2016-09-08 Old tech
Did you ever own a Walkman or a record player? Is there still a market for DVD rental stores? Alice and Neil discuss old tech and why the US Pentagon…
2016-09-01 Slang
Is slang a bad thing? Do you use it a lot? Neil and Alice discuss a very English kind of of language – Cockney Rhyming Slang – and teach you about jargon.…
2016-08-25 Domestic chores
Do women sweep the floor and clean the bathroom more often than men? Should men be more tidy? Alice and Neil discuss the topic and teach you a tidy amount…
2016-08-18 Have you walked off your pizza?
Is food labelling clear enough to help us make healthy choices? – Especially when on average we spend only six seconds making those choices in the supermarket. Alice and Neil…
2016-08-11 How to cure writer’s block
Who were the Muses and how did they help the creative process? Neil and Alice discuss Neil’s poetry and some interesting ways to deal with writer’s block. This week’s question…
2016-08-04 Is English changing?
Will we still be speaking in an English we recognise in a thousand years’ time? Which words and grammar will still be there? And which will have been lost? Alice…
2016-07-28 Heritage sites
The Great Barrier Reef, the Grand Canyon, and the Inca city of Machu Picchu in Peru, are just some of the world’s most precious natural and cultural heritage sites, but…
2016-07-21 Are we there yet?
Why do some weeks just fly by but sometimes minutes can seem like hours? And why do we perceive time differently in different circumstances? Neil and Alice discuss how our…
2016-07-14 Cities of the future
What will the cities of the future look like, and will we enjoy living in them? Vast mega-cities are emerging in the developing world as people migrate in search of…
2016-07-07 Diabetes
Why is the disease diabetes on the rise? Alice and Neil talk about the role that diet and exercise have to play in this global health problem – and whether…
2016-06-30 Get on with it!
From watching cat videos on YouTube to searching your own name online… people do all sorts of things in order to delay doing the tasks we really should be doing.…
2016-06-23 Who would you imitate?
Why do we like to impersonate people? Neil tries out his best impression of Elvis and, together with Alice, teaches you related vocabulary. This week’s question A musical act that impersonates…
2016-06-16 How to prepare for an exam
Students up and down the UK are busy revising for exams. Alice and Rob consider which study techniques are effective – and which aren’t – including Rob’s suggestions to sleep…
2016-06-09 Young and in business
New young entrepreneurs are appearing everywhere. But are they being taken seriously? Alice and Rob discuss whether grey hair is best when it comes to making money. This week’s question…
2016-06-02 Do as I say, not as I do
Why do people often say one thing and do another? Nobody likes a hypocrite, and it’s often used as an insult. But is it avoidable? Alice and Rob ask how…