The term "fake news" came to prominence in late 2016, but the idea of fake news is as old as time. In this episode, we explore how fake news has been created over the years, for what purpose and by who, and ask ourselves whether it is harder than ever to tell the truth from a lie.  "Fake News" in 2016 What does "fake news" actually mean? The three reasons that people create fake news Fake News & Mark Anthony Fake News in Trento in 1475 Fake News & the Nazis The British government and Fake News in the First World War How has news changed over the years? Life on the moon in 1835 Macedonian teenagers and Donald Trump Sensational News vs. Fake News Russian troll farms Deep Fakes in 2021 Full transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/history-of-fake-news

English Learning for Curious Minds

#202 | A History of Fake News

From 1995 to 2001, a man from eastern France stole 239 different pieces of art from 172 museums, an average of one theft every 14 days.It's estimated that the value of all the stolen art was over 1 billion Euros, but he never sold a single piece of it. The early life of Stéphane Breitwieser Breitwieser's life falls apart Meeting (and falling in love with) his accomplice The first theft Why he was such an unusual art thief How the thefts would take place Why he was a billionaire with no money Being arrested for the first time Promising to do things differently Becoming even bolder Breaking promises Getting caught The aftermath of the crime Breitwieser's hopeless addiction to theft Full transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/stephane-breitwieser

#200 | Stéphane Breitwieser: The Greatest Art Thief of All Time

"Let's jump on board and cut them to pieces!" - Blackbeard."A merry life and a short one" - Captain Bartholomew Roberts.Pirates have a special place in our imagination. They are both heroes and villains, their lives attractive but scary.In this episode, we'll take a closer look at pirates through history, the situations that allowed them to exist and prosper, what life as a pirate was actually like, what caused the Golden Age of Piracy to come to an end, and the legacy that they left behind. The classic idea of a pirate Pirates throughout history The Golden Age of Piracy Why was there a boom in piracy in the 17th century? Captain Kidd: was he even a real "pirate"? State-sanctioned pirates The life of a pirate Pirate hierarchies What was a pirate attack really like? Pirates: early masters of the power of image The story of Blackbeard What caused the end of the pirates? The legacy of pirates Pirate myth-busting: parrots, pirate language, hooks and treasure Full transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/history-of-pirates

#198 | A History of Pirates

In September 1519, a Portuguese explorer and a crew of 270 men set sail from Spain trying to find a sea route west, through the Americas.Three years later, 18 of the men returned, tired and hungry, but becoming the first people to have successfully completed a full circle of the Earth. Introduction to The Age of Exploration The Treaty of Tordesillas Seeking a route west to The Spice Islands Magellan presents his idea to King Charles V of Spain Why was the Spanish king listening to a Portuguese explorer? The early life of Ferdinand Magellan A “career-minded daredevil" Why were spices in such high demand? Why did Magellan sail for Spain, not Portugal? The start of the expedition The first mutiny Finding a passage through South America Crossing The Pacific Ocean Arriving at Guam Magellan's death in The Philippines Arriving at The Spice Islands The journey back to Spain The legacy of the expedition Who was the first person to have circumnavigated the globe? Full transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/ferdinand-magellan

#196 | Ferdinand Magellan & The First Voyage Around The World

On September 17th, 2011, hundreds of people descended on a park in the heart of New York's financial district.Their aim? To protest against the global financial system and its effects on  99% of the population.On this 10th anniversary of the protests, we take a look at what happened, what they achieved, and what impact they might have in the future. The United States in 2011 The 1% vs. the 99% A global sense of uprising The idea behind Occupy Wall Street Meeting in Zuccotti Park in New York's Financial District What did the protestors actually want to change? Famous article by economist Joseph Stiglitz The public perception around the need for change A different model of decision-making The end of the protests What actually happened during the protests? Criticisms of Occupy Wall Street Disorganisation & being tricked about Radiohead playing Did it really represent the 99%? Pushing the idea of the 1% vs. 99% into the public consciousness Legacy of Occupy Wall Street Full transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/occupy-wall-street

