Resources > Background knowledge
To write a good academic English text, you must first have detailed background knowledge on the subject area. In addition to reading, another way to acquire such knowledge is to listen to relevant podcasts.
Big ideas
Concepts explained
BBC Radio 4
Books worth reading
Big ideas
The following are a collection of short audip-clips (approx. five minutes per file) that consider some of the most significant ideas in history, with topics ranging from beauty and freedom to technology and morality.
01. BEGINNINGS (animations & audio-files)
02. WHO AM I? (animations & audio-files)
03. BEING HUMAN (animations & audio-files)
04. KNOWLEDGE (animations & audio-files)
05. BEAUTY (animations & audio-files)
06. LOVE (animations & audio-files)
07. FREEDOM (animations & audio-files)
08. SOCIETY (animations & audio-files)
09. THE GOOD LIFE (animations & audio-files)
10. RIGHT FROM WRONG (animations & audio-files)
11. JUSTICE (animations & audio-files)
12. TECHNOLOGY (animations & audio-files)
^ Concepts explained
01. ASTRONOMY (audio & animation)
02. MICROGRAVITY (audio & animation)
03. THOUGHTS ON THEORY (audio & animation)
04. THEOLOGY (audio & animation)
05. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (audio & animation)
07. ECONOMICS (audio & animation)
08. THE EUROPEAN UNION (audio & animation)
