Episode notes
Today, I want to talk about what will probably be the biggest global event of this summer: The 2026 FIFA World Cup. Now, before you click away because you’re not a soccer fan, hear me out. Because honestly, I’m not exactly a hardcore soccer fan either. Growing up in Asia, soccer wasn’t really the sport everyone talked about. Then I went to the United States, where “football” usually means a completely different sport. And now I’m living in Australia, where people are obsessed with rugby, cricket, and AFL. So I’ve never really lived in a place where soccer was the undisputed king. But every…
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E26 · 28 Jun 2026 · 15 min
EP165 [全英] 为什么越来越多国家开始担心social media?
澳洲的一项禁令，让我重新思考这个问题。 Let me ask you a question. How old do you think a child should be before they’re allowed to have social media? Thirteen? Fifteen? Sixteen? Or maybe you don’t think there should be an age limit at all. Honestly, a few years ago, I probably wouldn’t have had a good answer either. But recently, I’ve been thinking about this question a lot. � 扫描下方二维码，关注公众号【Blend Inn】，获取节目文字版知识卡片 / 全英文故事双语文稿，加入听友群，随时互动哦~
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E27 · 24 Jun 2026 · 15 min
EP164 [全英] 佛得角与库拉索是哪里？世界杯上，那些你第一次听到的小国
So, over the past week or two, we’ve focused a lot on World Cup soccer. And this World Cup has a lot of big names. Brazil. Argentina. France. Germany. Spain. We all know these countries. But this year, there are also a few names that made people stop and say: Wait… what country is that? Cape Verde? Curaçao? Where are they? Are they in Africa? Europe? The Caribbean? Are they even countries? And honestly, I love this. Because this is one of the best parts of the World Cup. It makes us notice places we usually don’t talk about. Cape Verde has only about half a million people. Curaçao has only…
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E28 · 21 Jun 2026 · 17 min
EP163 为什么英文里有这么多「放过自己」的表达？
今天这集，我想聊一个最近几年我越来越有感触的主题。 不知道大家有没有发现。好像英文母语者好像常常感觉活得比较松弛。 不是因为他们比较有钱。也不是因为他们没有压力。 而是当事情不如预期的时候，他们常常会脱口而出一些很有趣但也很有哲理的话。 像是： Let it be. It is what it is. Go with the flow. 这些大家应该都听过。 Let it be，大概就是顺其自然。 It is what it is，就是接受现实。 Go with the flow，则是顺着水流走，不要一直逆流而上。 听起来是不是很佛系？ 但其实除了刚刚讲的几个常见的表达以外，我今天想讲讲十个英文里面我觉得更有意思且更高级的松弛心态表达。 它们不只是英文。它们背后其实是一套面对压力、焦虑和不确定性的思维方式。 � 本期的知识卡片我们整理在下面啦： �️ 心态一：允许自己不完美（Self-Compassion） 1. I am only human. 字面翻译：我只是个人。 内涵延伸：我不是机器，也不是神。会累、会有情绪、会犯错， 允许自己不完美，懂得自我同理 。 生活例句：“I forgot to send that report. I’m only human .”（我忘了寄那份报告。我也是人啊，别太苛责自己。） 2. Give yourself some grace.…
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E29 · 17 Jun 2026 · 12 min
EP162 [全英] 世足赛为什么没有英国队？而是分成英格兰、苏格兰、威尔士、北爱尔兰？
With the World Cup already underway, I want to talk about one of the most confusing aspects of international sports. Imagine you’re watching the World Cup for the very first time. You see England. You see Scotland. You see Wales. Sometimes you even see Northern Ireland. And naturally you think: “Wait a second… aren’t they all part of the United Kingdom?” If the United Kingdom is one country, then where is Team UK? Why isn’t there a British national team? And why does this only happen in soccer? After all, during the Olympics, these athletes compete under Team GB. So what exactly is going on?…
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E30 · 14 Jun 2026 · 27 min
EP161 足球为什么在欧洲叫 Football，美国、澳洲却叫Soccer？
上一集我们聊了 World Cup，世界杯。 我们聊到为什么这个比赛每四年一次，却可以让全世界都一起疯。 也聊到像我这种平常其实不太看足球的人，每到世界杯还是会被卷进去。 但如果你跟我一样，是那种「四年疯一次」的足球观众，你可能会有一个问题：好，我知道世界杯很重要。我知道足球是全世界最多人看的运动。我也知道到时候大家会讨论 Messi、C罗、Mbappé、Bellingham 这些球星。 可是问题是——我真的看得懂吗？ 足球表面上好像很简单。一颗球。两个球门。22个人在场上跑。把球踢进对方球门，就得分。 这谁看不懂？ 但你真的开始看，就会发现：等一下，明明球进了，为什么边线裁判突然把旗子举起来？ 为什么全场都在欢呼，结果裁判说不算？ 这就是 offside，越位。 那越位到底是什么？ 为什么裁判有时候要跑去场边看一个小屏幕？ 那就是 VAR。 什么是 injury time？ 为什么比赛明明 90 分钟，结果踢到 98 分钟？ 还有场上这些人到底在干嘛？ Goalkeeper、defender、midfielder、forward、striker、winger，这些位置到底差在哪？ 所以今天这集，我们就来做一集给「平常不看足球的人」的足球科普。 我会用最简单的方式，介绍足球的基本位置、常见规则，还有一些你看世界杯时一定会听到的足球英文。 � 本期的知识卡片我们整理在下面啦：…
