Trump vs the BBC: Litigation and Freedom of Speech in the US

Donald Trump has sued the BBC over the Panorama edit of his speech to the mob that assaulted the Capitol on January 6th, 2021. 

This follows a string of lawsuits to intimidate media outlets that have published critical articles of President Trump, like the "meritless" lawsuit against ABC News, and CBS that ended with out-of-court settlements to fund Donald Trump Library. The Conversation described these lawsuits as "a Corleone-style approach toward media relations" that "will produce a chilling effect in investigative reporters" and could "install a form of internal self-censorship" to appease the would-be editor in chief, Donald Trump: "ABC's and CBS's settlement with Trump are a dangerous step towards the commander in chief becoming the editor in chief"

In addition, Mr. Trump favours the sale of CNN to Skydance, as part of the Warner Bros. merger, Politico informs.  CNN has been critical of Mr. Trump's policies, whereas Skydance is owned by Trump's loyal ally David Ellison, the son of Oracle's boss Larry Ellison, who have played a key role in Trump's media policy since the Skydance acquisition of CBS's parent company, Paramount, as the BBC reported in "Move over Murdoch's -a new family dynasty is shaking up US media".

For futher information about freedom of expression under the Trump administration, you can read the book "Murder the Truth", by the New York Times investigative deputy editor, David Enrich, or listen to this NPR's interview where Mr. Enrich talked about his investigation into the current threats to freedom of speech in the US.

The BBC report on Trump's defamation lawsuit on the Capitol assault is recommended for C1 students who will find legal vocabulary like: defamation, to file a lawsuit, a claim, deceptively, ongoing [legal proceedings], to sue, to cheat, a riot, to leak, malice, to allege, libel, to stand up for [the BBC], shadow [culture secretary], a fee [payer], the Bar, litigation, to cough up [the money]. 

The Conversation story is also suitable for C1 students, who can learn interesting expressions like: a settlement, commander in chief, a surrender, to foresee, seemingly, meritless, a shareholder, liable, the pursuit, to seek [to apply editorial pressure], unrelenting, biased [TV coverage], a newscast, to air, to trade [away the trust], [to break] a scoop, to hold [power] to account. 

The BBC article on the Ellison family's media interests (C2) includes words like: to shake up, to take on [a new dimension], to pursue [deals], to pave the way, to bless [the dealings], to rank, to skew, a [Republican] megadonor, a fundraiser, to broker [a deal], to be poised [to become], a foray, a flop, a takeover, a [significant] leap, a sprawling [operation], a sign-off, anti-bribery [laws], in compliance with, to duck [questions], to sway [news coverage], the kernel, to get your head around [that], a tie-up, a would-be [media] mogul, to go in flames. 

And finally, the long and complex NPR's (Fresh Air) interview to David Enrich, which is recommended for C2 students and Experts, contains words like: a gathering, to overturn [a court decision], a landmark [case], a [media] outlet, the campaign trail, libel, a stump speech, high-power [lawyers], to linger, reckless [disregard for the accuracy], malice, to set out, a rocky [start], to bash [the media], nuanced [understanding of the issue], shoddy, oblivion, to pop up, saber-rattling, the wherewithal, to flinch, to dig into, to chip away [around the edges], kooky [stuff], to mastermind [this campaign], hand-wringing.

You can watch a YouTube interview to David Enrich on Democracy Now! This video with subtitles is also recommended for C2 students and Experts:

Toxic Mushroom Murder Trial in Australia

Erin Patterson was found guilty of murdering her in-laws by serving them poisonous mushrooms in a family dinner. The case has gathered huge media attention in Australia and all around the world for the jury had to weigh up the evidence and the lies, to decide if the poisonings were deliberate or not, and for the family relationships between the victims, the murderer and her estranged husband.

B2 learners who are not familiar with the story will find it difficult to understand the details at first, so I recommend them to read Rachel Treisman's report for NPR first, An Australian woman is found guilty of murdering her in-laws by toxic mushrooms, where they will come across interesting words like: death cap mushrooms, guilty, estranged [husband], beef Wellington, a paste, [finely] chopped [mushrooms], [multiple organ] failure, a witness, a twist and turn, a prosecutor, a motive, to plead [non-guilty], [three] counts [of murder], to forage [mushrooms], to cover up [her actions], to prove [her guilty], a recap, a split, an amicable [relationship], to pull out, a quirk, amanita phalloides mushrooms, to be discharged, scrutiny, back and forth, to throw up, to acknowledge, a grocery store, to dispose of [something], the stand, to dump, a knee-jerk [reaction], to dig [deeper], to cover her tracks, a deception, a fabricated [cancer claim], to plant the seed, a lump, to spark [a search for death cap mushrooms], to cherry-pick, a ruse, to take a leap, 

After reading the text, C1 students can listen to a 3-minute NPR radio report and check how much they understand the American accent, where they can pick up words such as: to grip, a suburban [mom], to pass up, an estranged [husband], death cap mushrooms, the leftovers, bizarre, to fake [a cancer diagnosis], to forage for [mushrooms], to chalk it up, a [kitchen] mix-up, devastated, on [pretty] decent [terms], to pull out, to recap. To fully understand all the words in the report, C1 learners will problably have to use the transcript after listening a couple of times.

