- 28 minutes 29 seconds399. What is the Resource Curse? Why Some of the World's Richest Countries Stay Poor (English Vocabulary Lesson)
Scientists have just discovered enormous deposits of gold, diamonds, copper, or the rare earth minerals that are in smartphones and electric cars beneath your country. Is this good news?
Not necessarily. You might think that becoming “resource rich” is a great way for a country to become prosperous, but this not always the case.
Some of the world's most resource-rich countries have struggled with corruption, dictatorship, economic instability, civil war, and widespread poverty. Instead of becoming wealthy, they have become trapped in a cycle of dependence and political turmoil.Economists have a name for this paradox: the Resource Curse.
At the same time, countries with few natural resources, places like Japan, Singapore, and South Korea, have become some of the richest and most developed economies in the world.
Today, we're going to explore the resource curse. We’ll discuss why having valuable natural resources can sometimes become a disadvantage and look at some of the world's best-known examples.
And we’ll do this while practicing your English listening comprehension and learning some new vocabulary!
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3 August 2026, 3:00 am - 33 minutes 44 seconds398. Why Does Canada Speak French and English? (English Vocabulary Lesson)
Why does Canada speak both English and French? Why is Canada's head of state the King of the United Kingdom? Why didn't Canada become part of the United States when the rest of Britain’s North American colonies rebelled?
Canada is one of the largest countries on Earth. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, and all the way north to the Arctic. It has one of the world's wealthiest economies, consistently ranks among the best places to live, and is often seen as one of the most multicultural societies in the world. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people choose to make Canada their new home.
The history of Canada is fascinating. Indigenous peoples lived there for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. It was claimed and settled by both France and Britain. It developed differently from its neighbour the United States and gradually evolved into an independent country while still having a close relationship with the British Crown.
So, in today's episode, we're going to explore how Canada was formed, why English and French coexist, how Canada developed its unique relationship with Britain, and the biggest challenges shaping Canada's future.
And we will do all of this while practicing your English listening comprehension and learning some new vocabulary.
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27 July 2026, 3:00 am - 31 minutes 36 seconds397. Who Will Be the Next Prime Minister of the UK? (English Vocabulary Lesson)
In 2024, Keir Starmer became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after leading the Labour Party to one of the biggest election victories in modern British history.
Just two years later, he has announced his resignation… and Britain is once again preparing for a new leader.
Since the Brexit referendum in 2016, the UK has gone through an unusually high number of prime ministers. Each has promised to solve the country's problems, but then ended up leaving their role earlier than expected.
In fact, this is now the third time I've made an episode asking the question, "Who Will Be the Next Prime Minister of the UK?" Episode 161 explored the race to replace Boris Johnson back in 2022, and Episode 302 looked at what might happen if the Conservatives lost power before the 2024 election. We're asking exactly the same question again in this episode, but this time, it's the Labour Party looking for a new leader.
So, what happened? Why has Keir Starmer resigned after such a convincing election victory? Who is Andy Burnham, the politician many people expect to replace him? What kind of prime minister might he become? And why has British politics become so unstable over the past decade?
Let's find out, and at the same time learn some new English vocabulary and practice your English listening comprehension.
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20 July 2026, 3:00 am - 28 minutes 58 seconds396. 10 Years Language Learning: Lessons I'd Give My Younger Self (English Vocabulary Lesson)
In August 2016, I moved to a small town on the Japanese island of Shikoku. I had almost no Japanese ability and I didn't have an expectation that I'd stay very long in Japan. Maybe I'd stay in Japan for one year.
10 years later, though, I'm still in Japan. I'm now married. I have a daughter. I run a business from Japan. And I can live my entire life in Japanese if I need to.
Looking back, there are things that I'm incredibly proud of in my Japanese learning journey and a few things that I wish I had done differently.
So in today's episode of Thinking in English, I thought it would be interesting to discuss my past 10 years of language learning experiences: how I went from zero knowledge of Japanese to being able to live in Japanese daily if I [00:01:00] need to. Hopefully by listening to this episode, you guys will receive some motivation and some advice about your own language learning journeys.
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13 July 2026, 3:00 am - 28 minutes 30 seconds395. What Was the USA Like in 1776? (English Vocabulary Lesson)
When I think of the USA, I picture New York's skyscrapers, Hollywood movies, and Silicon Valley technology companies. I think of the world’s largest economy, and the most powerful country, with a population of more the 340 million people.
But what was the USA like when it was first founded? This year, the US is celebrating the 250th anniversary since it declared independence from the British Empire.
I thought it would be interesting to spend this episode considering what the US was like two hundred and fifty years ago. Back when it was thirteen separate colonies, that were not united at all, and before there was a concept of being an “American” or being a citizen of the USA.
I’m going to talk about the original colonies, the declaration of independence, the revolutionary war, and how the USA developed. At the same time, we will be practicing our English listening comprehension and learning some new vocabulary!