#194 | Occupy Wall Street

It is one of the most popular websites in the world and has the goal of being a comprehensive collection of all of the knowledge in the world.In this episode, we'll learn about the history of this amazing website, why it succeeded where others failed, how it actually works, and its importance as a source of truth. Some statistics about how big Wikipedia is History of encyclopedias Bomis.com and the dot-com-boom The founding of Nupedia Why Nupedia didn't work Launching Wikipedia Why (and how) Wikipedia was different Wikipedia's early growth Early criticisms of Wikipedia Who pays for Wikipedia? The surprising second and third most popular languages on Wikipedia Automating article creation Criticisms of Wikipedia's trustworthiness Trump vs. Biden on Wikipedia Influence of the contributors on what is published on Wikipedia Why you should edit Wikipedia Full transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/history-of-wikipedia

#192: A History of Wikipedia

It's one of the United States' most powerful advocacy groups and is a fierce defender of gun rights.But it hasn't always been like this.In this episode, we'll discover how it went from helping create gun control laws to becoming the most powerful pro-gun organisation in Washington D.C. The early years of the NRA Helping introduce gun control laws in the 1930s Passing the Gun Control Act of 1968 The 1970s: A change in the NRA What does the NRA actually do? 5 key activities How the NRA reacts after a mass shooting The effect on the NRA of mass shootings Barack Obama: "the best gun salesman in America" The controversy within the NRA How many Americans live in a household with guns? American perceptions towards gun ownership Full transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/nra

#190: The National Rifle Association

In 1745 Charles Stuart arrived on the west coast of Scotland with the aim of taking back the throne of England, Scotland and Ireland.It didn't go as planned and resulted in the last battle fought on British soil.In this episode, we'll learn about his failed rebellion, and the legacy he has left on Great Britain. The early life of Bonnie Prince Charlie Relationship Bonnie Prince Charlie and Mary Queen of Scots Meaning of "Pretender" in English The Divine Right of Kings Arriving in Scotland in 1745 Life in Britain under the Hanoverians The Highland Clans Marching towards Edinburgh Marching south towards London Stopping at Derby and turning back north What if the French had come to help? Who actually was in the Jacobite and government armies? The night before Culloden The Battle of Culloden The aftermath of the battle “Run, you cowardly Italian” The life of Bonnie Prince Charlie after Culloden Suppression of Highlandism after the battle Three unusual facts about Bonnie Prince Charlie Full transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/bonnie-prince-charlie

#188: Bonnie Prince Charlie

He was the Scottish rebel who fought against the English and has become the most famous freedom fighter in Scottish history.In this episode, we'll learn all about his battles against the English, and the legacy that William Wallace left on the country. Introduction to mini-series on Scottish heroes The brutal execution of William Wallace Introduction to Scotland (as a part of the British Isles) William Wallace "the man" vs. William Wallace "the legend" The death of Alexander II Gaining a reputation as a hater of the English Raising a small army and fighting the English The battle of Stirling Bridge Being rewarded with the position of The Guardian of Scotland Edward II marching north to teach William Wallace a lesson The battle of Falkirk "The machine gun of the Middle Ages" Becoming a diplomat and going to Europe Capture and execution Legacy of William Wallace within Scotland 1995 film "Braveheart" Full transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/william-wallace

#186: William Wallace

It's often said that the pen is mightier than the sword, and throughout history there are books that have been considered too dangerous to be read. In this episode, we'll take a look at the times when governments have banned books, the reasons for this, and ask ourselves what this tells us about society. What's the link between The Bible, William Shakespeare, Harry Potter, The Quotations of Chairman Mao and Mickey Mouse? What does "banning" actually mean? Correlation between banning books and restricting civil liberties “….where they burn books, they will also ultimately burn people.“  The invention of the Gutenberg Printing Press Indulgences of the Catholic Church Growth of printing (and importance of censorship) Reasons for banning books: political, sexual, moral & religious The banning of Mein Kampf The trial of Lady Chatterley's Lover What banning books does for book sales The debate around The Catcher in the Rye Religious bans & The Satanic Verses Banning books in 2021 Full transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/banned-books

