" It can be hard to know when to tip in any culture. But tipping has increased in the United States since the pandemic. New touch-screen payment systems often encourage a minimum tip of 20%. But now, consumers are increasingly frustrated with requests to leave tips and are starting to cut back on the habit. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/640 -- Learning Engli...
Jan 15, 2024•22 min•Ep. 640
" When a private dealer of gems and jewels noticed a great bargain on eBay, he had no idea that it would eventually lead him to uncover a major scandal at the British Museum, one of the world's pre-eminent cultural institutions. But that's exactly what happened. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/639 -- Learning English should be fun! That’s why our lessons are a...
Jan 11, 2024•21 min•Ep. 639
" It's an all-too-common sight on the streets of New York City: piles of black garbage bags on the sidewalks, waiting to be collected. America's largest city has no alleys, so its apartments and businesses leave trash in heaps right on the street. But the mayor has plans to eliminate this 'all-night buffet' for rats. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/638 -- Lear...
Jan 08, 2024•21 min•Ep. 638
" McDonald's is preparing to roll out big changes to its number-one menu item: burgers. The world's biggest burger chain says it will adjust how its patties are grilled and how its burgers are assembled in a bid to make them more palatable to consumers. The changes will apply to the Big Mac and to its other burgers. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/637 -- Learn...
Jan 04, 2024•21 min•Ep. 637
" A few inches of snow can be beautiful. But for local governments, it's hard work to clear it and keep everyone moving. Today, we look at everything that has to get done to get back to normal after a snowstorm. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/636 -- Learning English should be fun! That’s why our lessons are about current events and trending topics you care ab...
Jan 01, 2024•22 min•Ep. 636
" Failure is part of life. But not everything that goes wrong is the same. Sometimes, we should assign blame. Other times, failure is a good thing. A Harvard professor put failure into six categories. Knowing them can help you understand the things that go wrong in your own life. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/635 -- Learning English should be fun! That’s why...
Dec 21, 2023•22 min•Ep. 635
" The Panama Canal connects Asia and the east coasts of North and South America. Manufactured goods, energy, food, cars, and more all pass through the canal. On a normal day, 38 to 40 ships can cross. But drought in Panama means the canal can accommodate many fewer ships. That means higher costs for shippers--and for consumers. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/...
Dec 18, 2023•20 min•Ep. 634
" A 15-kilometer-long corridor of magma (melted rock) has accumulated just below the Earth's surface in the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland. The accumulation has caused thousands of earthquakes in just a few days. It may cause a large eruption or it may break to the surface in unexpected places--including underwater. A fishing town has been completely evacuated as a precaution. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free tran...
Dec 14, 2023•22 min•Ep. 633
The San José, a Spanish treasure ship carrying gold, silver, and valuable jewelry, sank off the coast of Colombia in 1708. The shipwreck, and its treasure, have been untouched for over 300 years. Now, the government of Colombia is working to bring the tr Mentioned in this episode: Ready to improve your listening? Ready to listen fast? Improve your listening with the fast version of this and every episode. The full-speed version is a fresh recording and it sounds just like someone speaking to a n...
Dec 11, 2023•22 min•Ep. 632
" The 'Sphere' is the newest entertainment complex in Las Vegas. It boasts an immersive, wraparound 16K LED screen, haptic seating, and thousands of speakers. But the most striking part is this: the exterior is covered in screens, so it can look like a basketball or the surface of Mars to onlookers. The venue will be best for concerts and films but can host other events, including e-sports. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, includi...
Dec 07, 2023•19 min•Ep. 631
" Most sleep advice focuses on how much sleep you get. And while that's important, a new study also shows that consistency is also important. People who get irregular sleep perform worse in tests and suffer physically. Today, learn what ""regular sleep"" means and what its benefits are. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/630 -- Learning English should be fun! Tha...
Dec 04, 2023•21 min•Ep. 630
" The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried lasted over a month. During that time, the prosecution called several witnesses that detailed fraud against customers and lenders of Bankman-Fried's businesses. But the defense argued that this was a terrible mistake, but not a fraud. The jury found him guilty. After a monthlong trial, jurors needed just five hours to decide. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be foun...
Nov 30, 2023•24 min•Ep. 629
" After making a fortune trading cryptocurrencies, Sam Bankman-Fried started an exchange called FTX. That, he promised, would be the safest place to trade crypto assets. But just a few years after he started it, it all collapsed. Here is part one of the story. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/628 -- Learning English should be fun! That’s why our lessons are abo...
Nov 27, 2023•23 min•Ep. 628
" A subculture of Pasifika people in New Zealand has a strange tradition: playing music through megaphones and loudspeakers. They try to play music as loud and as clearly as possible. And because their speakers don't produce bass, they play songs from artists like Celine Dion. Not everyone in this town is happy about it. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/627 -- ...
Nov 23, 2023•22 min•Ep. 627
" Oppenheimer. Killers of the Flower Moon. Babylon. What do they have in common? They're all box office hits. And they're all over three hours long. Consumers, producers, and theaters all like short movies. But hit movies are getting longer. Today, we take a look at why. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/626 -- Learning English should be fun! That’s why our less...
