Listening, learning and teaching activities at upper intermediate level

English language learner

Level 3

There are more vocabulary activities related to these podcasts on the 'extras' page. Podcasts 1-99 members only.


188 How does this thing work? Are household appliances getting too complicated to use? (7 Mar 2024)
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Home entertainment is complicated too:



187 Starlink. There's something strange in the night sky... (11 Jan 2024)
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Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it from outer-space?:



186 The new normal. How has life changed after the pandemic? (9 Nov 2023)
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185 Hair-raising! Some great body idioms to talk about how we feel (21 Sep 2023)
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You don't need to be afraid to have a hair-raising moment:



184 Flying high. The incredible story of bird migration (6 Jul 2023)
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Imagine flying with the birds:



183 AI. It's not only humans making the decisions; is that a problem? (11 May 2023)
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A very positive use of AI, helping firefighters:



182 Birdlife. How have 10 birds shaped the lives of humans? (9 Mar 2023)
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Bonus for members! And what did the egret lead to?
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Both the US and the UK used canaries in coalmines:



181 The 2022 quiz. How much does Richard remember about last year?!
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Now listen to both the questions and Richard's answers:
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180 Dark days. How to stay cheerful during the winter months
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Listening to birdsong helps us feel better:



179 The corgis. Queen Elizabeth loved her faithful, furry friends
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We bet the corgis like marmalade sandwiches too:



178 Heroism. Just who are the real life heroes, and what makes them so?
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177 Vital vitamins. But how necessary are vitamin supplements really?
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When to take vitamin D supplements:



176 Tilting towers. An ancient and modern building that share the same problem...
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Forget Pisa, Bologna has two leaning towers:



175 Ukraine. Some facts about the country that's in the headlines
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Not so long ago Ukraine was welcoming tourists:



174 Beijing 2022. Skating, skiing, snowboarding: are we watching the Winter Olympics?
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The Winter Olympics BBC trailer:



173 Unwanted gifts. Why are women so often disappointed with their presents?
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Bonus for members! Do you agree with Jackie?:
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Kramer gets it right, but Jerry gets it oh so wrong!



172 The golden web. Spiders' webs: not just for Hallowe'en!
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171 A tourist hot spot. Richard talks about an amazing volcano he visited
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La Palma island is now considered a disaster zone:



170 Mind your language! Everyone's happy to be speaking the same now, right?
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169 It's footie time! Jackie and Richard are enjoying the 16th UEFA European Championship
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The EURO 2020 official song 'We are the People' was performed virtually at the opening ceremony:



168 The dig. Jackie and Richard go underground in search of the past
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The amazing roundhouse dig:



167 Would I lie to you, honey? Can you tell if someone said something that wasn't true?
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Bonus for members! How easy is it to smuggle something?:
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How a lie detector works:



166 P@$$word$. Have you forgotten your password yet again?!
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165 Lockdown. How to talk about the Covid-19 rules and restrictions
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Joe Wickes is very popular for those exercising at home:



164 Honesty is the best policy. How would the world look if everyone did the right thing? >
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163 Waterways. Jackie and Richard enjoy the slow life on the canals
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Bonus for members! On board a canal boat:
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How a lock works:



162 A wall, a bridge and a tower. Three British icons that define our history
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Bonus for members! This goes with the extra worksheet:
Download (2min 23sec)
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161 A walk in the woods. Can mother nature help us when we're feeling down?
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Watch the video after doing the extra worksheet:



160 There will be blood. Why giving blood is a small thing that makes a big difference
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A public information film from 1949:



159 No gym? No problem! Burn calories, lose weight and feel great – at home!
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Bonus for members! How about buying a Peloton bike?
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158 Techno car. So how are Jackie and Richard getting on with their new, modern car?
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How safe are high-tech touch screens in a car?



