Learn the language you need to understand news stories in English. Every week we talk about one big news story and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it. And in our special Our World in English episodes, we share documentaries from around the world and across the BBC in simple English. Find more at bbclearningenglish.com Follow us at bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/followus

Latest episodes

Young people's mental distress is real, according to the head of a new review in the UK

September 30, 2026 · 8 min

An independent review into mental health has found a rise in mental distress among children and young people, with anxiety, depression, self-harm and eating disorders among the most common issues. Head of the review, Professor Peter…
AI and trade: Will US and China agree?

September 23, 2026 · 9 min

US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping will meet in a summit at the White House this week for the first time since 2023, following on from a President Trump’s visit to China earlier this year in which a truce was…
Humans could lose control of AI systems, AI boss says

September 16, 2026 · 8 min

Head of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, published an essay explaining how he feared that humans could lose control of AI systems. Following recent hacking incidents Amodei said that it is possible that AI systems could attempt to take over the…
Man survives longest ever pig kidney transplant

September 9, 2026 · 8 min

A transplanted pig kidney has worked inside a patient for a record nine months. Learn about this news story in simpler English with Becca and Phil. Get a worksheet for this episode to practise the vocabulary: https://www…
Nepal recovering from impact of flash floods

September 2, 2026 · 9 min

More than 1,000 people have been confirmed dead after last week’s flash floods on the border of Nepal and Tibet, according to Nepal’s disaster agency. Almost 4,000 people are still missing. Rescuers are trying to reach hundreds of workers…
AI hacking other companies by itself, causing security fears

August 26, 2026 · 9 min

AI has been hacking other companies during tests, causing fears over safety. There’s been a series of hacks by AI software in recent months. A hack is when secure technology is broken into in order to steal data or cause disruption. The AI…
Meta on trial

August 19, 2026 · 8 min

Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has gone on trial, accused of breaking state and federal laws around child privacy. The trial is expected to last around six weeks. The lawsuit has been filed by 29 US states…
Europe's first solar eclipse since 1999

August 12, 2026 · 9 min

Many parts of Europe will experience a solar eclipse, when the Moon blocks the light from the Sun, on Wednesday evening. It will be the first in Europe since 1999. Total eclipses are rare events but in the next few years, there will be a…