We're sold a one-size-fits-all picture of success: the big house, the fancy title, the overflowing bank account. But what if that picture doesn't fit your frame? This episode is a deep, honest conversation about dismantling that myth and discovering the personal meaning of success. We'll explore the quiet triumphs, the internal scorecards, and the radical act of defining wealth, happiness, and achievement for yourself. Get ready to stop chasing and start living a life that feels genuinely successful to you.

To unlock full access to all our episodes, consider becoming a premium subscriber on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. And don’t forget to visit englishpluspodcast.com for even more content, including articles, in-depth studies, and our brand-new audio series and courses now available in our Patreon Shop!

The way we tell scary stories has changed forever. The campfire is now a global network, and new monsters are born from code and pixels. In this episode of Into the World of Urban Legends, we explore the rise of digital folklore.

Join us as we investigate:

• The Birth of Slender Man: Discover the true origin story of the internet's most famous monster, born from a 2009 Photoshop contest, and how he became an "open-source" nightmare built by thousands.
• The World of Creepypasta: What is this new form of user-generated horror, and how does it blur the line between fiction and reality?
• Viral Challenges & Moral Panics: We deconstruct the "Momo Challenge" to understand how legends about dangerous online trends can become more powerful than the trends themselves.
• A New Breed of Legend: Learn what makes digital folklore more potent, participatory, and potentially more dangerous than the classic tales of the past.

To unlock full access to all our episodes, consider becoming a premium subscriber on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. And don’t forget to visit englishpluspodcast.com for even more content, including articles, in-depth studies, and our brand-new audio series and courses now available in our Patreon Shop!

Is your mind just a complex computer made of meat, or is it something more? This episode dives headfirst into one of philosophy's greatest puzzles: Mind-Body Dualism. We'll journey from Descartes' famous "I think, therefore I am" to modern neuroscience, exploring the profound, funny, and sometimes spooky connection between our inner world of thoughts and feelings and the physical brain that houses them. Get ready to question everything you think you know about who—and what—you really are.

A driver picks up a mysterious stranger on a lonely road, who then vanishes from the car. It’s a story told everywhere, but it's never the same story twice. In this episode of Into the World of Urban Legends, we follow the spectral trail of the "Vanishing Hitchhiker" across the globe.

Join us on a journey to:

• Hawaii: Meet Pele, the volcano goddess who appears as a hitchhiker to test the kindness of mortals.
• Latin America: Encounter the terrifying La Llorona, a weeping spirit whose appearance is a moral warning.
• Japan: Discover the sorrowful Yūrei, ghosts of accident victims tied to the place of their death.
• United Kingdom: Investigate the famous Blue Bell Hill ghost, a legend born from a real-life tragedy.

This episode reveals how a single story can act as a mirror, adapting to local landmarks, anxieties, and beliefs, and proving that every culture's ghosts tell us more about the living than the dead.

To unlock full access to all our episodes, consider becoming a premium subscriber on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. And don’t forget to visit englishpluspodcast.com for even more content, including articles, in-depth studies, and our brand-new audio series and courses now available in our Patreon Shop!

Ever feel like you're just going through the motions, waiting for life to happen to you? What if you could become the architect of your own destiny? This episode is your pep talk and practical guide to creating a compelling future vision. We'll explore why dreaming big isn't just for kids, how to move past the 'how' and focus on the 'what,' and tangible steps to build a blueprint for a life that genuinely excites you. Get ready to stop drifting and start building a future that feels like home.

Have you ever heard a story from a "friend of a friend" that was too creepy or weird to be true, yet you still felt a shiver of belief? In the first episode of Into the World of Urban Legends, we explore the powerful psychology behind why these modern myths stick in our minds.

Join us as we dive into:

• Cognitive Biases: Discover how mental shortcuts like the availability heuristic and confirmation bias prime our brains to accept fiction as fact.
• The Power of Emotion: Learn why stories that tap into our deepest fears and sense of disgust are far more memorable and shareable than dry facts.
• The Social Function of Legends: Uncover how these tales act as modern-day cautionary fables, helping us build communities, enforce social norms, and make sense of a chaotic world.

This episode isn't just about spooky stories; it's a journey into the architecture of belief itself.

To unlock full access to all our episodes, consider becoming a premium subscriber on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. And don’t forget to visit englishpluspodcast.com for even more content, including articles, in-depth studies, and our brand-new audio series and courses now available in our Patreon Shop!

What if the force that holds us down loosened its grip by half? In this episode of Imagine What If, we leap into a world of reduced gravity. We'll bounce through the delightful absurdity of everyday life, from superhuman sports to slow-motion spills. But we'll also explore the profound, and sometimes scary, consequences for our bodies, our planet, and our very existence. This isn't just a physics puzzle; it's a journey into what it means to be strong, what holds us together, and what we might become if we were all just a little bit lighter.

Think back to the person you were five or ten years ago. Are your priorities the same? In this episode, we're diving deep into the evolution of our core values. We'll explore the monumental life events—the heartbreaks, the triumphs, the quiet awakenings—that act as earthquakes for the soul, completely reshaping what we believe in. This isn't about finding the "right" answers, but about honoring the journey and the different versions of ourselves we've been along the way. Get ready for a conversation that will have you reflecting on your own life's most pivotal moments.