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E32 · 7 Jun 2026 · 14 min
EP159 [全英] 为什么大家都说自己在「奥德赛时期」？
Today, I want to talk about a word that has suddenly become incredibly popular online. Odyssey. Not just because Christopher Nolan’s upcoming movieThe Odysseyis one of the most anticipated films in the world right now, featuring an all-star cast and based on one of the most famous stories ever told. But because recently, on Chinese social media platforms like Xiaohongshu and Weibo, people have been talking nonstop about entering their “Odyssey Era.” You see posts like: “I think I’m in my Odyssey Era.” “My twenties are one long Odyssey.” “After quitting my job, I entered my Odyssey Period.”…
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E33 · 3 Jun 2026 · 19 min
EP158 一个西亚小宗教的逆袭：从被追杀到征服全世界
今天这一集，我想带大家做一场很长的历史旅行。 而且我觉得这一集，其实某种程度上，也是理解整个西方文明的一把钥匙。 因为如果你今天想真正理解：欧洲、美国、英文世界、甚至今天很多国际政治与价值观， 你很难完全绕开一个宗教信仰：基督教。 但最有意思的是，基督教其实根本不是来自欧洲。它不是英国的。不是法国的。也不是美国的。 它其实来自今天的：巴勒斯坦、以色列、中东、西亚。 而更不可思议的是：它一开始，甚至不是强者的宗教。它是穷人的宗教。是被迫害者的宗教。是帝国边缘人的宗教。 结果两千年后，它却变成全世界影响力最大的文明力量之一。 所以今天这一集，我想带大家一路从：罗马帝国、耶稣时代、基督徒被迫害、君士坦丁大帝、中古世纪、十字军、宗教改革、大航海与殖民主义、一路讲到今天。 我觉得这其实不只是一个宗教故事。 它是一个：「思想怎么改变世界」的故事。 � 扫描下方二维码，关注公众号【Blend Inn】，获取节目文字版知识卡片 / 全英文故事双语文稿，加入听友群，随时互动哦~
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E34 · 31 May 2026 · 15 min
EP157 [全英] 为什么你这么害怕开口讲英文？
So today, I want to talk about something that I honestly think is one of the BIGGEST reasons a lot of Asians never become truly comfortable speaking English. And no, I don’t think it’s vocabulary. I don’t think it’s grammar either. I think it’s embarrassment. Or more specifically: the fear of embarrassment. The fear of sounding stupid. The fear of making mistakes. The fear of people laughing at you. The fear of awkward silence. And honestly… I get it. Because growing up in Asia, a lot of us were taught that mistakes are bad. Especially public mistakes. And when that mindset gets attached to…
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E35 · 27 May 2026 · 11 min
EP156 [全英]搬到澳洲后，我第一次发现原来童年可以长得这么不一样
So… a few weeks ago here in Sydney, my daughters were invited to one of their classmates’ birthday parties. And like every kid’s party, the kids were running around screaming, eating snacks, getting sugar highs… while the parents were all standing around awkwardly making small talk. And at some point, the conversation shifted to what the kids usually do on the weekends. And that was when I suddenly realized… wow. The difference between Asian parenting and Western parenting is way bigger than I thought. Because when I talked to a lot of Asian parents, the answers were usually things like:…
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E36 · 24 May 2026 · 12 min
EP155 英文是怎么“拒绝别人但不拒绝关系”的？
之前我在EP140有聊过一个很多亚洲人到美国、澳洲之后会很困惑的现象。 就是： 西方人有时候嘴巴上听起来好像同意你，但其实未必真的答应。 像是：“We should grab coffee sometime.”“Yeah, let’s do it.”“That sounds amazing.” 结果最后根本没有后续。 很多亚洲人第一次会觉得：「那你干嘛讲？」「是不是很假？」「你到底有没有要约？」 但我后来慢慢发现。英文世界真正厉害的，其实不是「假性同意」。 而是：他们很会拒绝别人，但不破坏关系。 今天这集，我想聊的其实就是这件事情。 因为我觉得这背后，是一个非常深的文化差异。 很多华人文化里，拒绝别人，常常会被理解成：拒绝这段关系。 所以很多人很怕说： 不 我不想 我没空 我做不到 因为我们从小会觉得：这样是不是很没人情味？是不是很冷？是不是很不给面子？ 但英文世界其实很不一样。英文文化里，有一个很强的观念叫：boundaries。界线感。 他们觉得：我拒绝这件事，不代表我拒绝你这个人。 而且更成熟的做法是：不要假答应。不要因为 guilt、不好意思、怕尴尬，最后把自己搞得很累。 所以今天这集，我想直接带大家看：英文世界里，大家到底是怎么「优雅拒绝」的。 而且不同情境，讲法其实完全不一样。 � 本期的知识卡片我们整理在下面啦： 核心文化思维 (Core Mindset)…
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