For further information, students can read the following Wikipedia entry, 2023 Leongatha mushroom murders, watch this 9News story to test their understanding of Australian accent (C2 level) or watch the shorter ABC YouTube video below, also in Australian English:

Justice, Politics and Money in Wisconsin

Wisconsin, a key swing state in the Midwest, will vote today to choose a state Supreme Court judge, who can tilt the balance of power towards the right or towards the left, and billionaires like Elon Musk and George Soros are pouring millions of dollars to influence voters and get either conservative Brad Schimel or liberal Susan Crawford elected.

Here you can listen to the NPR's Morning Edition story by Anya van Wagtendonk "Out-of-state billionaires donate big money in Wisconsin Supreme Court race" (03':52"), which comes with a script, but, due to the density of the information and the references to American law and political campaigns, this story is recommended for C2 students and Experts, who will find interesting expressions like: to rake in, to be fueled, the tally, to funnel, to back, a non-partisan [Wisconsin Supreme Court], an issue, at stake, a cap, a rally, to spell out, a stake, [President Trump`s] agenda, to take over [Schimel's campaign], a megadonor, to fire back, a boogeyman, an endorsement, an heir, distressed, the fundraising, to hit, a recusal, to chill, to be beholden. 

If you want to do class practice, here you can find a C2 listening, vocabulary and speaking task with the key, based on the Anya van Wagtendonk's radio report above. 

For further background information about the pecularities of this election, you can read the article "The Wisconsin Supreme Court vote is getting national attention and millions from Musk", which can be suitable for C1 students and above, where you will find words like: a rally, a contested [issue], partisan [politics], to play out, voting rights, a court ruling, to redraw [congressional districts], to end up, to pour, to hand out, a [legal] back-and-forth, to bribe, a [democracy] advocacy [group], a swing state, to face off, a seat opening, non-partisan, a justice, the ballot, liberal-leaning [judges], the attorney general, to endorse, a [legal] counsel, a bid, to barrage, an issue, to tee up [issues], on the books, to overturn [the right to abortion], collective bargaining, the ballot, to end up, to deploy, the GOP, transgender [rights], to feature, to side with [radicals], fearmongering, [to run] misleading [adds], a buzzword, a sweepstake, to redraw [the districts], to enforce [the law], the legislature, a matter, to sue, a [car] dealer, a backer.

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Today, Anya van Wagtendok reports for Wisconsin Public Radio that Susan Crawford has won her judiciary election race and liberals have kept the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the article "Trump and Musk's backing wasn't enough to flip Wisconsin Supreme Court". This story can be read by C1 students and above, who can pick up words like: to back, to flip, endorsement, advocacy, to top, to fuel, a bruising [election cycle], the [national] stakes, a swing state, to cheer, to concede [the race], to take on, to vow, to yell, to cheat, turnout, to supersede [state law], collective bargaining, to end up [redrawing], to sue, a dealership, a private attorney, attorney general, a general counsel, a circuit court [judge], the will [of the people], a megadonor, to endorse, to recuse, to portray, beholden, latitude, to serve [a term of ten years]. 

If you want to take a look at the full election results in Wisconsin, you can check out Wisconsin Public Radio's Election Results 2025 on this link.

Almodovar's Gaze at Life & Death

Death is part of life and death can be gorgeous. These paradoxical aphorisms could have been written by Teresa of Ávila, but they have been painted by Pedro Almodóvar in his latest film, "The Room Next Door". 

"The Room Next Door" (01:42':23") is a La Mancha cinematographic work of art, only that it was shot in New York City, in Echo Lake Park & Westfield, New Jersey..., and in the "lush pine woods of San Lorenzo de El Escorial", Madrid, the capital of Spain (located in geographical La Mancha). Tilda Swinton (Martha) and Julianne Moore (Ingrid) walk and talk together, like Don Quixote and a fruit-loving Ingrid, through their lives and Martha's upcoming death while Ingrid helps her along the increasingly arduous trail. But this Shakespearean tragedy is regarded in Almodóvar's eyes as a festival of colours, sounds and literary references, which make it .... just beautiful! The film was awarded the Golden Lion at Venice International Film Festival, 2024.

