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English as a Second Language Podcast
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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 397
TOPICS
American Presidents – Warren G. Harding; wet versus muggy versus humid;
intense versus intensive; such a
_____________
GLOSSARY
to make a bid
– to try to get something; to try to be successful in doing
something
* You can make a bid for the manager’s job, but I think the boss is going to hire
her daughter for the job.
fence sitter
– someone who cannot or will not make up his or her mind and
doesn't know or will not say if he or she is for or against something
* Right now, we have six people who support the proposal and four people
against it, with five fence sitters.
isolationism
– the idea or policy that a country should focus on itself and not
become involved in other country's affairs or even in international agreements
* Our country cannot continue its isolationism while our neighboring country’s
leader is killing his own people.
normalcy
– the state of being normal, not unusual; being typical or expected
* When the children’s grandparents returned home after a long visit, life returned
to normalcy.
campaign
– a set of actions to achieve a goal; a series of actions to try to win an
election (the selection of someone using voting procedures)
* Laura’s campaign to get her coworker and competitor fired isn’t working.
telemarketer
– a person whose job is to call people on the telephone, usually to
sell them something or to gain support for someone or something
* We don’t answer our home telephone in the evenings because that’s when
telemarketers typically call.
corruption
– dishonest actions, usually among people in power and involving
bribery (paying money in exchange for something)
* The mayor said that her mission is to eliminate corruption from the tax
assessment office.
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English as a Second Language Podcast
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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 397
graft
– bribery; the act of someone receiving money illegally or unfairly, usually in
exchange for something
* Two of the top officials in McQuilanland were arrested for graft.
veteran
– a person who has served in the past in the military and fought in a war
* When will these veterans get the medical services they need?
to hold true to
– to do what one has promised or what one said one would do,
not changing one’s mind
* We must hold true to our beliefs even when criticized and laughed at.
disarmament
– the reduction of military weapons and/or the withdrawal of
soldiers
* Why can’t our two countries agree on disarmament if that is what both nations
want?
affable
– friendly and easy to talk to
* Paul is so affable that he becomes friends with nearly everyone he meets.
wet
– covered with water or another liquid; rainy
* Jelissa put a napkin under her glass of cold water to prevent the new table from
getting wet.
muggy
– containing a lot of moisture in the air; damp
* Nobody wants to play soccer when it’s so hot and muggy outside.
humid
– containing moisture in the air
* It feels humid in the kitchen when Dad is cooking and boiling something in
every pot.
such a
– to an extreme; very; eventful; unusual; full of surprises (good or bad)
* It’s such a treat to have all of my children and grandchildren visiting for the
holidays!
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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 397
WHAT INSIDERS KNOW
President Harding’s Radio Conferences
Today, we are able to see American presidents make important statements and
“speeches” (talks given to an audience about a specific topic) on television. But
before the “advent of” (invention of; arrival of) television, presidents reached the
American “public” (people) through the radio.
The first president to reach a large audience through the radio was Warren G.
Harding on June 14, 1922. He gave a speech “in honor of” (remembering and
giving respect to) Francis Scott Key, the man who wrote the “lyrics” (words to a
song) to the American “national anthem” (a country’s official song), the “Star-
Spangled Banner.”
During President Harding’s “presidency” (period of time when he was president),
he worked toward establishing “regulations” (rules; laws) for “broadcast” (sent
through airwaves so that many people can hear or see) radio. “Up to that point”
(before this time), professional and “amateur” (not professional) broadcasters
could use the airwaves without very many rules.
In 1922, he began a series of Radio Conferences that brought together 30
representatives that included amateur radio broadcasters, government
“agencies” (departments), and radio and broadcasting companies. President
Harding saw several problems that needed to be solved, including the “lack of”
(not having enough of) rules for advertising on the radio and interference of
amateur radio operators with government broadcasts.
After a second Radio Conference in 1923, the government successfully got
power “to regulate” (make rules for) radio broadcasts, including how many and
which hours broadcasts can be made, and who can use the “wave lengths”
(broadcast frequencies) for the good of the public.
