Category Archives: News and Current Events

On Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama gave what is called the State of the Union address (speech). Our constitution (most important legal document) requires that the president give a report to Congress (the Senate and House of Representatives) on the … Continue reading →

Years ago, I studied news writing and reporting with Bob Taylor. Bob had been a successful television news reporter and editor (news manager) in Chicago, Illinois, before he came to the University of Nebraska J-school (journalism school). Bob wasn’t much … Continue reading →

This is the time of year when the media takes a retrospective look (look back in time) at the past year. News outlets (places where we can find news), such as Time magazine, like to name (identify) a “Person of … Continue reading →

As many of you know, I turned (reached the age of) 47 this year. Am I old?  The answer to this question depends, in part, on how old the person is who answers it. A recent study by the Pew … Continue reading →

A couple of months ago, I received some good news from a former university student of mine. This student had not only been accepted into a good Ph.D. program to get her doctorate degree, she had received a fellowship, which … Continue reading →

The New York Times this week ran (published) a story about online bullies. A bully, as we discussed in ESL Podcast 372, is a person who uses either verbal (spoken) or physical violence to prove his or her own strength, … Continue reading →

A recent article in the New York Times reported on a recent study on aging (getting older) and happiness.  The study was based on a scientific poll of 340,000 Americans of all ages.  One of the questions related to how … Continue reading →

Here’s a headline (title) from a political blog on the New York Times website this week: Battle Over Bailouts Shifts Oversight Debate The blog post is about one of the most controversial issues currently in U.S. politics: how the federal … Continue reading →