A deadly bomb. A death in a police station. A secret kept from the public. 
In 1969, an explosion in Milan killed 17 people. The police accused a group of anarchists, but the story was not that simple. 
In part one of this three-part mini-series on "Gli Anni Di Piombo" (The Years of Lead), we look at how this tragedy started one of the darkest times in Italian history. 
Italy modernising fast, but divided and tense.
12 December 1969: bomb at Milan’s Piazza Fontana.
Seventeen dead, eighty-eight injured; shock across Italy.
Coordinated Rome bombs; no claim; anarchists blamed.
Anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli dies after police questioning; controversy.
Pietro Valpreda arrested; weak evidence; years before acquittal.
Evidence pointed to far-right group Ordine Nuovo.
Suspected cover-ups by police and secret services.
Strategy of tension; suspected Gladio links; extent unclear.
Impact: fear, ordinary victims, start of the Years of Lead.

 Full interactive transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/piazza-fontana

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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