Thinking in English is a podcast for intermediate and advanced English learners who want to do more than just study grammar and vocabulary.
I believe that thinking is one of the most important steps on the road to fluency. That’s why each episode explores fascinating topics, from politics, economics, and history to philosophy, science, and culture.
Instead of simply learning English, this podcast helps you learn in English. You’ll expand your knowledge, discover new ideas, and improve your language skills, all at the same time.
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Visit the website: https://thinkinginenglish.blog/
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Try the Lingoda Sprint Today! 20 EUR OFF with code 20THINKING or click the link https://try.lingoda.com/ThinkingAugust The Collins Dictionary Word of the Year is… Vibe Coding ! In this Thinking in English episode, I’m going to define and explain the term vibe coding and talk about why it was chosen as the W ord of the Year by Collins Dictionary . I’ll also discuss some of the other contenders and runners up for the 2025 Word of the Year, including Broligarchy, Task Masking, and Micro-Retire...
Try the Lingoda Sprint Today! 20 EUR OFF with code 20THINKING or click the link https://try.lingoda.com/ThinkingAugust Have you ever heard someone say, “kick the bucket” or “pass away,” and felt confused? They both have the meaning of “die”… but are used in different contexts. English, like all languages, is full of phrases and expressions that don’t always make sense if you look at the words literally. Native speakers use this kind of language all the time… in conversations, TV shows, songs,...
Try the Lingoda Sprint Today! 20 EUR OFF with code 20THINKING or click the link https://try.lingoda.com/ThinkingAugust When people think of the United Kingdom, they often think of England. Maybe, on a rare occasion, they might also think of Scotland. But the United Kingdom is made up of four historic countries, including the proud nation of Wales. Wales is a small country with a big identity. It has its own language, culture, and its own parliament. Yet many people around the world know surprisi...
When you hear the word vampire, what comes to mind? Dracula? The Twilight books? Ancient castles in Transylvania? What if I told you that vampire stories are much older, and much stranger, than you think? In today’s Halloween special episode of Thinking in English, we’re going to explore the history of vampires. We’ll start with ancient superstitions and medieval fears, move on to the vampires of literature, and finally look at how vampires appear in modern culture. Along the way, we’ll ask an i...
When you imagine the city Rome , what comes to mind? Maybe the Colosseum, the Vatican, one of the largest empires in history, or delicious pasta? Rome isn’t just Italy’s capital; it’s also one of the most influential cities in human history. In today’s Thinking in English episode, we are going to take a journey through time, from the mythical founding of the city by Romulus and Remus, through the Roman Republic and Empire, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and finally to modern Rome. I’m not an ...
Grammar Study Pack - https://www.patreon.com/posts/passive-voice-in-140250338?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link In 1666, most of London was destroyed. Over 13,000 houses were burned, thousands of people were made homeless, and the entire city had to be rebuilt. The event I’m talking about is one of the most famous disasters in English history: the Great Fire of London. Today, I want to tell you this story, but with a sp...
What actually is a podcast? You probably think you know. You might think you are listening to one right now. But are you actually? The definition of the word podcast has been changing over the past few years. I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently, especially with platforms like Spotify and YouTube changing how we listen and what podcast means. Video podcasts, for example, are everywhere now (including Thinking in English) and some podcasts don’t even use the traditional RSS feed anymore. ...
Imagine learning to drive… joining classes, talking to driving instructors, and taking theory exams in a foreign language. That’s exactly what I just did. Two weeks ago, I passed my Japanese driving test! It wasn’t easy. I went from knowing almost nothing about Japanese road signs, traffic rules, or driving terminology to passing both my provisional and main license written tests on the first try. I also completed over 60 hours of lessons, both online and in a car, all entirely in Japanese. In t...
In today’s episode, I am going to talk about a very interesting political topic: gerrymandering . Gerrymandering is when politicians create voting districts in a way that gives one political party an advantage over the others. This topic is incredibly relevant right now, and constantly in the news in the USA. This year, Texas and some other US states have decided to redraw their congressional maps. This is, of course, causing a lot of political tension and debate across the country. In this epis...
