What does a heat wave actually do to your day? Andrew and Anna compare their summers from opposite sides of the world. Anna is in Madrid, where a hot day reaches 40 degrees and the blinds stay closed until evening. Andrew is in Seoul, where the rainy season just ended but the humidity stayed. They talk about air conditioning, lost sleep, cold showers, and the wildfires that burned west of Madrid this summer. Keep an ear out for these phrases during the episode: Not so fast Respite Bar none To do one’s business Bone dry To burn to a crisp Study Materials: Episode link: The 2026 Spain wildfires The Best Way to Learn with This Episode Culips members get an interactive transcript, a helpful study guide, and ad-free audio for this episode. Take your English to the next level by becoming a Culips member. Become a Culips member now. Members can access the ad-free version here: Click here. Join our Discord community to connect with other learners and get more English practice: Join the Culips Discord server.

In this bonus episode, Andrew picks up the story he started last time and tells you what happened next. He heads out to the edge of the city on a hot summer evening and gets home much later than he planned. Listen along to learn some vocabulary that will help make your English more natural and to improve your listening fluency. The Study Materials for This Episode Are Free: The interactive transcript, study guide, and quiz for this episode are free for everyone. No membership needed. Become a Culips member to get study materials for every episode, live speaking classes, ad-free audio, member-only perks, and more. Join our Discord community to connect with other learners and get more English practice. Expressions To set the stage To count down the days Headlining The tail end A certain je ne sais quoi When all is said and done Boy, was I wrong Artsy-fartsy To rub someone the wrong way To write off

How do you get from intermediate English to sounding almost like a native speaker? Jesús Florez did it, and he’s back on the show to tell Andrew how. He explains the years he spent creating his own English immersion at home and names the four shows that finally moved him up to an advanced level. Listen in to hear his story and his advice for taking your own English to the next level. Free Resources and Links The interactive transcript, study guide, and quizzes for this episode are free for everyone. No membership needed. Become a Culips member to get study materials for every episode, live speaking classes, ad-free audio, member-only perks, and more. Click here to join. Join our Discord community to connect with other learners and get more English practice. Click here to join. Jesús’s YouTube channel Jesús’s Instagram Keep an ear out for these phrases during the episode: A long time in the making To shift gears Give or take To lend itself to (something) A cut above (the rest) It bears repeating

Have you ever gotten a second chance at something you thought you would only get to do once? In this bonus episode, Andrew talks about the first Culips meetup in Seoul and then tells the story of trying to see one of his favorite bands play a second time. Listen along to learn some vocabulary that will help make your English more natural and improve your listening fluency. The Study Materials for This Episode Are Free: The interactive transcript, study guide, and quiz for this episode are free for everyone. No membership needed. Become a Culips member to get study materials for every episode, live speaking classes, ad-free audio, member-only perks, and more. Join our Discord community to connect with other learners and get more English practice. Expressions A turnout To talk into the void To be taken aback A high-water mark Now or never Once-in-a-lifetime To shell out When life gives you lemons, make lemonade Someone’s mind is made up To go through

Have you ever looked up from your phone and realized that an hour just disappeared? In this Catch Word lesson, Andrew and Indiana teach you how to tell someone to “touch grass” and how to describe a person as “terminally online” or “chronically online.” They explain the difference in tone between these expressions, why “touch grass” can sound like a real insult, and when each one is appropriate to use. The Best Way to Learn with This Episode: Culips members get an interactive transcript, a helpful study guide, and ad-free audio for this episode. Take your English to the next level by becoming a Culips member. Become a Culips member now: Click here Members can access the ad-free version: Click here. Join our Discord community to connect with other learners and get more English practice. Click here to join. Keep an ear out for these phrases during the episode: To touch grass Terminally online / Chronically online To be cooped up To be wrapped up in something A break with reality To get the last word

Have you ever traveled to a city far from home and felt like you had already been there? The same coffee shops, the same clothing stores, even the same songs playing inside the cafes. In this Chatterbox episode, Andrew and Anna talk about hyperblanding, the idea that fashion, music, food, and design all over the world are slowly becoming the same. The word comes from a 2026 trend report, and you can read more about it here. Listen to the full conversation to learn what hyperblanding is, decide if you agree with the idea, and build your English fluency at the same time. The Best Way to Learn with This Episode: Culips members get an interactive transcript, a helpful study guide, and ad-free audio for this episode. Take your English to the next level by becoming a Culips member. Become a Culips member now: Click here Members can access the ad-free version: Click here. Join our Discord community to connect with other learners and get more English practice. Click here to join. Keep an ear out for these phrases during the episode: A myriad of To get under someone’s skin To regurgitate Been there, done that To ride the wave Variety is the spice of life

