Gerry's News Digest (English)

Gerry's News Digest is for more advanced users of English (at level B2 and above). The English is not simplified in any way. GerryIn his News Digest Gerry takes a personal look at some of the stories that have been filling the newspapers and the TV screens in Britain, Switzerland and elsewhere. How have the British been adjusting to the ban on smoking in their pubs, for example? Will the Swiss react the same way? What's happening in Liverpool in its year as European Capital of Culture? 

Listen to the latest episode >>

Gerry is a pseudonym used by Gareth Hughes for the character he has created for his podcasts. Gareth, like Gerry, is from Wales and he came to Switzerland more than 20 years ago with his wife and three children. In summer 2008 he and his wife moved back to Wales. Gareth's job and his life have been bound up with languages: the learning and teaching of them to adults from many different backgrounds. Languages are inextricably bound up with culture, and it's the strange and amusing contacts between languages and cultures that he experiences on a daily basis in Switzerland, in Britain and on his travels through Europe that form the basis for his podcasts.

 Diesen Podcast abonnieren: Podcast mit iTunes abonnieren Podcast via RSS abonnieren

Archive:

Gerry's News Digest 122: The EU again, euphemisms and human need (24th May, 2013)
Gerry’s News Digest 121: The rich list, showrooming and the effect of news (13th May, 3013)
Gerry’s News Digest 120: The Iron Lady and birth order (26th April, 2013)
Gerry's News Digest 119: Reading internationally, borrowing words, social class (12th April, 2013)
Gerry’s News Digest 118: health and safety, status quo bias, Voyager 1 (28th March, 2013)
Gerry's News Digest 117: UK immigration figures, London's schools, trial by jury (15th March, 2013)
Gerry’s News Digest 116: Fallen heroes in sport and politics and the Fast Diet (March 1, 2013)
Gerry’s News Digest 115: Same-sex marriage, HIT and the food crisis (February 15, 2013)
Gerry’s News Digest 114: Exercise guidelines, handwriting, shouting about the EU (February 1, 2013)
Gerry’s News Digest 113: UK City of Culture, World Top Ten, Global Fat Scale (January 18, 2013)
Gerry’s News Digest 112: Autumn TV, energy policy and happy marriages (December 21, 2012)
Gerry’s News Digest 111: Women bishops, football Twitter, local newspapers (December 7, 2012)
Gerry’s News Digest 110: BBC anniversary and crisis, and the single life (November 23, 2012)
Gerry’s News Digest 109: Weak maths in the UK, the right to vote, Britishisms (November 9, 2012)
Gerry’s News Digest 108: Misogyny, the age of majority and the age of consent (October 26)
Gerry’s News Digest 107: Twitter, adult-only flights, “Plebgate” (October 12, 2012)
Gerry’s News Digest 106: Those photos of Kate, whistleblowing, English spelling (September 28, 2012)
Gerry’s News Digest 105: Day of Languages, learning at home, American English (September 14, 2012)
Gerry’s News Digest 104: Facebook, banks and formal titles (August 31, 2012)
Gerry's News Digest 103: 5 years no smoking, Welsh cornflakes, migrants, stage trends (July 13,2012)
Gerry's News Digest 102: The cause of obesity, plugs and referendums (June 29, 2012)
Gerry's News Digest 101: The Diamond Jubilee and the popularity of the monarchy (June 15, 2012)
Gerry's News Digest 100: Social media, a 60s star, working hours, shaking hands (June 1, 2012)
Gerry's News Digest 99: Roy Hodgson, the Irish economy, the modern world (May 21, 2012)
Gerry's News Digest 98: Cockney money, the Freuds, sexism in language (May 4, 2012)
Gerry's News Digest 97: Tales of inefficiency, polio, charity and tax (April 20, 2012)
Gerry's News Digest 96: Alcohol, babies and how the world's getting better (April 5, 2012)
Gerry's News Digest 95: Lager, sleep and listening to colours... and Prince Charles (March 23, 2012)
Gerry's News Digest 94: Railway tickets, UK metric measures and national anthems (March 9, 2012)
Gerry's News Digest 93: Offices, Welsh language, Welsh women, tourism slogans (February 24, 2012)
Gerry's News Digest 92: Scotland and its referendum (February 10, 2012)
Gerry's News Digest 91: Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics (January 27, 2012)
Gerry's News Digest 90: Italian ailments, pedestrian crossings and Jewish mothers (January 13, 2012)
Gerry's News Digest 89: Improve your maths, pension strikes, reason v identity (December 9. 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 88: Speed limits and road safety, brain myths and chuggers (November 25, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 87: The stuff we use, old wives' tales, the other Dolby (November 11, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 86: Protesting in tents, Irish eye contact, IQ testing (October 28, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 85: "Home", street newspapers, television rights in the EU (October 14, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 84: Grumpiness about insurance, lawyers, complaints, etc. (September 30, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 83: Jokes, riots and birds (September 16, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 82: Tennis, phone hacking scandal (2), BBC, smiles (September 2, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 81: A book, the theatre, tennis and phone hacking (July 15, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 80: Britain's favourite music, a great writer, school proms (July 1, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 79: Drought, business casual, care homes, book lovers' paradise (June 17, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 78: Treasure trove, adult education and human humans (June 1, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 77: An ideal school, elections in Scotland, forward in Samoa (May 20, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 76: Referendum, German humour, royal and sham marriages (May 6, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 75: A personal review of a book about rudeness and bad service (April 22, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 74: Dress codes (2), April Fool's Day truth and fiction (April 8, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 73: Dress codes, aerotropolises and train driver announcements (March 25, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 72: Musack, pawn shops and ebooks (March 11, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 71: Census, Tiger Mother, how to hold a wine glass (February 25, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 70: More on email, children and TV, Welsh referendum (February 11, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 69: Welsh devolution, organ donors and email etiquette (January 28, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 68: Hope, despair, resolutions and marmalade (January 14, 2011)
