In this week's show, Hana and Steve look at the life Akihiko Kondo and his decision to marry Vocaloid computer-generated singing software Miku Hatsune. In 2017, the Gatebox company started the Living With project. Using characters they design,

Uncle Pazzo #1 Always Late

Jul 4th, 2021 4m 37s

Today's show is different from the others we've done. Be warned. It's intended for students of English at a more basic level.I wrote a children's book a few years ago called Uncle Pazzo. The idea behind the book was to get young English languag

Noodle Harassment

Jun 26th, 2021 27m 17s

Before COVID-19 made it impossible for foreigners to visit Japan for the Tokyo Olympics, some people here worried about possible culture clashes, and one area of concern was eating etiquette. Today's show discusses slurping while eating noodles

Senior Ironman

Jun 19th, 2021 29m 37s

An ironman race is one of the toughest competitions in the world. Raced in under 12 hours, competitors must swim 4km, ride their bikes 180km, and finally run 42km. In 1978, fifteen men took up the challenge to finish this race in Kailua-Kona, H

Jouhatsu - Evaporated People

Jun 12th, 2021 29m 1s

Every year, thousands of people decide to vanish, to leave their lives, and start new. In Japan, they are called jouhatsu, or evaporated people. This week, Hana and Steve discuss some of the reasons why these people decide to evaporate without

Troubles on Shinkansen

Jun 5th, 2021 32m 31s

Shinkansen is the topic for episode 15. Hana and Steve discuss paying fines in Italy, toilet emergencies in Shizuoka, losing jobs at JR, and why taxis confuse students of English in Japan.

I Hired a Dad for My Daughter

May 30th, 2021 26m 59s

This week's show looks at a single mom's struggle to save her fatherless daughter. There are companies here in Japan that rent actors to people in need of a father for a wedding, or girlfriend for a party, or just a friends to go shopping with.

Secret to Happiness

May 15th, 2021 29m 30s

This week, Hana and Steve discuss why Japan ranked 56 in the latest happiness survey, and 2 ideas that help people in Denmark stay at the top of the World Happiness Index. As always, Hana shows her English skills with prepositions, while Steve

Fines for Crimes

May 8th, 2021 38m 47s

Terrace House, Dentsu, and Samsung's Lee Kun-hee are the focus of this week's topic. Fines are given to people connected with crimes, and for all 3 of these groups, somebody has to pay money. Hana and Steve talk about differences in verbs Watch

Don Juan San

May 1st, 2021 30m 6s

In this week's show, Hana and Steve look at the lives of 2 Japanese men who had a passion for meeting women. One is dead, and the other was arrested recently. Were these men bad, or did they just have a Don Juan complex? These questions and mor

Unusual Olympics

Apr 25th, 2021 31m 55s

Today's show looks at the strange things that have happened in the Olympics since starting in 1896. Hana and Steve talk about unusual Olympic events like pigeon shooting, PM Mori meeting Bill Clinton, and how to use 3 special verbs - live, work

Mario is Super

Apr 17th, 2021 24m 22s

This week, Hana and Steve discuss the world's most popular video game character: MARIO. How did Mario start? How is Super Nintendo World? How bad is Steve at games? These questions are answered as well as an explanation for three troublesome ve

Instagram Star Kimiko Nishimoto

Apr 11th, 2021 23m 15s

This week, Steve and Hana look at the life of Instagram star Kimiko Nishimoto. With over 200,000 followers, Ms Nishimoto started to take photos in her early 70s, and hasn't stopped. Steve and Hana discuss alcohol, art, getting older and the ver

Daiso 100¥ Shops

Mar 28th, 2021 28m 1s

This week's show looks at the beginnings of Daiso 100¥ shops, focusing on the store's president, Hirotake Yano. Even though Steve can't say his name very well, he and Hana discuss 100¥ shops in Canada, things they buy at stores like Daiso, and

Japan's Plastic Problem

Mar 22nd, 2021 28m 42s

We all know that we pollute too much, but just how bad is this situation? Hana and Steve talk about some surprising facts concerning Japan's problem with plastic, efforts to fix this problem, and as usual, challenging grammar problems related t

Toyota's Woven City

Mar 14th, 2021 30m 20s

In February, 2021, Toyota began building Woven City at the foot of Mt Fuji. The company calls it a living laboratory, and it will be used to test new technologies that will help make our lives easier. In this week's show, Hana and Steve discuss

Food Shopping in Japan

Mar 8th, 2021 26m 33s

In this week's show, Hana and Steve talk about some funny and bad experiences shopping, their favourite hot sauce, and discuss some challenging ways to use prepositions with food.

Guns in Japan

Feb 28th, 2021 31m 54s

Steve and Hana discuss their experiences with guns, the difficulty in getting a gun in Japan, and futon-carrying policemen who sometimes forget things in toilets.

Haircuts

Feb 9th, 2021 33m 21s

In today's episode, Steve and Hana discuss their experiences with getting haircuts in Japan, Canada, Korea and Thailand. Some of the questions discussed in this episode are:How often do you...How long does it take...What is your idea of a good.

Strange Crimes

Jan 27th, 2021 18m 32s

In this week's podcast, Steve and Hana discuss 3 strange crimes that happened across Japan in January, 2021. What are these crimes about? Let's just say some terrible men were thirsty, dirty, and in need of a toilet.

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