1. A Bit of a Stretch is a podcast by Chris Atkins, a documentary maker who went to prison for tax fraud in 2016. After his release, he interviewed twenty ex-prisoners about their time in jail, and turned the recordings into a podcast. On Apple here https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-bit-of-a-stretch-the-podcast/id1532249561 and on Spotify here https://open.spotify.com/show/2ZTvJeAeEzBumHkXRwZCPc

He wrote a book of the same name: here’s The Guardian review of it https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/feb/05/a-bit-of-a-stretch-chris-atkins-review

2. An online event from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace at 15:00 UK time next Wednesday, 31^st January: Learned Indifference: how Russians have adapted to war https://events.ceip.org/alternaterealityhowrussiansoci

“It’s been almost two years since the Kremlin launched what it terms its “special military operation” against Ukraine, and most Russians have learned to cope with wartime pressures by distancing themselves as much as possible from what is unfolding on the battlefield. At the same time, hopes for peace—or at least peace talks—are becoming more and more common. How can this combination of indifference and a desire for peace be explained? What could change the social consensus over the war, or shatter the “new normal” that has taken hold in Russia? What’s the shelf life of the political bargain in which both passive and active conformists support the regime in exchange for not being mobilized to fight in Ukraine?”

3. Happy Notes from OUP offers eight songs, each with a lesson plan and teacher’s notes: https://elt.oup.com/feature/global/happy-notes/?cc=gb&selLanguage=en and there’s a range of other CPD resources available from the same page.

“Music and movement make words more memorable and singing together builds confidence in a new language. Use these fun animated ELT songs and free materials in your primary classroom to motivate your young learners”.

4. Thanks to Jaime Saavedra for this pair of blog posts by his World Bank colleague Gabriel Demombynes on AI:

Misconceptions about artificial intelligence and what it means for people https://blogs.worldbank.org/investinpeople/misconceptions-about-artificial-intelligence-and-what-it-means-people

Will artificial intelligence change the course for human development? https://blogs.worldbank.org/investinpeople/will-artificial-intelligence-change-course-human-development

Interesting reading alongside the Mollick pieces from Tuesday.

5. Here’s a recent post on LinkedIn by Geoff Jordan, My View of General English Coursebooks https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-view-general-english-coursebooks-geoff-jordan-2s4me/

From his conclusion, to give a hint of Geoff’s view of general English coursebooks: “Coursebooks oblige teachers to work within a framework where students are presented with and then practise dislocated bits of English in a sequence which is pre-determined and externally imposed on them by coursebook writers. Most teachers have little say in the syllabus design which shapes their work, and their students have even less say in what and how they’re taught.”

You can subscribe to Geoff’s weekly newsletter via this page (you will need to join LinkedIn, if you’re not already a member, to subscribe) https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/doing-an-ma-tesol-7128407382128250882/

6. And, finally and oenologically, a winner at last in the cork vs screwcap debate! https://www.wineandmore.com/stories/screw-cap-against-cork-in-wine/