English, baby! Daily Podcasts

“Blossoming, a beautiful thing that happens in springtime.” —Ebaby!’s Andy, speaking about new growth -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Triple axel, backspin, sow cow. These words sound like another language, but actually, they’re all names used in ice skating routines. One of the more popular Olympic events, ice skating is also a fun hobby for many people. In the winter, frozen lakes offer a great spot for people to skate. More serious skaters spend time practicing daily on an indoor rink. Successful ice skaters have amazing balance. They are confident and dedicated to learning their sport well. People who only skate once in a while might have to admit that they’re terrified to try a move like a jump. If you haven’t had someone to show you the ropes, it’s probably best to simply skate in circles around the ice. Find out who loves ice skating (and who is scared of it) in this English lesson about winter sports. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Rainbow, rainbow! Have you ever wished that food was more colorful? Think of all the colorless food out there: bland cereal, white bread, wheat pasta… the list goes on. Food dye, a chemical used to make food colorful, solves this problem. It puts a bright pink in that cake icing and that mint green color in your mint chip ice cream. Thanks to food dye, bagels now have every color of the rainbow! If you want a more colorful breakfast, munch on a rainbow bagel. It may be cheap thrills, but it is the new craze. It’s very similar to the unicorn frappucino: bright, colorful, and magical. But some find these rainbow bagels disgusting. Isn’t all that food dye poisonous? Dominique hates rainbow bagels. Listen as her and Romeo talk it out in today’s English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Ireland has a very interesting history. Before Christianity, their religions were polytheistic. Polytheism is when you believe in many gods. The Irish gods were very good storytellers, talented musicians, warriors, artists, and scholars. They were role models for the people. But now, most popular religions like Christianity are monotheistic, where there is only one god. Saint Patrick was a slave in pagan Ireland for many years. He escaped, became Christian, and returned to convert thousands of Irish people to Christianity. He battled with the Druids, the priests, who he called “snakes” because he thought they were evil. Now, people celebrate the arrival of Christianity to Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day. But they celebrate in many different ways. Romeo wants to talk about the true meaning of St. Patrick’s Day. Listen as he and Marni discuss in today’s English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

“My dad used to build these little go-karts when I was really young, and I loved racing them. And I would beat the boys all the time.” —Actor Charlize Theron, speaking about her love for car racing (Daily Mail) -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Angels are everywhere in history. Whether it’s Cupid pointing his heart-shaped arrows at two people to make them fall in love, a group of angels in the Bible telling shepherds that Jesus was born, stone statues in the ancient world, or simply a supernatural being with wings wearing a white robe and playing music, it’s clear that angels have been part of human belief for a long time. Sometimes religion affects whether a person believes in unexplained phenomena. For example, Christians believe in angels, both good ones and bad ones. However, people who don’t believe in God usually want everything to have a scientific basis. Others say it’s simply a matter of faith. If you believe in angels, maybe you also believe in aliens and yetis. Learn who is uncomfortable with the supernatural world in this English lesson about faith. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

