Nan's story

How are you, Neil?I've been as busy as a bee this week, Sam. Oh, don't you sound like the bee's knees!All right, Sam, there's no need to get a bee in your bonnet!As you can hear, English is full of idioms involving bees. But the sad truth is that bee numbers are declining at an alarming rate and in some places disappearing altogether. And this has serious consequences for humans.Today, one third..

And I'm Georgina. Have you finished writing that report yet, Neil?Err, not quite- it's almost done. Well, finish it this morning please, then make sure you've planned all the studio sessions for the week and show me so I can double check, OK?OK. Has this ever happened to you? Being micromanaged by someone? That's what it's called when your boss wants to control everything, down to the smallest d..

Now, Harry, do you have many passwords?Passwords- you mean the set of words and numbers which I keep secret and allow me to access information?Yes, I do actually. I've got a few for my computer and the different websites I use, and then there are my cards- cedit card, debit card. And there's one for my ID here at the BBC and then there is...OK, yes! Sometimes I struggle to remember them all. And..

What do Homer, Ray Charles and Jorge Borges all have in common, Georgina?Hmm, so that's the ancient Greek poet, Homer; American singer, Ray Charles; and Argentine writer, Jorge Luis Borges... I can't see much in common there, Neil. Well, the answer is that they were all blind. Ah!, but I wonder how easy they would find it living and working in the modern world. Blind people can use a guide dog o..

That's a big smile on your face, Georgina! You seem happy today!I am, Neil. After all, what's the point in seeing the glass half empty?Ah, so you're someone who tries to see the glass half full- you generally look at things in a positive way. I hope so! It may seem strange to be discussing happiness in the middle of a global pandemic but right now feeling happy is more important than ever. Well,..

Today we're talking about one of the lastest forms of transport on two wheels. Yes. We're not talking about bicycles here. No, we're talking about a... self-balancing transport device. What a complicated name! Now a device is an object which has been created for a particular purpose. But yes, you need to balance on this device which means you need to stand on it and not fall over. Well, this dev..

Animal tesing is when living animals are used in scientific research to find out how effective a new medicine is, or how safe a product is for humans. Scientists in favor of it argue that animal testing shows whether medicines are safe or dangerous for humans, and has saved many lives. But animal rights campaigners say it's cruel, and also ineffective because animals and humanss are so different..

Hello, there, Finn, what do you know about robots?Robots? Well, they talk in a funny way... like that!Yes. You sound quite convincing there actually, Finn. Do you like it?Yes. I do. Is there anything else you know about robots?Well, there are... there are a couple of good ones in the Star Wars, aren't there?Oh, yes, R2-D2 and C-3PO talks in quite a human voice. He does. But of course that's scie..

What do Vincent Van Gogh and Galileo Galilei have in common, Georgina?Hmm... their first name and last names both start with the same letter?Well, that's true... but another similarity is their amazing contributions- to art and science- were only recognised after their death. I know another person whose huge contribution to science went unrecognised durigh her lifetime, Rob, but unlike Van Gogh ..

Hello, Catherine! Now, how was your holiday?My holiday was lovely, Neil. I was staying on a beautiful island. It was very remote and there was actually no internet access. So, I did feel quite cut off actually. And cut off means isolated. How did you survive, Catherien?Well, it wasn't easy. But I had my e-reader- that's an electronic device which you store and read lots of books from the interne..