Gerry's News Digest 67: World Cup 2018, foster care, how to suceed in business (December 10, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 66: The squeezed middle, company loss, pre-nups and a thief (November 26, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 65: A history of the world, China, how to avoid colds (November 12, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 64: Wayne Rooney and the government cuts (October 29, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 63: Ryder Cup, the Commonwealth, mothers and daughters (October 15, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 62: Selenium, crisps, a cricket scandal and travelling people (October 1, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 61: Super foods, snacks, drip pricing, dancing and sex (September 17, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 60: Vitamin D, the Oz trial, behavioural economics and sales (September 3, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 59: Referendum, bad laws, retirement age, hen parties (July 16, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 58: Sex and obscenity, lifeboats and how to end a friendship (July 2, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 57: Memorial Day and Toastmasters, salaries, a German prince (June 18, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 56: Holidays, litter, non-English words, jokes and parking (June 2, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 55: Charlotte Guest, football manager, election gripe (May 21, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 54: Chocolate and depression, health checks, the hunting ban (May 7, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 53: Sports, politics and parenting (April 23, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 52: Our national shopping basket, Franklin's Gambit, Swiss news (April 9, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 51: The Human Library, web behaviour and the General Election 2 (March 26, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 50: Elections, health inducement schemes, behaviour in theatres (March 12, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 49: Fashion - Alexander McQueen, sustainability, new English (February 26, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 48: Social networking trends and the funny side of clichés (February 12, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 47: How to rate countries, powerful checklists, a Welsh film (January 29, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 46: Why time flies, the British legal system and some jokes (January 15, 2010)
Gerry's News Digest 45: School dinners, the WI and some language points (December 11, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 44: Child migrants, word stress problems and media news (November 27, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 43: Synaesthesia, Myron Rolle, America and grumpiness (November 13, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 42: Chess boxing, teenage boys, Glaswegian, a Welsh colony (October 30, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 41: Ig Nobel prizes, conkers and driving on the left (October 16, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 40: Dr Jerry Morris, Liberal Democrats and love on the tube (October 2, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 39: Welsh slave owners, first names and an experiment (September 18, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 38: Health care, the Eisteddfod and The Ashes (September 4, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 37: Hamlet, "apéros", Henry VIII and Swiss rules (July 17, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 36: UK drinking etiquette, exported words and "weisure" (July 3, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 35: One million English words, drinkers' personalities and jokes (June 19, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 34: A Swiss DVD, the MPs' expenses again and men's suffering (June 5, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 33: MP's expenses, the nocebo effect, and stating the obvious (May 22, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 32: The UK fiscal year, the Gurkhas, the flu and the G20 again (May 8, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 31: UK national day, Wallace Collection and hole-in-the-wall PC (April 24, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 30: My son and a Swiss charity, Twitter, the G20 and tax havens (April 9, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 29: Red Nose Day, Chelsea Pensioners, chocolate and monkeys (March 27, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 28: The Lewes pound, bankers and YouTube (March 13, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 27: Brown and Titian, Wikipedia, truancy, and Welsh women (February 27, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 26: Love, theatre, school exams and Morse code (February 13, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 25: Detox intoxication, home schooling and heavy legs (January 30, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 24: Economic woes, New Year Honours, company image problems (January 16, 2009)
Gerry's News Digest 23: British pomp and power, TV dance trouble and more (December 19, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 22: Prince Charles, dangerous lorry drivers, annoying cliches (December 5, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 21: Nuclear power, social class and a translation problem (November 21, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 20: Brown the superhero, Welsh water politics, Dickens on TV (November 7, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 19: Governor Palin, Japanese knotweed and an Irish joke (October 24, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 18: Credit crunch, Paralympics, Channel stories and a horse (October 10, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 17: Motorbike Sikhs, the Proms, England & a dog story (September 26, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 16: Liberty in Britain, American TV and the Welsh church (September 12, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 15: Call centres, British EU politics and the Olympics (August 29, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 14: Getting personal in shops and why the British can't plan (August 18, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 13: Independence Day, boxing and privacy in the internet (July 4, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 12: Children's names, Tata, the Japanese sniffer dog and old age (June 20, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 11: D-Day, immigration in Ireland and football (June 6, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 10: America and Europe - impressions from my holiday (May 23, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 9: Health treatments, German train problems and a US joke (May 9, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 8: A cultural misunderstanding, Rotary and men vs women (April 25, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 7: Sarkozy and Carla in UK, Mr Switzerland and bottled water (April 11, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 6: Income tax, more local illnessness and Google's new HQ (March 28, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 5: Tax evasion, tipping in the US and more local illnesses (March 14, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 4: "Local" illnesses, Warren Buffett and women at work (February 29, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 3: Nicknames, Valentine's, slimmer of the year and nudity (February 15, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 2: Social networking sites, health issues and cervelat (February 1, 2008)
Gerry's News Digest 1: Smoking, sales, Liverpool and Russian rats (January 18, 2008)