Episode 272: Flimflam, Hocus-Pocus, and Mountebankery
AZ: The History of Arizona podcast

Episode 272: Flimflam, Hocus-Pocus, and Mountebankery

B2Upper-intermediateOctober 5, 202632 min
  • Documentary

To finally get the Central Arizona Project through Congress in 1968, it took more than a few tries, a mountain of compromises, dramatic changes, and no small amount of political chicanery.

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life, that goes something like this.

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B2

B2 · Upper-intermediate

Comfortable if you already follow TV news

A1 13%A2 24%B1 30%B2 25%C1 8%
  • 67% of the words are B1 or easier.
  • 146 words a minute: a natural pace.
  • 160 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.

Transcript

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0:00

There is an old saying, which I'm sure you have heard at least a dozen times in your life, that goes something like this. There are two things you don't want people to see you make. Laws and sausages.

0:24

And just for the record, I don't agree with this saying. because I've watched videos of people making sausages before and I find it inherently fascinating, from the grinding of the meat to the shoving it all into a casing and the smoking. In fact, I have half a mind to try it myself.

0:40

But also because when it comes to laws, you are listening to a guy who spent literal years sitting through city, county, and state government meetings. I walked away with the impression that every single person in this country should be forced to do the same, just so they can really get a feel for the process and find out where the choices that affect them the most actually come from.

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