Best Help Me Understand Please Podcasts (2025)

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266 - You Don't Have To Run Anymore 55:23

Play Pause

2h ago55:23

55:23

Elina, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was born in Russia. She spent her early years in her birth family’s care before moving into foster care. Then, as a minor, she finalized her own adoption before departing for America. Elina grew up as one of four adoptees, each experiencing the impacts of adoption at different stages of their lives. Elina has b…

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Episode 46: How to Watch Movies in English Without Subtitles 7:42

2h ago7:42

7:42

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 46: How to Watch Movies in English Without Subtitles Watching movies in English can be enjoyable, but also frustrating. What's the best way to enj…

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265 - Captain of Her Ship 45:12

8d ago45:12

45:12

Angie, from Southern Maryland. Growing up, Angie was frequently defined by her skin tone, as her relationship to her adoptive parents was questioned. Her contrast against her schoolmates and surrounding community made her stand out. When Angie found her birth mother, she was welcomed home—even by the woman responsible for her placement. But her pat…

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264 - Connected By Cousins 30:40

15d ago30:40

30:40

Donna, from New Jersey, grew up questioning the origins of her looks. In college the uniqueness of her appearance sparked curiosity. Donna spent years with no way to locate her birth family until DNA testing presented links to her maternal and paternal families simultaneously. While it was tough to find graves on her search, Donna takes fulfillmen…

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263 - I Know From Whence I Came 49:48

22d ago49:48

49:48

Rosalyn spoke to me from the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. As a teenager, she learned the truth about her adoption at her adoptive mother’s funeral—a discovery that was revealed harshly and without warning. In reunion, Rosalyn said she found peace in the mirroring she saw with her first mother and her paternal family connections. But she refused to r…

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Episode 45: Why Americans Argue About Columbus Day 11:44

19d ago11:44

11:44

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 45: Why Americans Argue About Columbus Day Columbus Day is a holiday that has changed a lot over the years in the United States. In this episode, …

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262 - Un-M-Othered 1:08:38

30d ago1:08:38

1:08:38

Dr. Liz Debetta spoke to me from Plymouth, Michigan. Growing up, adoption was an open topic until her younger brother's birth changed the family's focus. A series of bad relationships and feeling lost in life led Liz back to school where she rediscovered writing and the award-winning adoption story she's always had inside. In reunion, Liz found the…

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142 - "American Baby", Gabrielle Glaser 1:11:17

1M ago1:11:17

1:11:17

David, and his birth mother Margaret's story of adoption relinquishment, lives lived apart but close to one another, and their brief emotional reunion is told in the book, "American Baby", written by New York Times Best Selling Author, Gabrielle Glaser. Gabrielle first met David while he was on kidney dialysis awaiting a transplant where he shared …

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Episode 44: Niagara Falls—Nature, Power, and Love 8:43

1M ago8:43

8:43

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 44: Niagara Falls—Nature, Power, and Love Niagara Falls is one of the most famous natural wonders in the world. Located on the border between the …

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115 – Shadows of the Night 36:06

2M ago36:06

36:06

DL called me from Manhattan, New York. He talks about his youth in a home with a mother addicted to prescription medications who probably wasn’t fit to adopt. When he moved out at 18, he followed his natural talent to climb his way into the music industry. However his suspicion that his birth mother was alive, contrary to what he was told, never le…

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Episode 43: Florida: Sunshine, Surprises, and Strange Stories 9:02

2M ago9:02

9:02

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 43: Florida: Sunshine, Surprises, and Strange Stories Florida is one of the most famous states in the U.S., and not just because of its warm weath…

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147 - Please Don't Carry That Weight Anymore 1:00:52

2M ago1:00:52

1:00:52

Lisa Marie chatted with me via Skype from Lake Garda in the North of Italy. In her journey you'll hear the impact of a transracial adoptee who grew up in a homogenous world that didn't look like herself, and the serendipitous meeting that allowed Lisa to free herself from part of her past. Even though she lived a world away, technology allowed her …

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Episode 42: Understanding Fast Spoken English 10:21

2M ago10:21

10:21

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 42: Understanding Fast Spoken English It can be frustrating when we hear a native speaker talking much more quickly than we expect! Fast spoken En…

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135 – Something About This Tells Me We’re Family 1:03:00

2M ago1:03:00

1:03:00

Isaac, from Hawaii, talks about himself as a boy who was loved, but struggled to connect with his adoptive parents in certain ways. Having left the island, a chance musical gig put him back on Hawaiian soil and in position to launch his adoption reunion search. In reunion he reconnected with both of his parents at the same time, elected to move bac…

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129 – Finding Him Brought Closure 45:00

2M ago45:00

45:00

Tracey called me from Nashville, TN. She was raised in a family with a genetic trait that deeply impacted her middle sister, driving her appreciation for the power of genetic testing. Tracey knows a lot about her birth mother even though the woman rejected her twice.Process of elimination led her to her birth father, several loving siblings, and he…

