Updates: astronauts, running records, and more
Stranded astronauts come home
In episode 710, you learned about Sunni Williams and Barry Wilmore. They were two astronauts who went to the International Space Station on June 5, 2024, expecting just an eight-day mission. But their spacecraft suffered problems with the thrusters—they provide power and help steer. They successfully docked at the Space Station, but Williams and Wilmore could not come back in the vehicle they went up in.
Instead, they had to wait several months and catch a ride home on another space mission, this one from SpaceX. They were scheduled to come home in February 2025, but that was delayed yet another month until March. But they did come back. They finally returned to Earth in a capsule that splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico on March 18. What was supposed to be an eight-day mission turned into nine months away from Earth. Yikes!
Two weeks after their arrival, the two astronauts spoke in detail about the problems they encountered on their outbound trip to the Space Station. Wilmore said he and Williams had lost all control of the capsule while attempting to dock. They were floating in space and did not have the control they needed to dock at the Space Station. They thought they would never make it back to Earth.
Luckily, NASA engineers were able to reset some of the malfunctioning thrusters remotely. Wilmore said he “did a happy dance” when they connected to the Space Station.
Running records continue to fall
In episode 624, you learned how the newest generation of running shoes is helping runners break records faster. That episode came out in November 2023, just weeks after both the men’s and women’s marathon records were broken.
The newest generation of multi-layered, bouncy shoes helps absorb energy as runners’ feet hit the surface, and their curved shape helps return some of the energy in forward motion. That’s part of the reason why so many running records are falling.
Since that episode came out, world running records continue to fall. The women’s marathon has been broken twice—in April 2024 and again in October 2024. And records for shorter distances are falling, too. In just nine days this year—2025—seven track and field world records were broken.
In February 2025, American Yared Nuguse set a new world record for the indoor mile at 3 minutes, 46.633 seconds. He got to enjoy holding the world record for five days. Then Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen shaved more than a second off that time, and he became the new world record holder for the indoor mile. American Grant Fisher broke the world record for the indoor 5,000 meters.
But new shoes are not the only innovation in track and field. Many runners are taking sodium bicarbonate—otherwise known as baking soda. One analyst estimated two-thirds of all runners at the Paris Olympics were taking baking soda.
El Salvador gives up Bitcoin
In episode 406, you learned that El Salvador—a small Central American country—became the first country in the world to make a cryptocurrency legal tender. Every business in El Salvador was required to accept Bitcoin. All official payments could be made in Bitcoin. That meant taxes, wages, loans, bill payments, anything.
El Salvador’s popular president hoped that this would jumpstart a crypto tourism and investment wave. He also promised that crypto payments would help bring more citizens into the formal banking sector, since more than half of adults didn’t have a bank account when the law was passed. Like many Latin American countries, El Salvador receives a lot of remittances from workers in the U.S. But international money transfer is expensive, so crypto transfers could make it instant and free.
But the country’s adoption of Bitcoin never lived up to the president’s promises. El Salvador’s normal currency is the U.S. dollar, a stable currency. Consumers like paying with cash; they even like receiving remittances in cash, despite the extra cost.
Only about five percent of people paid their taxes in Bitcoin. About 80 percent of businesses never accepted Bitcoin, even though it was required. The government’s digital wallet was buggy; identity theft was common. The expected investments in crypto tourism and crypto investment didn’t materialize. In the end, most citizens thought it was a joke.
Early this year, El Salvador accepted a $1.4 billion bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund. In exchange for the bailout, the country agreed to drop Bitcoin as legal tender. El Salvador’s Bitcoin experiment was announced with much fanfare, but its cancellation came quietly.
Spanish coach ordered to pay
Remember this, from episode 614? After the Spanish women’s team won the World Cup in 2023, the boss of the Spanish football federation, Luis Rubiales, kissed one of the players on the lips during the on-field trophy ceremony after the game.
The player, Jenny Hermoso, said she had not consented to the kiss and said that it stained what should have been one of the happiest days of her life. Rubiales claimed the kiss—on the mouth—was just “an act of affection.”
In February 2025, a Spanish court ordered Rubiales to pay a €10,800 fine and prohibited him from going near Jenny Hermoso or communicating with her for one year. Prosecutors are pushing for a re-trial, saying the punishment was not severe enough.
Trump wants to cancel the penny
In episode 655, you learned about the upside-down logic of the U.S. penny. It costs the government way more than one cent to manufacture each one cent coin. Most Americans don’t use pennies or, worse, find them to be an annoyance.
Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. Mint to stop producing them. Technically, he doesn’t have the authority to change U.S. currency without an act of Congress. But he does oversee the mint, the agency that makes the coins. So for now, the penny is on pause.
Jeff’s take
A couple quick ones for you. Last December, in episode 736, we talked about romance novels. I had read some romance novels, but I didn’t realize they were romance books when I read them. One of the most popular writers of modern romance books is Emily Henry. I read a book of hers—it’s called Funny Story. I liked it. It was good, light, fun. It had a funny premise and it was an easy read.
In episode 615, you learned about Kidfluencers—the kids who make big money as YouTube and Instagram influencers. If that episode caught your attention, you might like the new Netflix series called “Bad Influence,” which takes you behind the scenes of a popular set of child influencers.
Great stories make learning English fun
