English, baby! Daily Podcasts

It’s one of the most star-studded nights of the year: the Oscars, also known as the Academy Awards. Not only do you get the chance to learn which movies, actors, and directors are voted the best, but you also get to see what everyone’s wearing on the red carpet. There are lots of great movies up for awards this year, from the historical Lincoln to the strange and surreal Beasts of the Southern Wild. Who will take home the prizes—and, more importantly, what will they be wearing when they do? Hear Greta and Marni’s thoughts about the Oscars in this movies English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

“I’m a mom now…I’m not a supermodel. My body is not bouncing back like a supermodel.” – Singer and actress Jessica Simpson on her body after pregnancy. (USA Today) -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

We eat so many different kinds of food every day, it’s no wonder that our bodies are confused by some of them. It’s no fun when you have an allergic reaction to something you ate. Food allergies can be very serious. Some common allergens, like shellfish or peanuts, can even kill the people who are allergic to them. Other people are only mildly allergic to foods and simply feel a little bit sick when they eat them. No matter how serious the food allergy is, when you can’t have something, it makes you want it more. Just ask someone who is allergic to milk how good an ice cream cone sounds, and you’ll find out. Sara has to be very careful about what she eats. She has an allergy to a very common food. Listen to her tell Mason about it in this health English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Have you ever stayed up all night? Sometimes, it feels as if the night is going to go on forever. It’s so dark out that it’s hard to imagine that the sun will ever come out again. Just when you think that it is so dark that it could never get any darker, you see the first streaks of sunlight on the horizon. The sky gets lighter and lighter, and then suddenly, it’s dawn.Life kind of works this way, too. Let’s say everything is going badly in your life: you’ve lost your job, your spouse has left you, and you got in a bike wreck. You can’t believe that things are ever going to get better. And just when you think that, they start to get better. The sunrise comes. It’s always darkest before the dawn.It’s the middle of the night at the office, and everything is chaotic. Do things have to get worse before they get better? Find out how dark things get in this English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Are you a slob? A neat freak? Are you the kind of person who folds and puts away your clothes as soon as you get changed for bed, or who just dumps your clothes in a pile on the floor? There are probably as many different cleaning habits as there are people in the world. Being super neat or super messy isn’t that much of a big deal when you live by yourself. When you live with roommates or a spouse or partner, you have to worry about whether your cleaning habits are compatible with the person you live with. If your cleaning habits differ, you’ll probably have to learn how to compromise, or else decide that living together isn’t going to work out. Find out how Greta and Mason deal with each other’s cleaning habits in this housekeeping English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Any list of the best trilogies of all time includes The Lord of The Rings. These hugely successful films are a tough act to follow, but filmmaker Peter Jackson decided to try with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The film is the first of three prequels set in Middle Earth 60 years before The Lord of the Rings. But the technology used is far more futuristic. The images are very high definition, and the film even shows twice as many frames per second as a normal movie. Some say this technology makes classic characters like Gollum more real. Others think all the detail actually reveals flaws in the film and makes it seem fake. Jason loves The Hobbit, but Vanessa isn’t so sure about it. Listen to them discuss the film in this English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

“Kids should be kids for as long as possible. When she gets into her teens, though, all bets are off.”- Actress Drew Barrymore on whether her daughter will wear makeup from her new line of beauty products. (Us Weekly) -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

On Valentine’s Day, many people send romantic cards and letters out to the people they like or love. But a love letter is sweet to send or receive at any time of the year. There’s something almost old-fashioned about taking the time to sit down and express to the person you love just how and why you love them. In our modern age, many love letters are probably written on email. The sentiment might still be there, but is an emailed love letter quite as romantic as one that arrives in an envelope? Has technology taken a toll on romance? Find out what Marni and Lily think in this love English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Everyone has a secret or two. These secrets may be small, like the fact that you’ve never told anyone that you were the one who accidentally left the door open, letting your pet dog run into the yard that one time. Or you may have a bigger secret, like the fact that you cheated on your girlfriend or boyfriend. The biggest kind of secret, though, is one that grows so big that it’s as if you have two separate realities. In one of the realities the secret is known, and in the other, it isn’t. It’s as if you’re living a double life.Sometimes a double life isn’t so much about a secret as it is about having two parts of your life that just don’t really go together. Maybe you’re a doctor during the day, and at night you are a singer in a nightclub. Those two activities are so different that friends who only know you from one context might not really understand the other. Marni has just gone into labor, and everything is becoming chaotic at the office. Sometimes chaos is what it takes for secrets and double lives to be revealed. Find out who’s living double in this identity English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Some people are happy with their jobs and the amount of money they make. Other people are always on the lookout for a new business opportunity. These people look for chances to join new companies or sell new products. They look for anything that sounds exciting and can make them easy cash.Seeking business opportunities can be dangerous, though. How can you tell the difference between a legitimate opportunity and a scam? How can you know if you have a much greater chance of losing money than of making a fortune? Hear Mason tell Sara about a new business opportunity in this money English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Writing a paper is one of the times when you get to be truly creative in school. Your paper can say whatever you choose. It’s up to you to write it, using whatever process works best for you. Some people brainstorm, do a lot of research, write a rough draft, and finish their papers well in advance. Others like to get in a flow and stay up all night before the paper is due. Both strategies can turn out great or poorly. In this school English lesson, listen to Sara and Jason talk about an upcoming paper assignment and how they are planning to tackle it. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

“My only saving grace is that I actually collect things that nobody else is interested in.”- Musician Phil Collins on why he’s not worried about anyone stealing objects from his collections. (New York Times) -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Red, green, golden. Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Fuji. Whatever your favorite kind, there’s nothing like a crisp, fresh apple, especially when apples are in season. In most of the United States, autumn is the best time for apples, but they’re available in most grocery stores year-round, too.For people who love apples, a trip to an apple orchard is a real treat. At orchards you can try many varieties of apples, and sometimes even pick your own. Find out what Marni and Mason think about apples in this food English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Have you ever had a day where everything goes wrong? You spill your coffee in the morning, and you break a plate, and you step in the dog’s food. To make it worse, you miss your bus. So now you have two choices. You can sit around and feel sorry for yourself. Or, you can wipe up your coffee, clean off your shoe, and enjoy the hour before your next bus comes. You can make the best of it. When you make the best of something, you decide to focus on the positive aspects of a situation. You act like an optimist, even in a difficult moment. You try to smile through the tears.The crew at the office is in a difficult situation. They’re stuck there overnight, and they’re eating out of cans and sleeping on the floor. Is it possible for things to get any worse? Find out if they’re able to make the best of the situation in this English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

It’s almost rare to see cash these days. Why carry around all that money when you can use your card for almost everything? Not only do most businesses accept credit cards now, many businesses offer their own credit card which gives you special rewards for using it when you shop. The difficult thing about credit cards though is when you swipe your card, it doesn’t feel like you paid any money. It’s easy to get behind on the payments and go into debt since credit cards have high interest rates. Mason loves to use his credit card, but Sara is more cautious with hers. Listen to them talk about the benefits and risks of plastic in this finance English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com