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175 - The Thing I Needed To Forgive Myself 48:34

3M ago48:34

48:34

Kristen, from Minnesota, was a multi-sport athlete in high school, even competing while pregnant with her daughter. She tells the story of giving birth, placing her daughter, then needing years to get her life back on track. In one incredible year, Kristen learned that her birth parents were looking for her, her daughter wanted to find her and that…

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101 – This Is About Everybody 50:12

3M ago50:12

50:12

In Debby’s home adoption was an open topic because she was fostered by her grandparents and adopted by their daughter. Unfortunately, she wasn’t welcome as an adoptee by her adopted father and she and her family faced abuse by her stepfather. In reunion Debby found out her birth parents tried to stay together and she has full blood siblings. But he…

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Episode 41: Stop Translating in Your Head 9:15

3M ago9:15

9:15

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 41: Stop Translating in Your Head Only a few hours east of New York City, there is a very different world where lots of New Yorkers go during the…

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106 – Beautiful Truth 45:38

3M ago45:38

45:38

For Shelby, growing up as a Korean adoptee left her feeling “othered” as she didn’t quite fit into her community. The Korean school her parents tried to raise her in wouldn’t accept her either. She was forced to live in between her culture and what Americans would or would not let her be. On a heritage trip to South Korea she experienced the heavy …

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261 - Born Without A Race 1:05:02

3M ago1:05:02

1:05:02

Sean from, Fishers, Indiana, grew up the only person of color in his entire rural town. Yet his ethnicity was hidden from him by his adoptive mother. In Reunion, Sean finally met his birth mother, but realized he needed to establish a special boundary with her to protect his adopted children. Lacking mirroring all his life, Sean finally heard one …

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Episode 40: The Hamptons—New York’s Luxury Escape 9:28

3M ago9:28

9:28

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 40: The Hamptons—New York’s Luxury Escape All language learners translate in their heads when starting a new language, and it can become a habit. …

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260 - Il Mio Posto a Tavola (My Place at the Table) 1:01:15

4M ago1:01:15

1:01:15

Santo, from Redding, PA, grew up knowing he was adopted, and that his family could have also adopted his siblings from Italy. As an adult, when a friend's wedding took him to Spain, he arrived early to make the long drive across Europe to northern Italy to be face to face with his birth mother. Santo and his team made a documentary about his life …

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Episode 39: Bryant Park in New York City 9:35

4M ago9:35

9:35

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 39: Bryant Park in New York City Bryant Park is in Midtown Manhattan, and it’s very close to famous places like Times Square and the Empire State …

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259 - The Innocent People Project 1:03:22

4M ago1:03:22

1:03:22

Jeff, from southern California, grew up with the knowledge of and separation anxiety about his adoption. In reunion, he found his birth mother who mirrored his looks, but who has pushed the boundaries of their relationship, and a birth father who is simply not his type of guy. Jeff is the inspirational photographer behind the adoptee focused inno…

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258 - Twice the Family 54:48

4M ago54:48

54:48

Julie from Chicago, Illinois is rare in the world of adoption because she wasn't adopted alone. She and her identical twin sister were placed together, secure in their sense of family. The twins never sought adoption reunion until health concerns emerged for Julie in adulthood. Julie describes the initial rejection of her first mother, the misiden…

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257 - Unjustified Rejection 1:17:36

4M ago1:17:36

1:17:36

Melissa, who called me from Harrison, Arkansas, says she always felt chosen and grateful for her adoption. But after decades of peace with her origin story, something shifted. A small-town newspaper article, a newborn daughter, and an aging parent all conspired to push her toward a search. When the time was finally right—when a DNA match opened the…

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256 - I'm Not The Finished Package 47:20

5M ago47:20

47:20

Ryan, from Edinburgh, Scotland, grew up ashamed of his Moroccan heritage and faced bullying due to his background and religion. At 18, a letter from his mother revealed his adoption, shaking his world and leading him to hide the truth for 13 years. Ryan struggled with depression, substance abuse, and a pervasive sense of otherness. Eventually Ryan …

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255 - This Is Me, But Why Is It Me? 47:47

5M ago47:47

47:47

Katie was adopted from China as a baby and raised in a predominantly white suburb south of Boston. Her adoptive family gave her a life full of opportunity—but as she grew older, the distance between who she was and the world around her only deepened. In this episode, Katie shares how her search for identity has expanded beyond finding her birth par…

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254 - I Do Not Want My DNA In Their System 42:55

5M ago42:55

42:55

George grew up in Soviet Georgia knowing he was different—both visibly and emotionally—in a society where adoption and his sexuality were dangerous secrets. He spent his early life navigating fear, hiding truths, and surviving systems designed to silence him. When a search angel from Russia responded to a single Facebook post, everything changed. G…