In this episode of the Real English Conversations Podcast, Curtis interviews Nathan Lige, a game designer, writer, and co-creator of the hit storytelling game Mythwind at Open Owl Studios.

Nathan shares how his love of writing and community storytelling led him to leave the tech world and create games that bring people together. His purpose-driven journey is filled with lessons about creativity, risk-taking, and finding work that matters.

They explore:

How storytelling skills can strengthen your communication and leadership

What it takes to transition careers with intention and passion

The role of language, empathy, and collaboration in creative work

Why following your purpose builds confidence in life, and English

Whether you're learning English, dreaming of a career change, or curious about how creativity fuels connection, this episode will inspire your next step.
Book a Lesson with teacher Curtis on Italki - https://www.italki.com/teacher/4672521/english

Real English Conversations Podcast

🎙️ Purpose-Driven Careers, Creativity & Communication | Curtis Interviews Game Designer Nathan Lige of Mythwind

Looking for the perfect anime to start learning Japanese?
In this video, I introduce a short and simple anime that even beginners can understand — and it’s full of cute cat moments! 🐾
Enjoy studying Japanese while watching the adorable cat キュルガ!
日本語初心者でもわかる日本語勉強におすすめのショートアニメを紹介しています！
かわいい猫のキュルガを見ながら楽しく勉強してみてくださいね🐾

ANIME ・MANGA TALK | アニメ・マンガトーク | Japanese listening practice N4-N3

[Japanese listening practice] Perfect Short Anime for Japanese Beginners（日本語勉強にいいアニメ）

doll, dog, desk, duck

Listen and repeat.

Send me a message to learn with me.

Phonics The Alphabet 

Letter D

Na recepção de um salão de convenções em Fortaleza.
 Estrangeiro - Por favor, gostaria de fazer minha inscrição para o congresso. Recepcionalista - Pelo seu sotaque, vejo que o Senhor não é brasileiro! O Senhor é de onde? 
E - Eu sou da Espanha. 
R - Ah, legal! Pronto, tem uma palestra agora na sala meia oito. E - Desculpe, qual sala? R - Meia oito. Estrangeiro - Você pode escrever? R - Não sabe o que é meia oito? Sessenta e oito, assim, veja 68. E - Entendi, meia é seis! R - Correto, meia é seis. Mas não vá embora, só mais uma informação, a organização do congresso está cobrando uma pequena taxa para quem quiser ficar com o material, como dvds e apostilas. O senhor gostaria? E - Quanto tenho que pagar? R - Dez reais, porém estrangeiros e estudantes pagam meia. E - Hum, que bom! Aí está seis reais! R - Não, o senhor paga meia, só cinco, entende? E - Pago meia, só cinco? R – Isso mesmo, meia é cinco. E– Tudo bem, entendi. R - Cuidado para não se atrasar, a palestra começa às nove e meia, Senhor? E - Então eu já me atrasei, porque já são nove e vinte. R - Não, ainda faltam dez minutos, como falei, só começa às nove e meia. E - Pensei que fosse às nove e cinco, pois meia não é cinco? Você pode escrever aqui a hora que começa? R - Nove e meia, assim, veja, nove horas e trinta minutos. E - Ah, entendi, meia é trinta. R - Isso mesmo, meia é trinta. Mais uma coisa, Senhor, tenho aqui um folder de um hotel que está fazendo um preço especial para os congressistas, o senhor já está hospedado? E - Sim, eu já estou hospedado na casa de um amigo. R - Em qual bairro, Senhor? E - No trinta bocas. R - Trinca bocas? Não existe esse bairro em Fortaleza. Não seria seis bocas? E - Isso mesmo, no bairro meia-boca. R - Não é meia-boca, é um bairro nobre, um bairro chique! E – Ah, então deve ser cinco bocas. R - Não, seis bocas, entende? Chama assim porque é um encontro de seis ruas, por isso seis bocas, entendeu? E - Ah, e quem há de entender! 

Brasileiríssimo

Significados da palavra “meia"

Sobre la película de Jason Reitman que conmemora los cincuenta años de la transmisión del primer programa de "Saturday Night Live".

El kinetoscopio

Episodio 15: Saturday Night: la noche que cambió la comedia

We will go through everything you need to know, in order to improve your presentation skills in a business setting

Business English with Ali

Mastering Effective Presentations in Business English

TikTok has announced it will block young users on the social networking platform from using certain beauty filters on photographs.

The filters allow users to edit photos and do things like make people's skin look clearer, their eyes a little bigger or their lips a little fuller.

Some filters also allow users to change their skin color, and it can be hard to see when a photograph has been edited in this way.

People under the age of 18 will be blocked from using these filters, some of which are created by users and others that are made by the app.

TikTok announced the changes after a report by Internet Matters, a children's online safety organization. The organization found that these beauty filters could be damaging to children's mental health because they put young people under pressure to look a certain way.

This can damage children's self-esteem and cause anxiety, experts say.

Christine Grahn from TikTok said on LinkedIn: "If our users don't feel safe, they won't bring their true selves to TikTok and the platform just wouldn't be the same."

One TikTok user told The Guardian in 2022 that she had considered getting cosmetic surgery after a period of using beauty filters on the app.

Fun filters that allow children to add dog noses or rabbit ears to images will still be available to use.

One problem with the ban is that not all users enter their real ages when signing up to TikTok. The company said it would soon be trying out new machine learning systems that could help find out when users had entered the incorrect age.

TikTok is under pressure to stop under 13s from using the platform by giving false dates of birth.

Children's safety charities want all social media sites to do more to make the platforms safe spaces for young people.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

TikTok to Ban Under 18s from Using Beauty Filters

En este episodio exploramos la majestuosa Catedral de Sal de Zipaquirá, una de las maravillas subterráneas más impresionantes de Colombia. Descubre su fascinante historia, su arquitectura única tallada en roca de sal y las experiencias que hacen de este lugar un destino imperdible cerca de Bogotá. ¡Acompáñanos en este viaje bajo tierra!

Latido Latino

La Catedral de Sal de Zipaquirá: Un Tesoro Subterráneo de Colombia

Toddlers in the UK get almost half of their calories from ultra-processed foods (UPFs), according to a new study.

Researchers also found that 7-year-olds get 59% of their calories from UPFs.

UPFs include things like ice cream and cookies, but also ham, sausages, flavored yogurts, breakfast cereals and some breads.

Eating too much of these types of food has been linked to an increased risk of a number of different health conditions, including obesity, diabetes and heart problems.

The study looked at food diaries completed by the parents of more than 2,500 children aged 21 months, and 600 children aged 7.

The most common UPFs that toddlers ate were flavored yogurts and whole-grain breakfast cereals.

Although these are seen as quite healthy choices, they are still ultra-processed. They're usually industrially produced and contain ingredients that most people wouldn't have in their kitchens, like emulsifiers.

The researchers said children who eat more UPFs as toddlers are more likely to eat a lot of them as they get older, so choosing the right foods for young children is important.

Previous research has found that teenagers in the UK may get more than 60% of their calories from UPFs.

However, the study's lead author, Rana Conway, said it's not only parents that are to blame.

She said these foods "are often cheaper than the foods parents would like to give their children, such as fresh fruit and vegetables.

"Also, despite labels suggesting they're a healthy choice, ultra-processed foods marketed for children often contain too much sugar and salt. This makes it harder for parents to make healthy choices."

Studies done in the US have found similar problems with the diets of children there.