#184: Banned Books

He was an internet security pioneer, and his McAfee Antivirus software was used on hundreds of millions of computers all around the world.But privately, he lived a crazy life that ended in tragedy.In this episode, we'll learn all about the wild, wild, life of this cybersecurity legend. The early life of John McAfee Finding talent for mathematics Early vices: drink & drugs Being kicked out of his PhD programme Working in high-powered technology jobs (and developing a terrible drug addiction) Creating McAfee Antivirus and making money from paranoia Walking away with $80 million Becoming a target for hackers Losing all of his money in the financial crash Moving to Belize Claiming he was being extorted by the Belizean government The murder of George Faull Fleeing Belize Running for US President Attacking McAfee Antivirus Promoting cryptocurrency Being chased by the IRS and FBI The final chapter: The Spanish jail cell Conspiracy theories about his death Full transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/john-mcafee

#182: The Crazy Life of John McAfee

He is considered by many to be the greatest public speaker in British history, and his words and speeches were a defining force in the British war effort.In this episode, we'll learn all about how Winston Churchill used the English language to inspire a nation. Winning the 1953 Nobel Prize for literature Early obstacles to being a great orator Completing his education on his own Studying the great English orators Spending four decades as a member of parliament Churchill's gift for storytelling The medium: the radio My grandfather's memories of Churchill's speeches Background to Churchill's speeches How Churchill wrote Writing more words than William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens combined Speech #1: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat“  Speech #2: "We shall never surrender" Speech #3: "Give us the tools, and we will finish the job" Why Churchill's words are so powerful Churchill's wit (and some funny jokes) Full transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/winston-churchill-language

#180: Winston Churchill & The English Language

In 2019, former Vice President Mike Pence said "Make no mistake about it - we're in a space race today".Discover who the key players are, why there is a renewed interest in going to space, why it is now cheaper than ever before, and what the future of space exploration might look like. Enthusiasm for space post moon landing What was the next step in the first space race? Mike Pence's view on the new space race US, Russia and China The emergence of private space companies Why has going to space become cheaper? Space mining: what is it, and how does it work? Space junk? The benefits of space exploration for life on Earth Privacy and space The laws of space Reasons to be excited about a new space race Differences between the new and the old space race Full transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/space-race-3

#178: The Space Race - Part Three | The New Space Race

After the end of the Second World War, the US and the USSR were locked in a race to get to space first.Discover how the race started, who scored all the early points, and why going to the moon first was the biggest prize in space history. End of World War II & Nazi V2 rockets The head of the USA space programme: Wernher von Braun The head of the USSR space programme: Sergei Korolev The early years of The Space Race Why there was such a desire to get to space Communism vs. Capitalism The first Sputnik Satellite Confusing The Americans First animals into space Yuri Gagarin: The first man in space 1962: A bold claim from President John F. Kennedy Next step "the moon" The alternative "man on the moon" plans Full transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/space-race-1

#176: The Space Race - Part One | The Early Years

It's a technology that some have said will bring in a Fourth Industrial Revolution.Discover how 3D printing actually works, what industries it is revolutionising, and how it will (or won't) change every aspect of the world we live in. A brief history of the creation of objects 3D printing vs. traditional manufacturing Should we really call it "printing"? Early versions of 3D printing Patents & 3D printing Lowering of costs of 3D printing 3D printing & prototyping Recent cost reductions in 3D printing Revolutionising the global supply chain Example of a British car manufacturer 3D printing "anything" 3D printing in space Settlements on Mars 3D printing a cup, a new ear, and a full English breakfast The implications of 3D printing on the world we live in 3D printing guns & criticisms of 3D printing Full transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/3d-printing

#174: 3D Printing

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