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

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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 Pi...

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On 20 July 1944, a bomb ripped through a meeting room in Hitler’s Wolf’s Lair.

This episode tells how Operation Valkyrie *almost* managed to kill Adolf Hitler, and the vicious crackdown that came afterwards.

• The Wolf’s Lair meeting on 20 July 19...

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In part one of a three-part mini-series on the theme of "university", we go on a whirlwind tour of the history of universities, from medieval student guilds in Bologna to the modern day.

• The University of Bologna nears its thousand-year anniversary.
• W...

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What does happiness really mean, and can it be measured? 

In this episode, we move from Aristotle’s eudaimonia to brain scans, surveys, big data, and what truly lifts our mood. 

It asks why money only helps so much, why social ties matter, and how trust shapes nat...

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In part one of our three-part series on "Tyrants of the Roman Empire," we'll meet Caligula, the notorious Roman emperor known for his cruelty and excess.  

Once hailed as a promising leader, Caligula's reign quickly devolved into a nightmare, filled with public e...

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The Department of Governmental Efficiency, otherwise known as DOGE, was a radical plan to cut government waste and reduce spending.

Where did the idea come from? How did it work? And crucially, did it do what it set out to do?

• Background to DOGE...

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Was Ross Ulbricht a visionary pioneer or a dangerous criminal?

In part one of our series on "Young American Outlaws", we explore the rise and fall of the Silk Road and how Ulbricht's life sentence, followed by a 2025 presidential pardon, sparked fierce deb...

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Ever wondered how the (podcast) sausage is made?

In this slightly "meta" episode, I reveal the step-by-step process to make an episode of English Learning for Curious Minds.

• Choosing podcast topics: interest, timelessness, and neutrality
• Avoidi...

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Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, was shocked to read his own obituary branding him the "merchant of death."

While the story might not be entirely true, it pushed him to reconsider his legacy.

His fortune went on to establish the Nobel Prizes, ...

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In part one of a three-part mini-series on the theme of citizenship and identity, we'll ask ourselves, "What makes someone Italian?"

We'll explore the topic of citizenship and identity in Italy, and see what the current laws tell us about what it means to b...

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Hannibal of Carthage, one of history's greatest military strategists, almost brought the Roman Republic to its knees.

As a boy, he swore eternal enmity against Rome, leading him to cross the Alps with his diverse army and elephants, stunning the Romans.

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Meet Mobutu Sese Seko, the man who rose from a lowly army officer to become the autocratic ruler of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Wearing his signature leopard-skin hat, Mobutu rebranded the country as Zaire and himself as a symbol of African pride...

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In this episode, we'll explore the complex world of minimum wage laws, from their surprising origins in Australia and New Zealand to modern debates around their effectiveness.

Do they protect the lowest-paid workers, or do they do more damage than good?

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In 2011, Egypt erupted in protest, toppling a 30-year regime.

What began as a grassroots movement against an autocratic leader turned into a complex struggle for democracy and power.

In this episode, we'll travel through the events that led from the hopeful dawn o...

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In this episode, we'll explore the eerie events of the Salem Witch Trials, a chilling tale of suspicion, fear, and injustice in 17th-century Massachusetts.  

Discover how a village turned against itself, leading to the execution of innocent people amidst accu...

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In part one of this three-part mini-series, we'll explore the captivating life of T.E. Lawrence, the British archaeologist and army officer known as "Lawrence of Arabia."  

Discover how he fought alongside Arabian tribesmen during World War I in their quest for i...

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In this episode, we'll explore the fascinating history of perfume, tracing its journey from Ancient Mesopotamia to its artistic development in France.

We'll learn how scents have evolved from practical uses to luxury items, and discover the intriguing worl...

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In this episode, we'll explore the life of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey.

Discover how he turned a fragmented resistance into a national movement, established a secular republic from imperial ruins, and why he’s still called "The Fath...

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In this episode, we'll explore the incredible story of Percy Fawcett, a daring British explorer who vanished in the Amazon rainforest while searching for the mythical city he called "Z."

Often compared to a real-life Indiana Jones, Fawcett's life was fille...