Based on the novel "What Are You Going Through" by Sigrid Nunez, the film version is inspired by Edward Hopper's paintings, with references to Astrology Angel Number 1614, Fred Flintstones, Dora Carrington, Lytton Strachey, Virginia Wolf, James Joyce, the Film Society at Lincoln Center ("Journey to Italy" issue), "Erotic Vagrancy", Martha Gellhorn, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Buster Keaton, Stefan Zweig, John Huston etc. The movie frames are accompanied by a delicate score of chirping birds, violins, celloes, violas, oboes, harps and the odd piano or horn, and Ingrid often relishes delicious meals with fruit, wine, herbal teas, tender kisses and sex table talk in the city or in the "Green World", with a gentle breeze, flowers blooming and "the snow falling faintly through the universe, and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead" (a quote from James Joyce's The Dead). But Almodóvar is also an actively engaged filmmaker who drops occasional political statements in the movie about climate change, doom mongers, euthanasia, the rise of the far right and religious fanaticism, which contrasts sharply with the joyful sacrifice of the gay Carmelite priest, Bernardo, when he refuses to abandon his flock in his Baghdad mission, during the Iraq war.

"The room next door" has just been released in Movistar Plus, Apple TV, Filmin, etc. in Spain and it opened in cinemas the U.S. last December 20. The dialogues are slow and clear and the vocabulary is colloquial, full of phrasal verbs and interesting collocations, so, it can be recommended for C1 students and above with subtitles.  Some of the expressions that come up in the dialogues are: to make out to [somebody], to draw [a crowd], to run into [somebody], a guinea pig, in [good] spirits, to give up, to forgo [treatment], to get along, to swap, to take over, [to be] over, to be high [on drugs], to carve out [an abyss], rehab, to ease [his conscience], to track down, to be trapped, to pass out, a nuisance, to stop by, to be [right] over, to feel obliged, to be infatuated, to devote [time to somebody], an alley, to let [somebody] down, to keep [somebody] company, an opioid, to settle in, to impose [something on somebody], defeatist, bullshit, [what's the] point [in doing something?], a terrible fear of [death], to be confused, to be in touch, to flirt, a blood count, to fill [somebody] in with [information], a caretaker, to misplace [something], the skyline, hassle, [I] got it, a chemo brain, to be spared [something], to budge [from something], to waste away, unacceptable [behaviour], unbearable, [to be] one of a kind, to be winded, a lawsuit, the life of the party, to rush [in], to fend off, looming [thoughts of death], spell, a rehearsal, to act out [all things], here you go, a will, chilly, a downer, [a topic] to come up [in a conversation], to mutter, a coward, blitzed, appalled, a miscarriage, death throes, a scavenger, teethering, to fade away, a patch, the specifics, faith, to aid, to abide [in], the charges, an attorney, an asshole, a [religious] fanatic, sorry for your loss, to pack up, here you go, an estranged [child], to be hard on yourself, dawn.

If you want further information, you can listen to the Fresh Air interview Tilda Swinton thinks about death and says you should too, by Terry Gross, where Tilda talks about her own real life experience as a carer of her friend Derek Jarman and her terminally-ill mother and how tough -and eventually rewarding- it was to accept her own powerlessness. She also talks about her film career, her sexual orientation, and about her wonderful experience working with Pedro Almodóvar and Alberto Iglesias (composer of the score). This long interview (44') has a transcript, so it can be recommend to C1+, or C2 students.

AI's potential Threats (to Privacy, U.S. National Security, Elections & Equality)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the buzz word at the turn of this new year. Everybody is exploring the opportunities that the hottest apps, namely Chat GPT, Bing or Bard, offer to improve performance in their jobs. In the previous post, we learnt that the major consumer electronics companies presented an array of AI powered appliances at CES 2024 Las Vegas. In this post we are going to look at some of the concerns that AI is raising in a number of areas, from espionage to personal freedom. 

Lesson plan tip: these interviews and articles can be used as background information for a "flipped-classroom" homework task: each student chooses one story and listens to it during the weekend. Then, on Monday, students share a short oral summary of the interview in small groups of up to 4 students and they talk about some of the key words they have learnt. After that, they can discuss the opportunities and the threats that AI offers, for example with the "For & Against" list published by Phoebe Reynolds in English Teachers Around the World (Facebook). It is a simple, but challenging information gap activity to practice authentic listening/ reading, speaking, summarizing, debating and to activate passive vocabulary. 