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6 July 2026, 3:00 am - 29 minutes 26 seconds394. How to Become a Confident English Speaker (English Vocabulary Lesson)
What is confidence? What does a confident English speaker look like? And how can you become a confident speaker?
This episode is going to try and answer some of these important questions. You might assume that someone with perfect grammar, a huge vocabulary, and a native-like accent will be a confident speaker. But that is not necessarily the case.
Over the years, I've met English learners with excellent English, but who were afraid to speak. And learners with much weaker English ability, but who seemed completely confident and comfortable communicating. This suggests that [00:01:00] confidence and language ability are not exactly the same thing.
So I want to explore confidence from a slightly more psychological perspective. What is confidence? What is the opposite of confidence? Why is confidence so important for language learners? How about self-efficacy? And how can you become a more confident English speaker?
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29 June 2026, 3:00 am - 32 minutes 32 seconds393. History of Football! (English Vocabulary Lesson)
The World Cup is currently underway in North America, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about football, or soccer depending on where you are from. And specifically, we are going to explore the history of the world’s most popular sport.
Most people probably think football has always looked more or less the same. Two teams with eleven players. Referees and clear rules. Ninety-minute matches.
But that is not true at all. If you travelled back a few hundred years and watched a football match in England, you might not even recognise it as football.
In this episode, we are going to explore the development of football.
I want to talk about medieval folk football, the British schools that helped create modern rules, and cities like Sheffield that played their own versions of the game. We’ll also look at why football and rugby developed separately, where the word “soccer” actually comes from, and how industrialisation transformed football into a global professional sport watched by billions of people.
By the end of this episode, I think you’ll see football very differently. And you will also have learned lots of new English vocabulary!
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22 June 2026, 3:00 am - 27 minutes 30 seconds392. History of Warsaw (English Vocabulary Lesson)
Today, we’re going to talk about Warsaw. Warsaw is the capital of Poland and one of Europe’s most resilient cities.
If you visit Warsaw today, you’ll find a modern and quickly developing European capital. There are skyscrapers, busy shopping streets, trendy cafés, and a growing economy. But history of city is dramatic and tragic.
In this episode, I am going to explore the fascinating history of Warsaw. We’ll look at its rise as Poland’s capital, periods of foreign occupation and division, the devastation of World War II, communist rebuilding, and the modern city we see today.
And we will learn some new vocabulary and practice our English listening comprehension at the same time!
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15 June 2026, 3:00 am - 21 minutes 36 seconds391. Why Is the UAE Leaving OPEC? And What Is OPEC Anyway? (English Vocabulary Lesson)
The United Arab Emirates has announced that it is leaving OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) after almost sixty years as a member. Why does this matter?
Well, oil is still one of the most important resources in the world. The price of oil affects how much we pay for petrol, the cost of transporting food, airline tickets, electricity, and much more. When oil prices rise, the economy is also affected.
OPEC is one of the most powerful organisations influencing oil prices. For decades, this group of oil-producing countries has worked together to control how much oil enters the global market. But now one of its main members is walking away.
In today’s episode, we’re going to think about a few important questions.
What is OPEC? Why is it often called an “oil cartel”? Why has the UAE decided to leave? And what could happen next?
And we’ll do all of this while learning come new vocabulary and practicing your English listening comprehension!
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8 June 2026, 3:00 am - 31 minutes 38 seconds390. What are the “New” Seven Wonders of the World? (English Vocabulary Lesson)
Thousands of years ago, Ancient Greek travellers created a list of the most extraordinary sights they encountered: the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
These included places like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, and the Colossus of Rhodes. Today though, only one still survives: the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.
So, in the early 2000s, a huge international campaign called the “New Seven Wonders of the World” aimed to create a modern list of wonders.
Some governments launched campaigns encouraging citizens to vote for their country’s monument. Critics argued that countries with larger populations had an unfair advantage. And UNESCO, the United Nations organisation responsible for protecting world heritage sites, was not involved in the project.
So today, I want to explore the story behind the New Seven Wonders of the World. What are they? Why were they chosen? And do they really deserve the title of “wonder”?
And we will do all of this while learning some new vocabulary and practicing your English listening comprehension.
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1 June 2026, 3:00 am - 28 minutes 31 seconds389. What Was the First Book Ever Written? (English Vocabulary Lesson)
Humans have been speaking languages for tens of thousands of years. We told stories around fires, passed down myths from parents to children, and memorised important information about survival and history. But for a very long time, nobody could write anything down.
Then, at some point, humans invented writing.
Writing allowed people to record laws, preserve stories, collect knowledge, and communicate across generations. Eventually, writing gave us books.
Today, I want to explore the history of books, from ancient clay tablets in Mesopotamia to modern audiobooks and e-books on smartphones. We’ll look at the origins of writing, the oldest surviving texts, the first true “books,” the world’s first novels, the printing revolution, the bestselling books in history, and finally… the future of reading itself.
And we will do all of this while learning some new vocabulary and practicing your English listening comprehension.
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