What’s your sign? Are you a stubborn Taurus? A two-faced Gemini? A determined Capricorn? The signs of the zodiac all have certain characteristics associated with them. Some people love to read their horoscopes and use them to predict how their day or their week will be. Other people think the whole thing is just silly. How could everyone born in a particular month be alike? It’s possible that astrology is only as useful as you want it to be. You don’t have to be completely convinced to find it fun to look at your horoscope online or in the newspaper every now and then. And isn’t it fun when you discover something written about your sign that is actually very true? Find out whether Lily and Greta are believers in this English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Have you ever opened your mailbox to find an invitation to a wedding, an anniversary party, or a fancy charity dinner? Most likely, it didn’t look like everyday junk mail! When people want to make an invitation stand out and look nice, they often start with the writing. Calligraphy is the hand-written lettering you’ll see on many invitations, certificates, and awards. It takes quite of bit of time to learn the strokes for each letter, and even once you know how to do it, writing individual letters can be time-consuming. Of course, printing cards on a computer is much easier than writing things by hand, but learning the lost art of calligraphy can also give you a skill not many people have. Lily received an invitation in the mail, but she doesn’t know what to do with it. Find out why in this English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Do animals need to be happy in order to taste good? Many people think so. But even more than this, a lot of people want their food to be cruelty-free. They don’t want food animals to live in unnatural conditions. These days, many companies are being kinder to their animals so people will feel better about buying from them. The difficult thing is that giving animals lots of space costs money; therefore, foods such as cage-free eggs and grass-fed beef cost more money, too. Some people cannot pay this much for their protein. So, even if a taste test shows that cruelty-free foods taste better, not everyone can spend this much money to eat. Dominique can’t believe that Marni would use basic eggs. Listen to today’s English lesson to learn more. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Everyone wants to listen to music that resonates with them. We want to listen to songs about life… the joys, pain, and everything in between. Especially when we go through a breakup, we want to listen to songs about love and heartache. In fact, singers can make beaucoup bucks with these songs. One famous example is Adele. Adele wrote many famous songs about her ex. But now her ex isn’t very happy. She made a lot of money singing about him, and he wants a slice of the pie. Singers can sing about their lives, but there are laws that protect the identities of people, even the person’s ex-girlfriend or boyfriend. And if the person inspired the song, should they get some of the money? Marni loves Adele. Listen as she and Romeo talk about her and her ex in today’s English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

“I’ve got nothing to lose. I’m just going to give it my all and see where it ends.” —Tennis player Elise Mertens, speaking about reaching the semifinals in the Australian Open (USA Today) -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Jake Gyllenhaal has had an interesting career. His first very popular movie was called Bubble Boy. In the funny movie, he is a boy who wears a big bubble and explores the world for the first time. His other movies are usually very thrilling, serious, or inspiring. He is an amazing actor. But now, he is doing modeling?! Many celebrities will do things other than what they’re known for. Jim Carrey is an actor and a painter. Some actors are also singers, paint collectors, writers, and the like. Jake Gyllenhaal recently modeled for a Calvin Klein ad which surprised and confused many people. Dominique doesn’t like that Jake Gyllenhaal is trying to be a jack of all trades. Listen as she and Marni discuss in today’s English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

“People see how much fun we have onscreen, and we are having fun filming because we love to work. But they think we have, like, waterslides on set.” —Actor Caleb McLaughlin, speaking about work and play while making Stranger Things (NME) -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

The internet! The internet changed the world so much. It is an entirely different world than real life. We can tell stories to people across the planet. Our family can see what we’re doing instantly on social media. Instead of walking to a movie theater, we can now enjoy movies on the computer. Yes, the internet is magical. Sadly, there are still many bad things about it. Since people have anonymity, they feel like they can say whatever they feel like. They have the audacity to say blasphemous things. Sometimes, they will use hate speech. These people might be low key in real life, but on the internet, they air out their bad thoughts. Romeo is confused about why people have online identities. Listen as he and Dominique discuss in today’s English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Ex-boyfriends do it. Co-workers do it. Customer service people do it. Apparently, the sound guy and cameraman do it. Sometimes, it seems like your friends do it. You wanted to talk to someone, but they pretended not to hear you. Or, you sent an email complaining about something, and no one ever got back to you. Sometimes, people prefer blowing us off. When someone blows you off, this means they are ignoring you or avoiding you. Most often, it’s a mystery why people blow you off. Maybe, they are too busy to get back to you. Maybe, they just forgot about your email or text message. Maybe, they just don’t like you and want you to go away. Trying to figure out why someone blows you off is tricky. Maybe, they are just having a bad day and it has nothing to do with you. The production crew for the movie keep blowing off Andy and Kelsey. Watch as they try to figure out why in today’s English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com