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BBC Radio · Education

6 Minute English

Learn and practise useful English with clips from programmes around the BBC. Each week, we talk about an interesting topic and learn helpful words and phrases used in natural spoken English - all in 6 minutes! Practise your listening and hear natural spoken English. Find more at https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish Follow us at https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/followus

Episodes

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Healthy meals on a budget

20 Mar 2025
6m
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This BBC Learning English podcast discusses saving money on food. Hosts Pippa and Georgie debate their personal approaches to grocery shopping, then introduce the "Bags of Taste" project, which delivers ingredients and recipes to low-income families, improving their diets and reducing food waste through a supportive W...

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Should we eat less rice?

13 Mar 2025
6m
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This BBC Learning English podcast discusses the challenges of rice cultivation due to climate change and introduces a new water-saving technique called Alternate Wet Drying (AWD). The hosts introduce the topic, discuss the global importance of rice as a staple food, and interview experts from the International Rice Re...

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The country that measures happiness

06 Mar 2025
6m
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This BBC Learning English podcast discusses Gross National Happiness (GNH), a concept pioneered in Bhutan. The hosts introduce GNH, explaining its focus on balancing economic development with environmental protection and cultural preservation, contrasting it with traditional economic growth models. They interview exp...

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A vaccine for cancer

27 Feb 2025
6m
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This BBC Learning English podcast discusses the potential for cancer vaccines. The hosts introduce the topic, highlighting the global impact of cancer and the recent breakthroughs in mRNA vaccine technology. They then explore how cancer cells evade the immune system, using expert interviews to explain the mechanisms ...

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Young women on social media

20 Feb 2025
6m
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This BBC Learning English podcast discusses the impact of social media on young people, focusing on both positive and negative aspects. The hosts introduce the debate surrounding a new Australian law limiting social media access for under-16s, then present contrasting viewpoints from young women in different countries...

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Rage bait: How online anger makes money

13 Feb 2025
6m
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This BBC Learning English podcast discusses the emerging trend of "rage bait" in social media—content designed to provoke anger for increased engagement and profit. The hosts define rage bait, contrasting it with clickbait, and explain how it works by exploiting psychological biases to generate reactions and views. M...

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Why smells make us feel at home

06 Feb 2025
6m
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This BBC Learning English podcast explores the connection between smell and the feeling of being home. The hosts discuss how our brains filter out familiar smells, allowing us to detect unusual or dangerous scents, and the role of smell in our limbic system's processing of memory and emotion. A quiz question reveals ...

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Becoming a musician

30 Jan 2025
6m
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This BBC Learning English podcast episode, a co-hosted discussion, explores the lives of aspiring musicians in the UK. The hosts discuss the challenges and rewards of a musical career, featuring interviews with two musicians: Bailey, who started performing at open mic nights at age 11, and Josh, a successful London bu...

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How the world learned to love fast food

23 Jan 2025
6m
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This 6-Minute English podcast explores the global expansion of fast food, tracing its origins in 1950s America. The hosts discuss the "can-do" attitude that fueled early fast-food entrepreneurs and the American Dream symbolism associated with these brands. They contrast the widespread success of chains like McDonald'...

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Which country has the best schools?

16 Jan 2025
6m
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This 6-Minute English podcast episode discusses the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) rankings, which evaluate education systems globally. The hosts debate the British system and introduce Sean Coughlin's insights on the contentious nature of comparing vastly different countries. They highlight th...

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Eating 50-year-old stew

09 Jan 2025
6m
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This podcast episode dives into intriguing topics, starting with "forever foods"—meals like endlessly simmering stews that are constantly topped up with new ingredients. It showcases examples from Thailand, featuring a beef soup that’s been around for 50 years, and China, where a broth is said to be 100 years old. The ...

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Are you drinking enough water?

02 Jan 2025
6m
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This BBC Learning English podcast tackles the popular advice of drinking 2 liters of water each day, scrutinizing the scientific evidence behind this guideline. It traces the origins of this recommendation and reveals that it is based more on general advice than solid research. The discussion also highlights the signs ...

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Embarrassed to go to the doctor?

26 Dec 2024
6m
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This podcast features two distinct segments. The first discusses medical embarrassment and its impact on healthcare seeking behavior. A survey revealed that 21% of people delayed seeing a doctor due to embarrassment, leading to later diagnoses of health conditions. The segment offers advice for patients (writing down...

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Call centres: Are you talking to AI?

19 Dec 2024
6m
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This BBC Learning English podcast explores how AI is transforming call center jobs, especially in countries like India and the Philippines. It features an interview with the president of a call center workers' union, who shares concerns about the potential for AI to replace human employees. They emphasize the importanc...

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Making 'mum friends'

12 Dec 2024
6m
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In this episode of the 6 Minute English podcast, the hosts delve into the challenges mothers face when trying to form friendships at their children's school, referring to these connections as "mum friends." The conversation highlights the social pressures of fitting into various groups, such as "sporty mums" or "glam m...

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Can you trust ancestry DNA kits?

05 Dec 2024
6m
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In this episode of the 6 Minute English podcast, the hosts explore the reliability of DNA ancestry tests, which have gained popularity for uncovering family histories beyond what traditional records can provide. However, they point out several limitations of these tests. The minimal DNA variation among humans, along wi...

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How babies learn to talk

28 Nov 2024
6m
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This BBC Learning English podcast explores how babies acquire language, outlining the essential stages of this fascinating process. It explains that learning to speak involves several important steps, such as breaking down speech into individual words, connecting those words to their meanings, and identifying stressed ...

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The secrets to a healthy old age

21 Nov 2024
6m
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In this episode of the 6 Minute English podcast, experts explore new findings on healthy aging. They reveal that a significant 60% of how we age is shaped by our lifestyle choices. Key elements for aging gracefully include maintaining a positive mindset, fostering strong social connections to fight loneliness, and embr...

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The bond between sisters

14 Nov 2024
6m
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This BBC 6 Minute English podcast delves into the complexities of sisterhood through an engaging interview with three Irish sisters. They share insights about their strong bond while challenging common stereotypes, such as the idea that older sisters are bossy or younger ones are spoiled. A psychotherapist adds depth t...

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Having acne

07 Nov 2024
6m
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In this episode of the 6 Minute English podcast, the focus is on acne, a common issue affecting 95% of individuals aged 11 to 30. The conversation features a dermatologist who shares her personal experience with acne, shedding light on the emotional challenges faced by teenagers and emphasizing the need to take this co...

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