6 Amazing podcasts you definitely shouldn’t miss!
6 amazing podcasts you definitely shouldn’t miss!
Listening to podcasts is a great way of improving your English or any other language, in fact. Why waste your time on a long train journey if you can listen to high quality content about all sorts of topics. Here is a selection of 6 amazing podcasts you definitely shouldn’t miss!
This podcast is particularly great for learning English. Luke is a teacher from England, currently living in Paris who has years of experience in teaching English. Keep in mind, however, that you should already have a basic to medium level of English to be able to understand him. He will explain difficult words and phrases, even in episodes where he just keeps rambling about. There is also a website where you will find transcriptions of the episodes as well as videos, quizzes, music and much more. Luke’s English podcast has a big community of followers due to the fact that his podcasts are very entertaining and personal. It almost feels like carrying around a friend in your pocket when listening to him.
Betty is a flight attendant of a major airline and she will tell you about the stories high up in the air, of the flight attendants and the pilots, her travels, the crazy passengers she meets and heart-breaking stories. Follow Betty on her travels and she will make you consider dumping your current career and becoming a flight attendant. My favourite episodes include cheeky pilots who play pranks on flight attendants, cultural misunderstandings, meeting celebrities and unexpected incidents on the airplane. Warning: Probably best if you don’t listen to it in public places since you will burst out laughing and will have difficulties pulling yourself together.
And all other BBC podcasts. The BBC provides many informative high-quality podcasts. Note however, that many of them are produced for native speakers of English, so you should already have a good level of English. Recent episodes include “City of the Future” in which Houston, a massive city in Texas, deals with immigration and the divide between rich and poor, “The Hidden Homeless” which is about the crisis of homelessness for families in Britain and much more. I can especially relate to the episode “They Call Us Viet Kieu” in which a second-generation British Vietnamese girl follows the traces of her parents and the War in Vietnam, trying to find her identity.
Another podcast from the BBC if you want to brush up your knowledge about history. It is part of the BBC history magazine. The BBC has a great variety of other history podcasts, too. Learn about what people wrote to their loved ones, hundred of years ago before the Titanic sank, in “Titanic Letters”. Or find out more about the history of World War 1 in “World War One at Home”.
The guardian has several book podcasts including the Digested Read podcast, the Guardian Long Read and the Guardian short stories podcast. They are always a good choice if you don’t want to waste your time on a dull book.
- The Irish Times Women’s podcast
This podcast deals with current political affairs and how they affect women. It can also give you advice on health issues. Listen to the stories and problems of ordinary people and find out how the Women’s podcast can help them and yourself. Topics include women’s mental health, how to deal with depression and pregnancy. Feminism and humor guaranteed.