157 Which car? Jackie and Richard are thinking about getting a new car, but which one?!
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156 Open Sunday's. The English language is going downhill; does it matter?
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Someone who takes misplaced apostrophes very seriously:



155 Location, location, location. Jackie and Richard talk about the difficulty of buying a new home.
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This is one of the most popular TV shows in the UK:



154 Off the beaten track. There's just one problem when Richard and Jackie go on a countryside walk...
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Some great hikes to be had in Portugal:



153 A regency gentleman. Meet Zack, a very unusual young man indeed.
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This podcast goes with this BBC video:



Having fun in the 1800s:



152 Privacy: have we lost it? Everybody now knows everything about our private lives
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Bonus for members! Has Google become Big Brother?
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151 Food for free. A feast of plants can be found when foraging!
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Basic rules for foraging:



150 Playing pranks. With April 1 coming up we talk about fooling people.
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Bonus for members! A prank Jackie played as an adult:
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We love the water bottle prank!:



149 The good drone. Following the negative press here's just one example of a positive use for drones.
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This podcast comes from this video from The Guardian:



148 Just say no. There's no Planet B: some practical advice on how to make your life more plastic free.
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"In this place I can buy stuff and have nothing to throw away afterwards":



147 Look before you eat. The festive period can be a nightmare for those who have food allergies.
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Bonus for members! An unfortunate allergy death:
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146 My family tree. Does Richard have any interesting or famous ancestors? Listen and find out!
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Some people find out some surprising things about their ancestors:



145 Tutor YouTube. Is the popular website as good a learning resource as school or university?
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Bonus for members! Can Jackie improve her maths on YouTube too?
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144 Feeling hot, hot, hot! Jackie and Richard compare this year's sweltering heatwave to that of 1976
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Britons remember the 1976 heatwave:



143 British icons: Stonehenge. Why are a circle of prehistoric stones the place to be for the summer solstice?
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Stonehenge was given to the nation 100 years ago:



142 No smoking. It's over a decade since the no smoking ban; has it made a difference?
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Bonus for members! Has no smoking killed off the pubs?
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But you knew this already, didn't you?



141 British icons: Stephen Hawking. Jackie and Richard celebrate the life of the Master of the Universe
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This podcast goes with this pie video:



140 On the piste. Jackie and Richard go on a ski trip for the first time in many years
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This podcast goes with this pie video:



139 Ask me another. It's the 2017 quiz! How much can you remember, and can you beat Richard?
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Bonus for members! Listen to Richard's answers:
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Bonus for members! Now listen to the correct answers:
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138 A podcast about poo. Jackie and Richard talk about the smallest room in the house for World Toilet Day
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Where does our poo go?:



137 Plastic fantastic? The omnipresent material we can't live with or without
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This South Pacific Ocean island is believed to be one of the world’s worst polluted places:



136 My left hand. Pam talks about living in a right-handers' world for International Left Handers Day
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Bonus for members! More every day things 'ĺefties' can have problems with:
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135 The firefighters. We salute the men and women who do one of the world's toughest jobs
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Bonus for members! Are there enough people who want this dangerous job?
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Transcript

Firefighters worked day and night in Portugal:



134 The light fandango. Are LED bulbs the bright future, or a dull headache?
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133 Looking is seeing. Jackie and Richard talk about wearing glasses and visiting the optician's
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Our favourite Specsavers advert:



132 Stand and sing. Jackie and Richard talk about national anthems; how much do you like yours?
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131 Culture shock. Jackie and Richard share their experiences of being in a different culture
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A personal experience of culture shock in Australia:



130 Forza Italia. Linda talks about holidaying in Italy, listen and find out what she likes so much
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129 Parkrun, what's that? Listen to Jemma talk about an event that's becoming more popular by the week
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128 Fear of flying. Listen to Sue talk about her experience on a long haul flight to South Africa
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Look at the angle this plane has to take when landing because of crosswinds. Would you have been afraid?



127 The streets of Kolkata. Join Richard among the hustle and bustle, taste and sounds of this amazing city
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This podcast goes with this pie video:



126 Chocolate, yay! We celebrate World Chocolate Day with a podcast about the world's favourite flavour
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How to tell good quality chocolate from bad:



125 The dancing queen. Listen to Nora talk about her unusual life as a professional dancer.
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Watch Nora performing one of her dance routines:



124 British icons: Yorkshire. Join Pam and Jackie in one of the nicest parts of the UK
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123 No news is good news. Why is our daily dose of news always dominated by gloomy headlines?
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122 Shaken not stirred. British icons: James Bond, the world's favourite spy
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This podcast goes with this video:



121 Ashes to ashes. Everybody goes to a funeral, even if it's only their own!
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Transcript (pdf 53KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 99KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 123KB)

Bonus for members! Richard talks about his mother's funeral.
Download (2min 14sec)
Transcript (pdf 66KB)

A moving scene from Four Weddings and a Funeral:



120 The refugees. Thousands are travelling but where are they from and where do they want to go?
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Transcript (pdf 52KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 91KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 98KB)