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If you are interested in face-recognition technology, you can start by reading the Digital Trends article Clear View AI's facial-recognition app is a nightmare for stalking victims about Clear View, an app that can identify an individual with minimal information, and it is widely used by government and law-enforcement agencies to search for criminals. But the power of Clear View can be used for the wrong purposes in the hands of authoritarian governments or wrongdoers, as you can learn if you listen to Fresh Air's interview to New York Times reporter Kashmir Hill, Inside the Secretive AI Company that Knows your Face. C1 students can read the Digital Trends text first to build up background information and they will find interesting words like: to stalk, hubris, a startup, to snap [a photo], a creep, a boon, a stalker, a nefarious [purpose], a statement, to monetize, to scrape [information], to track [somebody] down, to harass, a flaw, a stark [increase], an ongoing [problem], disruptive [tech], to launch, [sexual] assault, to misuse, to rape). The 42 minute NPR interview with a script is recommended for C2 students who will encounter interesting words like: to unlock [a phone], to scrape [photos], to log into [an app], a beat (area), a [tech] dystopia, Planned Parenthood, to harass, creepy, to wield, chilling, to name and shame, a restroom, to blend in [with the population], a corpse, [to turn the] tide, the toll, an outlet, bodybuilding, workout, a counter, the breadcrumb, state-of-the-art [technology], to be pulled over [by the police], a warrant, larceny, bewildered, a gang, a consignment store, [surveillance] footage, a bunch of [photos], [the charges (law)] to be dropped, shoplifting, [to be in the] lineup, faulty, wrongfully [arrested], [a technological] breakthrough, to rig up, the brim [of a baseball cap], countless [photos], a building block, a cease-and-desist [letter], a whim, to harness [the benefits], to track [someone], to harvest, a seasoned [consultant], a vintage [store], a dive bar, astounding, buggy, to pitch [this technology], a venue, to sue, to hang out with [artists], to shift, to be anointed [the candidate], nefarious [purposes], a fine-tuned [technology], a rioter, to storm [the Capitol], the blowback, to let the cat out of the bag. 

AI tools have long been utilized in cyberwar and espionage. In How AI is Transforming National Security,  Mary Louise Kelly interviews FBI Director Chris Wray and U.S. National Security Agency Director, Paul Nakasone for NPR's Consider This Podcast. The segment lasts 11 minutes and has a script, so, it can be easily accessible to C1 students and above. You will come across interesting words like: a thriller, sneaker, [under] siege, to hack into [computers], to compromise [data], a go-to [tool], devastating [consequences], to ponder, on the flip side, cyber snooping, a formidable [adversary], ransomware, penchant, overreach, what makes [it] tick, a stride.

If you want further information about the race and gender bias of facial recognition tech, you can listen to the Fresh Air interview  Unmasking AI's racism and sexism where the computer scientist and founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, Joy Buolamwini, explains the inbuilt biasses of AI's algorithms.  This is a long, 37 minute interview with a script, so it can be recommended for C2 students, where they will find interesting words like: the male gaze, the coded gaze, to coin [a term], grad school, a glitch, [to issue] an executive order, a landmark [executive order], to endow, fanciful, to debug, to bake in [priorities], messiness, mahogany, a windfall, to floor, a nuance, a slew [of letters], overreliance, to misgender, a benchmark, to take steps, to regulate, a class-action lawsuit, an opt-in [program], to opt-out, groundbreaking [technology], to label, to speak up, a burden, to come off [like an angry black woman], a gimmick, a stake, a gasp, to dip my toe into[something], a hoax, a fraudster, a fallback, a high-paying [job], a low-paying [job], an inmate.

If you want to know how AI tools can be used in modern political campaigns, including deepfake videos, you can listen to AI's Influence on Election 2024  where radio host Meghna Chakrabarti has a conversation with several experts, including Darrell West, author of the book How AI Will Transform the 2024 Elections, for her WBUR (Boston) programme On Point. This 47 minute radio show is fast and very complex audio, due to the references to domestic American politics, and because it deals with several topics in a row, which limits the help that a single context can offer to learners of English, so, although there is a script, it is recommended for teachers and Experts (Ex), above C2 level.  Some key words you will find are: a bill, sparsely, a giveaway, a deepfake [video], a disclaimer, malarkey, heck, to utter [a word], to wreak havoc, a bribe, [highly] polarized, to endorse [a candidate], tinny, shady, a caretaker, to curb [the use of harmful AI content], grass roots [level], a deterrent, a loophole, the boogeyman, to pass the legal muster, to reach out [to voters], to level the playing field, to cast [a vote], to crack down on [misinformation], a purveyor [of this information], wary, to flag [instances of virality], a circuit breaker, mainstream, to open the floodgates, to triple check [information].