Try Lingoda with code 20THINKING for 20€ off. https://try.lingoda.com/ThinkingAugust Today, we’re diving into the fascinating life of Marie Skłodowska Curie . Was she the greatest scientist ever? Well… maybe! She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the only person to win Nobel Prizes in two different scientific fields, and a true pioneer in the study of radioactivity. In this episode, we’ll explore her life, achievements, struggles, and lasting legacy of one of the most influential scien...
Try Lingoda with code 20THINKING for 20€ off. https://try.lingoda.com/ThinkingAugust In recent weeks the United Nations Security Council has met to discuss Israel’s planned military expansion in Gaza, to reject the creation of a rival government in Sudan, and hear reports of conflicts in Yemen, Syria, and at the Thailand/Cambodia border. The Security Council is a powerful, yet controversial, organisation at the centre of the United Nations. They have an immense amount of power, but this power is...
Which city has been the capital of three different empires? Which city is located on two continents at the same time? And which city has been known throughout history by three very different names, including Byzantium and Constantinople? The answer, of course, is Istanbul. Today, we’re going to explore the fascinating history of this city. For over 2,500 years, Istanbul has stood at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Christianity and Islam, East and West. It has been a centre of politics, cultur...
EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/think85 Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! What makes something the same object over time, even if all of its parts are replaced? This might sound like a strange question, but it’s one of the oldest and most interesting puzzles in philosophy. And we still ask similar questions all the time: about identity, technology, artificial intelligence, and ourselves. If you change over time, your personality, your body, your memories...
EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/think85 Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! What does it really take to become an expert English speaker? How do some people reach such a high level of fluency, while others seem to struggle for years without much progress? Is it talent? Luck? Or something else? Recently, I rewatched a fascinating video from one of my favourite YouTube channels, Veritasium , titled “ The Four Things It Takes to Be an Expert .” The video looks a...
EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/think85 Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Today we are going to look at an interesting and often controversial idea: Universal Basic Income, or UBI for short. Let me ask you a question: What if the government gave everyone free money, no strings attached? No matter who you are, where you work, or how much you earn; just regular payments, every month, guaranteed. Does this sound too good to be true? Or maybe it sounds like a s...
EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/think85 Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! You’re studying every day… but you feel stuck. You forget vocabulary. You hesitate to speak. And you start to wonder… “ Why am I even doing this?” If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many English learners experience frustration, boredom, or burnout at some point on their journey. But what if I told you that philosophy could help? In this episode of Thinking in English , we’re goin...
EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/think85 Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Today, we are going to talk about the history of New York city. New York is one of the most famous cities in the world. Its history is interesting and important, and I think also relevant for people learning English. Why? Because by learning about New York’s history, you can understand more about American culture and language. You might remember my episode about the history of London....
Have you ever heard the word immersion ? In language learning, immersion means surrounding yourself with English in your daily life. Instead of only studying from textbooks, you try to listen, read, speak, and think in English as much as possible. It’s a popular and powerful method to improve quickly and naturally. I first talked about language immersion on this podcast a few years ago. But since then, a lot has changed. Today, in 2025, there are many new tools like ChatGPT and other AI technolo...
TRY LINGODA TODAY - https://try.lingoda.com/ThinkingJuly $25 Lingoda Discount when you use the code THINKINGJULY - https://try.lingoda.com/ThinkingJuly Today, I want to talk about a bias that affects how we think about success. It’s called survivorship bias, and it might be the reason you’re feeling discouraged, unmotivated, or frustrated with your English. We’ll look at what survivorship bias really is, explore some famous examples from history and business, and then dive into how it appears...
TRY LINGODA TODAY - https://try.lingoda.com/ThinkingJuly $25 Lingoda Discount when you use the code THINKINGJULY - https://try.lingoda.com/ThinkingJuly What is the world's oldest country? This question is not as easy to answer as you might think. We need to discuss what a country actually is, the differences between empires, civilisations, and countries, and then find a place that fits this definition. In this episode I want to introduce you all to a country that I think could be considered the ...
London is one of the most famous cities in the world. It is the capital of the United Kingdom. It is a financial centre. An entertainment centre. A culture centre. An academic and educational centre. But how much do you know about the city’s history? Today, we are going to go on an historical journey from the Roman invasion of the island of Britain 2000 years ago to the modern day. Hopefully you’ll learn some interesting history and pick up some useful vocabulary along the way! TRANSCRIPT - http...
