FlexiLingo
Inside Venezuela's uncertain path to freedom | Leopoldo López
- Politics
Activist Leopoldo López learned the true value of freedom in a solitary confinement cell, when someone else decided if he would eat or see sunlight. In this searching conversation, he explains why democracy is losing ground across the globe, the state of Venezuela's transition after Maduro's capture and the 2026 earthquakes — and why he founded the World Liberty Congress to unite activists in the fight against autocracies. (This conversation, hosted by TED's Whitney Pennington Rodgers, was part of an exclusive TED Membership event. TED Membership is the best way to support and engage with the big ideas you love from TED...
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B2 · Upper-intermediate
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- 82% of the words are B1 or easier.
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Is this episode right for you?
B2 · Upper-intermediate
Comfortable if you already follow TV news
- 82% of the words are B1 or easier.
- 166 words a minute: natural, fairly fast speech.
- 197 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.
Transcript
The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.
harder words (B2+)
You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hugh. Democracy is under strain in more places than at any point in recent memory.
From rising authoritarianism to disinformation, the question of how free societies grow and prosper has never felt more urgent. Leopoldo Lopez is the Venezuelan opposition leader and former mayor of Caracas. He spent seven years as a political prisoner under Nicolas Maduro before escaping into exile.
I learned what freedom was when I was in prison. I learned what freedom was when I was in a solitary confinement cell. When I, it was real for me that someone else was deciding what I was going to eat, when I was going to eat, if I was going to eat at all, when I was going to see the sunlight,
That was the opening. The rest of the episode (44 min) is in the player: every word clickable, with translation, saved words and flashcards.
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