The Science and Lawfulness of Cow Belching

Cow belching has recently become central in climate change research. Cows and sheep produce tons of methane, a gas that contributes to global warming 84 times more than CO2 does, so, scientists are trying to figure out how these emissions can be curbed to make farming more competitive in a world with higher environmental standards. 

BBC News has recently published the article How New Zealand is reducing methane emissions from farming, which looks into the latest scientific techniques to measure methane emissions in cows and explores changes in emission reduction policy in New Zealand, a cow and sheep farming country. This long article is tough, and only suitable for C2 learners and Experts for a number of reasons: ordinary language learners will not be very familiar with the complexity of its technical and legal content, and the language is a challenging mixture of different registers (scientific, technical, legal and political): it begins with very precise language to describe the methane emission monitoring device for cows, and moves on to describe emission reduction technologies, in a formal, dense, almost academic style, while, in earlier paragraphs, it also adds some light-hearted words to entice the general public to start reading it. 

In the story you will find a rich set of words like: [to reach] a goal, to curb [emissions], a hood, to scoop up, a pellet, to chew, to flick [his ears], to exhale, a contraption, high-tech, to cook up, to be laced with, the digestive tract, to hoover up, a fan, a gallon, a device, to snack, a burp, to churn out, livestock, to scrutinise, mischief, to be enticed, tasty, a hay cube, a lolly, a barn [stay], [food] intake, weight gain, a cattle breeding [cooperative], and counting, a first step in, to curtail [emissions], an [unusual emissions] profile, to hang around, to tackle a [powerful] lever, to sign up to [a pledge], to focus on, to plug a leak, an oil field, [a gas] pipeline, to brew, a niche, to punch above its weight, biogenic [methane], waste, to be consistent with [global efforts], an [international] commitment, to unveil [its strategy], greenhouse gases, a low-emissions [future], an [important] player, a chunk [of the pie], a pricing scheme, to boost, mitigation tech [development], the demise, a shift in policy, gene editing [technology], [to have] what it takes, to harness [scientific tools], a [methane-blocking] vaccine, a silver bullet, to seek, to fund, the inception, [scientifically] challenging, a shortfall in [feasible options], an [available] approach, to milk, a set of [technologies], the [2030- 2040] bracket, to pay dividends, to be likely, to make the grade, a feed-additive, feedlot [animals], tricky [to implement], grazing, to munch [grass], to figure out, [economically] viable, a holy grail, long-lasting, pasture, elusive, the toolbox, [methane] outputs, [dairy] herd, [to verify] the trait, to breed, a low-emitting cow, a [gut] bug, feed, to be underway, sired, to be monitored, a curveball, to handle, a painstaking [process], to yield, a flock [of sheep], fatty [acid], [the spectre] to loom [large], a levy, to date back to [2003], a [fart tax] furore, a misnomer, a cowpat, to lobby, to be roped into, an outlier [industry], to campaign on [a promise], to secure [a deal], [well-thought-through] policy, to achieve [climate targets], input, a scheme, to be meant to [come into effect], to fall over, expertise, emissions pricing policy, a delay, damaging, to catch up, costly, to reward, invidious, to focus on [mitigation], to level the playing field, to dip [by 1.4%], a blip, a [stubborn] plateau, a [new] trend, to be offset, [not to be] on track, [to meet] the overall [emissions], to result in [reductions], [to be] steadfast in [its commitment to the Paris agreement], a keystone [climate policy], to be set to [be discarded], work-in-progress, proven [interventions], to be up to [the new government], to heed [the commission's advice], to fail [to meet], carbon credits. 

That vocabulary and a first reading of the previous article can be an introduction to help students understand some of the following videos about the same topic. Vice News thoroughly explained in July 2023 the confronting political views and the science of the issue in a very informal and funny report, which features ordinary New Zealanders speaking with their local accents in the video "Are Cow Burps Destroying New Zealand?" (16:21), the video has subtitles and a helpful transcription for C1 learners, and has been copied at the bottom of this entry. Vox News explains the basic chemistry of the issue in the video "Cow burps are a climate problem. Can seaweed help?" (5:58), which can also be watched at C1 level with English subtitles.  Finally, the potential of the cow belching problem to develop brand new high-tech tools can be fully appreciated in the Reuters story "Satellites measure cow belches from space" (2:23), which can also be accessible to C1 students with the English subtitles.