A young girl's life gets turned upside-down in this tragic one second a day video:



119 The ballot box. We look at the pros and cons of three different voting systems
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Transcript (pdf 56KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 209KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 86KB)

There was an attempt to change the voting system for MPs in the UK:



118 Rain stopped play. Richard explains how to play one of the UK's most popular sports - cricket, of course!
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Transcript (pdf 53KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 96KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 102KB)

Bonus for members! Just what are the Ashes?!
Download (1min 57sec)
Transcript (pdf 46KB)

117 The Hatton Garden heist. Over the Easter weekend in London nine thieves made a daring raid and stole millions
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Transcript (pdf 62KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 112KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 81KB)

Bonus for members! What is the latest on the thieves?
Download (1min 18sec)
Transcript (pdf 45KB)

How easy is it to get through that hole in the wall?



116 Below the line. Do you comment online? Do you use your real name? Why not?!
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Transcript (pdf 53KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 228KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 112KB)

115 A place in the sun. The pie team talk about their experience of being on a TV show
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Transcript (pdf 52KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 83KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 112KB)

Watch, or listen to, the show where Jackie and Richard appear:
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Transcript for video (pdf 47KB)



114 You are what you eat. Do you want to lose weight? We talk about diets and dieting
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Transcript (pdf 52KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 110KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 70KB)

Here are five top tips to "spring clean" your diet from CNN:



113 Blowin' in the wind. Where is the windiest place in the world? Watch a BBC video and find out.
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Transcript (pdf 50KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 127KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 197KB)

This podcast goes with the BBC video. Join Richard Hammond in very high winds and very low temperatures:



112 Knit 1, purl 1. Get out your needles and yarn, Jackie and Helen are talking about knitting!
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Transcript (pdf 50KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 127KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 197KB)

It's not just for women, men knit too!



111 Cool blue. The blue LED won the Nobel Prize for Physics. What's so special about that?
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Transcript (pdf 57KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 131KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 74KB)

LED - the next big generation of lighting technology:



110 Jo's motors. Jo talks about cars and driving; buckle up and enjoy the ride!
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Transcript (pdf 54KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 98KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 80KB)

109 The picnic. When the sun shines there's nothing better than eating outside!
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Transcript (pdf 57KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 115KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 90KB)

Plan the perfect picnic:



108 No more umpires! With modern technology there's no need to have umpires or referees anymore, is there?
Download (1.84MB, 4min 01sec)
Transcript (pdf 52KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 150KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 69KB)

Bonus for members! What does Jackie think about the challenge system?
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Transcript (pdf 42KB)


107 Dial 999. Join Sue in her kitchen and find out why she called the fire brigade
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Transcript (pdf 51KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 85KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 66KB)

106 No connection. How did Jackie and Richard survive when the Internet went down?
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Transcript (pdf 54KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 98KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 80KB)

105 That sinking feeling. What could be worse than the Earth opening up and swallowing you?
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Transcript (pdf 53KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 131KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 142KB)



104 Don't look down ...and hold on tight as Nicky talks about her new hobby
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Transcript (pdf 53KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 71KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 124KB)

103 The Winter Olympics.You don't need to come from a snowy country but you're unlikely to win a medal
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Transcript (pdf 56KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 70KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 77KB)

India's Shiva Keshavan in training:



The BBC's unusual advert for the Winter Olympics:

Transcript (pdf 65KB)



102 That was the year 2013. We look back at last year with a quiz, how many questions can you answer?
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Transcript (pdf 49KB)

Now listen to both the questions and Richard's answers:

Download (1.9MB, 4min 08sec)
Transcript (pdf 57KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 66KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 78KB)
Lesson plan (pdf 57KB) Extra for teachers!

101 Poetry. Powerful or pointless? The pie team wonder if there's a place for poetry these days
Download (1.78MB, 3min 54sec)
Transcript (pdf 49KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 62KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 84KB)

Listen to and read one of Wildfred Owen's war poems:

Download (1.1MB, 2min 10sec)
Transcript (pdf 107KB)


100 Citizenship. Why Gareth decided he wanted to be French as well as British
Download (1.8MB, 3min 56sec)
Transcript (pdf 54KB)
Worksheet & Answers (pdf 70KB)
Vocabulary tasks (pdf 67KB)

More level 3 podcasts: Numbers 1-99 Members only