What does a name really say about a person? In this episode, Andrew and Indiana talk about baby names and the stories behind them. They chat about how naming has changed in North America since the 1950s. You’ll also hear about old-fashioned virtue names, why so many parents today want something different, and the existence of “middle names” in the U.S. and Canada. Culips Meetup in Seoul! If you are in Korea, come and meet us in person at the Culips Meetup in Seoul on July 19, from 2 to 4 PM. RSVP here. To build your fluency, try listening to the episode more than once and saying the new expressions out loud until you feel comfortable using them yourself. The Best Way to Learn with This Episode: Culips members get an interactive transcript, a helpful study guide, and ad-free audio for this episode. Take your English to the next level by becoming a Culips member. Become a Culips member now: Click here Members can access the ad-free version: Click here. Join our Discord community to connect with other learners and get more English practice. Click here to join. Links mentioned in this episode: Popular baby name data (U.S. Social Security Administration) List of Korean surnames (Wikipedia) Keep an ear out for these phrases during the episode: At opposite ends of the spectrum A hat tip to (something) A copycat Claim to fame To fit in To stand out

How do you like your eggs? It sounds like a small question, but the answer can tell you a lot about a person. In this episode, Andrew surprises his co-host Kassy with a list of weird, wacky, and random questions. She hasn’t seen them before, so you get to hear her real, unplanned answers. They talk about all sorts of everyday things, from what they would want to be famous for to how they wake up in the morning, and they use some natural expressions that native speakers say all the time. Culips Meetup in Seoul! If you are in Korea, come and meet us in person at the Culips Meetup in Seoul on July 19, from 2 to 4 PM. RSVP here. To build your fluency, try listening to the episode more than once and saying the new expressions out loud until you feel comfortable using them yourself. The Best Way to Learn with This Episode: Culips members get an interactive transcript, a helpful study guide, and ad-free audio for this episode. Take your English to the next level by becoming a Culips member. Become a Culips member now: Click here Members can access the ad-free version: Click here. Join our Discord community to connect with other learners and get more English practice. Click here to join. Keep an ear out for these phrases during the episode: Infamous No holds barred To zonk out Dogs Up and at ’em To come full circle

In this bonus episode, Andrew shares a few quick updates from behind the scenes at Culips and tells a story about following the World Cup as a fan with more than one team to cheer for. Listen along to learn some vocabulary that will help make your English more natural and improve your listening fluency. Culips Meetup in Seoul! If you are in Korea, come and meet us in person at the Culips Meetup in Seoul on July 19. RSVP here. Free study guide: This episode comes with a free study guide for everyone. Download it to review the vocabulary, follow along with the episode, and practice using the new expressions. Resources mentioned in this episode: RSVP for the Culips meetup in Seoul Become a Culips member Join the Culips Discord server

Have you ever asked the internet about a health problem before asking a doctor? In this episode, Andrew and Anna talk about using AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini for health advice, and whether you can really trust them. Andrew shares a small health problem of his own and the answer he got from AI, and together they work out when a chatbot is actually helpful and when it is time to see a real doctor. Along the way they get into how confident these tools sound, who should be responsible when the advice is wrong, and what a visit to the doctor might look like in the future. Culips Meetup in Seoul! If you are in Korea, come and meet us in person at the Culips Meetup in Seoul on July 19, from 2 to 4 PM. RSVP here. To build your fluency, try listening to the episode more than once and saying the new expressions out loud until you feel comfortable using them yourself. The Best Way to Learn with This Episode: Culips members get an interactive transcript, a helpful study guide, and ad-free audio for this episode. Take your English to the next level by becoming a Culips member. Become a Culips member now: Click here Members can access the ad-free version: Click here. Join our Discord community to connect with other learners and get more English practice. Click here to join. Keep an ear out for these phrases during the episode: To get something checked out First port of call To take something with a grain of salt Off you trot Hypochondriac To go through the roof