GRAMMAR STUDY PACK - https://www.patreon.com/thinkinginenglish/shop Peter's Grammar Workshop ( Use code FIRST-GRAMMAR for a free class ) - https://peter-english.com/grammar-workshop What happens when you stop studying English? I’m sure many of you have thought about this before. Will your English get worse? Will you still be able to have conversations? And what can you do to prevent this from happening? Today I want to look in more depth at language attrition (the opposite...
Download ELSA for free + get 7 days premium membership for free: https://bit.ly/ELSAxTHINKINGINENGLISH Get exclusive ELSA discounts: https://elsaspeak.com/inf/promo-code-thinking-in-english/?promocode=THINK85 YouTube is now 20 years old! It was officially launched back in 2005, and over the past two decades it has completely transformed the way we use the internet. Today, over 2.5 billion people use YouTube every single month. Every minute, over 500 hours of video are uploaded. From funny...
Download ELSA for free + get 7 days premium membership for free: https://bit.ly/ELSAxTHINKINGINENGLISH Get exclusive ELSA discounts: https://elsaspeak.com/inf/promo-code-thinking-in-english/?promocode=THINK85 Have you ever heard the phrase, “History is written by the victors?” It suggests that the people who win wars and lead countries often control how we remember the past. And perhaps no historical figure better represents this idea than Winston Churchill. To many people, especially in the ...
Download ELSA for free + get 7 days premium membership for free: https://bit.ly/ELSAxTHINKINGINENGLISH Get exclusive ELSA discounts: https://elsaspeak.com/inf/promo-code-thinking-in-english/?promocode=THINK85 Peter's Grammar Workshop ( Use code FIRST-GRAMMAR for a free class ) - https://peter-english.com/grammar-workshop In many countries, free speech is a fundamental or basic right. According to some people, this right is currently at risk. People are starting to believe that fre...
Download ELSA for free + get 7 days premium membership for free: https://bit.ly/ELSAxTHINKINGINENGLISH Get exclusive ELSA discounts: https://elsaspeak.com/inf/promo-code-thinking-in-english/?promocode=THINK85 How many planets are in our solar system? Is it eight… or nine? For a long time, children around the world were taught that our solar system had nine planets, including a small, distant one named Pluto. But in 2006, Pluto was reclassified. It was no longer considered a “real” planet, and th...
Download ELSA for free + get 7 days premium membership for free: https://bit.ly/ELSAxTHINKINGINENGLISH Get exclusive ELSA discounts: https://elsaspeak.com/inf/promo-code-thinking-in-english/?promocode=THINK85 A few weeks ago, I took a trip to the southern Japanese city of Nagasaki. Nagasaki is an incredible place with a lot of fascinating history. It was one of the only Christian cities in Japan. It was the only place in Japan open to foreigners for hundreds of years. And an atomic bomb was drop...
Download ELSA for free + get 7 days premium membership for free: https://bit.ly/ELSAxTHINKINGINENGLISH Get exclusive ELSA discounts: https://elsaspeak.com/inf/promo-code-thinking-in-english/?promocode=THINK85 Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/thinkinginenglish In this episode of Thinking in English , I want to explore the life, work, and legacy of Isaac Newton. We’ll look at his most important discoveries, some of the controversies and mysteries that surrounded his life, and ask...
Tom Wilkinson shares an updated introduction to "Thinking in English," reflecting on its surprising growth since 2020. He details his personal journey, from university and teaching in Japan to starting the podcast during COVID, and how it evolved from a side project to his full-time job thanks to listener support, especially Patreon. The episode also highlights the podcast's impressive global reach and Tom's future aspirations for expanding English learning content.
Download ELSA for free + get 7 days premium membership for free: https://bit.ly/ELSAxTHINKINGINENGLISH Get exclusive ELSA discounts: https://elsaspeak.com/inf/promo-code-thinking-in-english/?promocode=THINK85 Peter's Grammar Workshop ( Use code FIRST-GRAMMAR for a free class ) - 7th May Causative Grammar - https://peter-english.com/grammar-workshop Should companies let employees work f rom home? Or should employers make workers spend their entire work day in the office? This has been a major dis...
