European colonialism didn’t just extract gold, spices, and land from colonized peoples — it also created and exploited systems of sexual commerce that were explicitly organized around race. This episode examines how empire built racialized sex economies across Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
In Renaissance Europe and the Ottoman Empire, certain women leveraged beauty, intelligence, and proximity to power into remarkable — if precarious — social positions. This episode explores the cortigiana onesta, the imperial harem, and the Japanese geisha as case studies in how women navigated systems that simultaneously celebrated and constrained them.
The medieval Church condemned commercial sex as mortal sin — and then many of the same institutions that preached that message either tolerated or directly profited from licensed brothels. This episode explores the extraordinary contradiction at the heart of medieval sexuality and the economic logic that drove it.
From the intellectual companionship of Athenian hetaerae to the licensed brothels of imperial Rome, this episode examines how two of history’s most influential civilizations built elaborate social and legal structures around the commodification of sex — and who paid the price.
Some people look at a life spent learning, writing, and thinking and see something to pity. Here’s a warm, honest defense of the quiet, curious life — and a look at why the pity says more about the person giving it than the one receiving it.
Tracing the earliest known traces of commercial sex in ancient Mesopotamia and beyond, examining the hotly contested theory of sacred prostitution, the economic realities of the ancient world, and what the archaeological record actually tells us.
Is poetry dead, or has it just changed its address? Join the Editor-in-Chief of English Plus Magazine as we explore why poetry still matters, the power of words, and how to find deeper meaning in a world of fleeting trends.
We spend weeks researching tech gadgets, yet we judge complex human beings in exactly seven seconds. English Plus Magazine’s Danny explores the trap of first impressions, why our brains rely on snap judgments, and how to discover the incredible people we’ve been missing out on.
Dive into the language of artificial intelligence and the future of technology. In this episode, you’ll master vocabulary, expressions, and speaking strategies that let you discuss AI confidently — from casual chats to professional conversations.
Are we obligated to sacrifice our present happiness for future generations? The Editor-in-Chief of English Plus explores the tension between just wanting a good life and the crushing weight of tomorrow.
A poetic dive into the Portuguese expression engolir sapos, to swallow toads, and what amphibian skin reveals about the price of keeping the peace.
Advanced English listening practice for IELTS, TOEFL, and SAT. Listen to an academic lecture on Indigenous American civilizations and answer 10 exam-style questions.
A poetic exploration of “forgive and forget” — a phrase whose two halves have almost nothing to do with each other, and why the second one may be quietly ruining the first.
Soreness isn’t the signal. Lactic acid isn’t the culprit. What actually builds muscle is stranger and slower than you were told, and the English for it is worth having.
A poetic dive into 忍, the Japanese character for endurance, which draws a knife directly above a heart, and what a swordsmith’s clay can teach you about surviving the pressure.
A poetic dive into the Italian good-luck phrase in bocca al lupo — “into the mouth of the wolf” — the argument Italians are still having about the correct reply, and what predators actually do to a landscape.
