The World and English

This week I have an update about the Coronavirus and about Trump and his shenanigans. I also have 6 good things to know about the virus. As always, it's been a newsy week, as things change from day to day.

This week I talk about why we have so many COVID patients in the US. We have the highest numbers in the world. I also talk about a book about Donald Trump written by his niece, Mary Trump, a clinical psychologist. Finally, we lost a beloved statesman, John Lewis this week. He gave a lot of his life for justice and will be sorely missed.

This might seem like a strange combination, but this week I divert from just giving you information about what happened in the US. I have a couple of stories about that, but this week I'm telling a story I learned about that I find very interesting. I hope you will too.

 This was a very newsworthy week. We learned about a new Russian scandal, a followup on the elections and the Coronavirus and news of a tell-all book by Donald Trump's niece. You never know what the next day is going to bring.

Today's update deals with Trump's first rally and Tulsa, Oklahoma's ugly history, where we are on the Coronavirus, and a friend of Trump's who is getting away with a federal crime.

Today I begin my 3rd season after taking a few weeks off to think about what I want to talk about. Times are strange these days. It's hard to think about the fun things I did in the classroom when we are in such a stressful time. So, for my 3rd season I want to share with you what's going on here. Every day is something new, so I'm sure I'll have plenty to talk about. I'll do my best to keep you informed. There are places to get more detailed information, but I'll be giving you a glimpse of what it's like to be living in the US right now.

In today's episode, I talk about my experience in researching my ancestry and my take-aways from the process. 

Today's episode is about comedian, Dick Gregory. It's about a book excerpt he wrote that I used to have students read and talk about when I taught Advanced ESL in a community college in Southern California. I read the excerpt in this episode and talk about what we used to talk about when we read it in class.

This is a story about friendship from distant places. It's about feeling empathy for others in their times of need.

This is one I was going to wait until Valentine's Day for, but I thought it was time for something positive. There are so many negative things to think about these days. I hope you enjoy it!

Many of us are home and don't know what to do to entertain ourselves. I'm working on a couple of projects. One of them is about my family history. Join me as I share a personal story from the history of my family.

Today I'm talking about the pros and cons of using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Why are some people so rude? In this time of our human history, most of us are very frustrated at having to stay home. Our only connection to each other is through social media. Shouldn't we be kind to each other? As I speak, I'm using some idioms that I explain later in the show. If I miss some, let me know and I'll give an update next time.

In today's episode, I talk about a reading passage I used to give my students about a man going through his recently deceased  father's personal belongings. The passage is a book excerpt by Julius  Lester, an American author, professor and musician. The book is Falling Pieces of the Broken Sky. I talk about this, as well as memories of when my sisters and I had to do the same things with our mother's things. The English lesson for today is about some phrasal verbs using the word, "come".

In this rough time, I found some stories of good news. I think we all need to focus on some positive things that are happening in the world. It's too easy to focus on the negative. I also share some expressions using the word, "face". 

In today's episode, I talk about my experience of being sick for the past 2 weeks in the United States. I don't know what I have because testing for the Coronavirus in the U.S. is very limited. I do not qualify to be tested. We are in a difficult time now around the world and the U.S. isn't handling this pandemic as well as we should be, as well as some other countries. This is my experience.

At this time when we're all stressed about the Coronavirus, it's good to take a look at the numbers and them get away from it all and think about good things in the world right now. From heartwarming stories to ideas of things we can do while we're stuck at home, this episode is an attempt to cheer us up. Here are some places you can find more uplifting stories:"80+ Good News Stories From Around the World That Will Brighten Your Day": https://www.readersdigest.ca/culture/good-news-stories-world/Italians singing together on their balconies: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/quarantined-italians-sing-songs-from-balconies/Elderly Spanish woman: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news

In this episode, I give you an update to the Coronavirus and elections in the U.S. Then it's off to some fun with some Linguistic Urban Legends.For those of you interested in the book Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends, here's the link where you can buy it on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Word-Myths-Debunking-Linguistic-Legends/dp/0195375572 

This week, I started out planning to talk about the political scene in America, since that's what seems to be taking over my mind. But after Super Tuesday, I decided to give it a rest. Instead, I talk about the pros and cons of social media, stereotypes and a little English word that has more definitions than I've ever seen in a dictionary.If you'd like to read about this word, here are some links:https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/opinion/29winchester.htmlhttps://www.rd.com/culture/most-complicated-word-in-english/https://www.lexico.com/definition/run 

Today's episode comes from an article I read that helped me to understand a little better why there is such division in the world. How can people in the same culture have such different ideas about things such as science? The article is "How and Why Anti-science propaganda works" by Amitabha Palmer. I've simplified and shortened his academic paper for my English learners, but you're welcome to read the entire paper here: https://wrestling-with-philosophy.com/2020/01/08/how-and-why-anti-science-propaganda-works/  It's very interesting.I've also included a few idioms: "jump on the bandwagon", "The ball is in their court." and "I'll be glad to see the back of him." As always, you can get a transcript of today's episode with a vocabulary list at my website: https://alexseslworld.com/ Just click on "Podcast" and you'll find it.

It's February and in the United States, it's Black History month. It's important to think about the contributions from African-Americans, but I chose to focus on something we need to talk more about, that too many people don't because they're not comfortable talking about it, racism. It's a very big problem in the United States. I'm telling my perspective and that may not be satisfactory for some, but I think white people need to be talking about it. It's the elephant in the room.