How to Make a Difference: Part 2
Hidden Brain

How to Make a Difference: Part 2

B2Upper-intermediateSeptember 28, 202649 min

Think about the last time you had a discouraging thought. Maybe you told yourself, "This won't work. I'm not cut out for this." Did you take that thought as fact? Last week, we talked with psychologist Martin Seligman about why some people come to believe that their actions don’t matter. In the second part of our conversation, he explains how we can strengthen our sense of agency, learn to see new possibilities, and build confidence in our ability to shape what happens next. Anyone who has struggled with depression knows that it feels terrible. But is th...

Play episode

Opens the player: the full transcript, every word clickable, with translation and flashcards.

Try it: tap any word

Real sentences from the start of this episode. Every word is marked with its level.

Sentence 1 of 12 · 0:00

. .

If you look down the history of the world, you see a pattern repeat itself over and over again.

Hear this sentence

Tap a word to see its meaning in your language.

Do you know these words?

8 harder words from this episode. Tap one to see what it means, then mark it.

  • B21:43
  • B210:01
  • C114:10
  • C124:26
  • B227:04
  • B231:28
  • B239:50
  • B243:10

Mark a few words and we'll tell you how this episode fits your level.

Is this episode right for you?

B2

B2 · Upper-intermediate

Comfortable if you already follow TV news

A1 28%A2 38%B1 23%B2 10%C1 1%
  • 89% of the words are B1 or easier.
  • 122 words a minute: slow, clear speech.
  • 164 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.

Transcript

The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.

0:00

This is Hidden Brain. I'm Shankar Vedantam. If you look down the history of the world, you see a pattern repeat itself over and over again. For lengthy periods of time, groups, communities and even nations can find themselves stuck. Years go by, sometimes decades, even centuries, and nothing shifts.

0:23

And then a small group of people, sometimes even just one or two, decide they've had enough and start to form a change. At first, it looks impossible. The odds are too steep.

0:36

The opposition too strong. But then, the impossible happens. And soon after, the change that seemed impossible appears like it was inevitable.

That was the opening. The rest of the episode (48 min) is in the player: every word clickable, with translation, saved words and flashcards.

Continue in the player

Automatically generated from the audio. May contain errors. Audio belongs to its publisher and is played from their feed. Rights holders can request removal — copyright & takedown policy