General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWebsites to explain current politics to the uninformed?
My wife is a naturalized American citizen from Japan.
She is good at speaking English but still has difficulty with confusing idioms and slang.
She was very politically liberal when she lived in Japan but is still more aware of Japanese politics than American because she gets most of her news from Japanese language sources.
She hears about TPP but only the Japanese side of it. (They are arguing for special exemptions for Japanese rice farmers.)
She was not aware of the anti-TPP sentiment that is growing over here and didn't know who Elizabeth Warren was.
I've been encouraging her to become more aware of what's going on here but there is such a torrent of information and the level of English is often beyond her ability that it's been hard for her to really dig in and understand what's going on.
Does anyone know of websites that might help her to grasp the politics that we discuss here?
Is there a site that summarizes the news or explains it in a direct way?
BTW: She studies hard every night at English fluency and constantly asks me about idiomatic phrases but English is so illogical that it's still difficult for her. I wasn't aware of how many baffling idioms we use until she started asking me about them. (Most books of American idioms are filled with 1940's movie gangster slang. Sheesh.)
bananas
(27,509 posts)Kablooie
(18,625 posts)Ichingcarpenter
(36,988 posts)the first 5 seasons of the sopranos.
game of thrones
the wire
house of cards
no really ......... use the text subtitles in english
bananas
(27,509 posts)They also have 90 day archives and podcasts for most of their shows.
http://www.kpfk.org
Kablooie
(18,625 posts)Exilednight
(9,359 posts)Asking. Are you looking for a website that explains how our government works (executive, congressional, judicial) or a primer on current events and where politicians stand?
Kablooie
(18,625 posts)Exilednight
(9,359 posts)Diane Rehm show on NPR. Every Friday she hosts a two hour Friday news roundup. The first hour is domestic issues and the second hour is international. Her guests are well rounded, well read and knowledgable about the weeks subjects.
http://thedianerehmshow.org
The show is, also, available on podcast. If abbreviations are used, Diane usually takes the time to spell them out.
Her weekly show can be of interest, too. Not every Monday - Thursday show is current events, but typically two to three shows of the week cover current events or political guests.
Other NPR shows are great sources of information. Fresh Air often has current event authors on or political pundits and Terri's interview style is amazing and in depth.
Kablooie
(18,625 posts)I'll have to put her on my podcast list again.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)Hell, I have friends who are American and completely clueless about politics.
We just talk about it.
Kablooie
(18,625 posts)In the Bush years I did it so much she and the kids would all get upset with me and tell me to shut up.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)Well, just let her read here at DU a bit.
No doubt she'll become as confused as the rest of us!
Octafish
(55,745 posts)Maria Galardin and "Time of Useful Consciousness Radio" are world treasures.
http://www.tucradio.org
Kablooie
(18,625 posts)Oilwellian
(12,647 posts)She's very thorough, and easy to understand.
Here's one of her excellent reports on TPP:
Here's a TPP discussion she had with Joseph Stiglitz:
Both are excellent reports and they should help your wife understand why we are so concerned about it. Perhaps you can listen with her and answer any questions she may have.