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2013). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 397
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
You're listening to ESL Podcast’s English Café number 397.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast’s English Cafe episode 397. I'm
your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational
Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Visit our website, won't you, at ESLPod.com. Download this episode's Learning
Guide, an eight to ten page guide we provide for all of our current episodes that
gives you some additional help in improving your English.
On this Café, we’re going to cover one main topic, continuing our series on
American Presidents. Today we're going to talk about the 29
th
president of the
United States, Warren G. Harding. You may not have heard of Mr. Harding –
President Harding to you – but I think you'll find his life interesting. And as
always, we’ll answer a few of your questions. Let's get started.
This Café begins with a continuation of our series on American Presidents.
Today, we’re going to talk about the 29
th
president of the United States, Warren
G. Harding, who was in office, or served as president, from 1921 to 1923.
Harding is an interesting president in that some people think he was, perhaps,
our
worst
president. Well, let’s talk about him and you can make that decision.
Harding was born in the state of Ohio in the Midwestern part of the United States
– or the eastern central part of the United States perhaps, more accurately – in
1865, right at the end of the U.S Civil War. He was the oldest of eight children.
His father eventually became a doctor, a physician.
Harding was not a good student. He went to college for three years, then tried a
lot of different kinds of jobs. He wasn't very successful at most of them. Finally,
he decided to buy a newspaper – a small newspaper – in 1884. He married
seven years later, in 1891, and his wife turned out to be a pretty good
businesswoman. She helped him make the newspaper successful. In fact, it
became very successful.
Harding began to become famous in his town and in his state. He made a few
unsuccessful bids to become the governor of Ohio. The governor is the leader of
the state. The expression, “to make a few unsuccessful bids” (bids) means to try
to get something, usually in an election, but fail to do so.
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2013). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 397
I had an unsuccessful bid to be president of my eighth grade class when I was in
junior high school – that's true. I tried to become president of our class. Every
class in American schools, at least in many schools, have a president they elect,
a leader. I tried to become the president and I failed. I had an unsuccessful bid.
That was the end of my political career.
Well, it was not the end of Warren G. Harding's political career, when he made
some unsuccessful bids to become governor. In 1915, he was successful in
becoming a U.S. senator. He represented Ohio in the U.S. Senate, in our
nation’s capital, in Washington, D.C., from 1915 to 1921.
The interesting thing about Harding is that most historians don't think he was very
smart, don't think he was very intelligent. He was, however, very handsome, very
good-looking. He was sort of the George Clooney of politicians. He was a very
attractive man and he looked like a leader. So the leaders of the Republican
Party in Ohio, and later in the United States, saw Harding as a good person to
run for office because he was good-looking and, honestly, that can often help in
politics. I consider myself the Warren G. Harding of podcasters. Of course, I'm
the only one who thinks that.
When Harding was in the U.S. Senate, he was often considered someone who
was a “fence sitter.” A “fence” (fence) is something you put up between two
properties usually, to keep people out of your property, out of where you live or
out of your area. “To sit on the fence” means to not be able to make a decision or
to be unwilling to choose one side or the other, especially in politics. “To be a
fence sitter” would be to be someone who doesn't want to make anyone angry,
so they don't make a decision or they don't choose one side versus the other.
They say, “Well, yeah, maybe that, but maybe that, too.” That was Warren G.
Harding.
When Harding ran for president, or tried to be elected president, in 1920, he
focused on three main things that he believed would help the country – the
United States – after World War I. Remember, the United States got involved in
World War I in Europe in 1917, although the war had started before then, of
course.
Now that the war was over, Harding felt that the country had to make some
changes. He argued for three basic political ideas. The first was isolationism. “To
isolate (isolate) someone” is to keep them from talking or interacting with other
people. In politics, “isolationism” is the idea that a country should only focus on
itself and not become involved in other countries’ businesses, other countries’
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These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2013). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

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