Nov 20, 2023•23 min•Ep. 626
" The Twinkie is a submarine-shaped yellow cake with a vanilla filling. Invented in 1930, it became one of America's favorite indulgences. After losing money for years, its parent company shut down and stopped making Twinkies. But then, a group of investors revived the classic cake--and now the Twinkie is stronger than ever. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/625...
Nov 16, 2023•21 min•Ep. 625
" Kelvin Kiptum and Tigst Assefa, respectively, set records for the men’s and women’s marathon this year. But Nike and adidas are also winners. The runners were wearing a new generation of their shoes, aimed at helping marathoners go faster. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/624 -- Learning English should be fun! That’s why our lessons are about current events a...
Nov 13, 2023•23 min•Ep. 624
" Just when you thought nothing could make American football more popular, Taylor Swift comes onto the scene. She is reportedly dating a football star, Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. The union brings together separate worlds of fandom, as Swifties tune in to football games for the first time. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/623 -- Learning English sho...
Nov 09, 2023•22 min•Ep. 623
" About a year from now, Americans will go to the polls--and they're likely to get a rematch between sitting President Joe Biden and his immediate predecessor, Donald Trump. Though Biden won last time, he faces some serious challenges in his re-election effort. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/622 -- Learning English should be fun! That’s why our lessons are ab...
Nov 06, 2023•21 min•Ep. 622
" Fernando Botero was Colombia's most famous artist--and his whimsical, rotund figures are famous around the world. By painting everything in exaggerated dimensions, he called attention to features and expressions. ""What I paint is volume,"" he said, in a nod to Italian and Greek artistic tradition. Botero died in September at age 91. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainengl...
Nov 02, 2023•22 min•Ep. 621
" A bedbug infestation is spreading across Paris, even affecting the Métro, trains, hospitals and schools--according to social media. But many reported cases turn out not to be bedbugs at all. So what should a Parisian (or a traveler) think, as the Summer Olympics draw near? -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/620 -- Learning English should be fun! That’s why our ...
Oct 30, 2023•21 min•Ep. 620
" ""Dynamic pricing"": it's when businesses constantly change the price of a product, based on the current demand. We're used to it when booking airline tickets, hotel rooms, or even Uber rides. But now an upscale chain of pubs in London will increase the price of a pint of beer by 20p, or 5%, when there's a surge of customers. Is that fair? -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://pla...
Oct 26, 2023•23 min•Ep. 619
" It's time to take a look back and learn the latest on several topics we've talked about in Plain English recently, including ChatGPT, Netflix, Threads, Donald Trump's legal woes, and more. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/618 -- Learning English should be fun! That’s why our lessons are about current events and trending topics you care about: business, travel...
Oct 23, 2023•23 min•Ep. 618
" Diamond rings, bracelets, and earrings have a timeless beauty. They are in high demand, but they're expensive. But now a combination of forces may help bring prices down. The most surprising? New lab-grown diamonds can cost 80 percent less than a traditionally-mined stone. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/617 -- Learning English should be fun! That’s why our ...
Oct 19, 2023•22 min•Ep. 617
" Scientists in Peru discovered fossils of an enormous whale, which lived about 37 million years ago. Based on the size and density of the fossils, they estimate that the whale weighed between 93 and 340 tons. But the surprising thing is that an animal that big existed when it did, and it's challenging our understanding of how whales evolved. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://pl...
Oct 16, 2023•20 min•Ep. 616
" Child social media influencers--or 'kidfluencers'--can make big money online. But they do so in a legal grey area, where there are few or no rules about who get to keep the money. In addition, there are often no protections on how many hours child influencers work and whether they have any rights to privacy. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/615 -- Learning En...
Oct 12, 2023•21 min•Ep. 615
" The Spanish national team won the women's World Cup in Australia earlier this year. But the stunning victory was quickly overshadowed by a controversy. The head of the Spanish soccer federation kissed a player on the lips during the medal ceremony after the final game. And now the players are refusing to take the field until Spain makes changes. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https...
Oct 09, 2023•23 min•Ep. 614
" There are many similarities between Mexico and the U.S., but there are also some differences that become clear only after living in another place. Today, learn about some small differences in daily life between the two countries. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/613 -- Learning English should be fun! That’s why our lessons are about current events and trendin...
Oct 05, 2023•22 min•Ep. 613
" The European Central Bank has identified seven possible design themes for the redesign of its paper bills. Now, European citizens have their say on which theme comes out on top. The themes include birds, rivers, values, hands, and portraits (among others), but all struggle to reflect the full diversity of Europe. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://plainenglish.com/612 -- Learni...
Oct 02, 2023•24 min•Ep. 612
" The euro paper currency is over 20 years old. Now, the European Central Bank has started the process of redesigning the banknotes. Many countries put monuments, famous leaders, or national symbols on their currency. But it's not easy to decide what to put on the money that serves 20 countries, each with its own history, monuments and culture. -- At Plain English, we make English lessons for the modern world. -- Today’s full English lesson, including a free transcript, can be found at: https://...
Sep 28, 2023•25 min•Ep. 611
