Kuli English Podcast

My birthday is almost here! So in this episode we'll be talking about birthday culture in the US, along with a few personal birthday stories.

Bookmark Chapters:

00:00 Start
04:02 8th Birthday Party
17:11 Chuck E Cheese
31:49 My favorite birthday toy
37:32 Bop it YouTube video

In this episode, I talk about a few stories related to gym class!

Chapter bookmarks:

00:00 Start
01:46 Gym class
06:09 High school gym class
06:48 High school gym class (mailman)
10:28 High school gym teacher hated me
16:12 Gym teacher hated me and then loved me

In this episode, we'll talk about a few phrases you can use for when someone eats too much.

Chapter bookmarks:

00:00 Start

01:11 Food coma

11:16 Food baby

17:03 Asian relatives make you eat a lot

26:09 Pizza in Japan

In this episode, we talk about three English phrases that I recommend: win-win, lose-lose, and nothing to lose. Try using it!

Bookmark Chapters:

00:00 Start

04:16 Win-win

10:06 Lose-lose

17:19 Nothing to lose

In this episode, I'll be telling you about some weird ways to save money! As always, these will be told in a story format, and this podcast is for practicing English, not for real financial advice! So remember to do your research online before actually doing anything!

Chapter Bookmarks:

00:00 Intro

02:25 At home

09:15 Phone and apps

19:00 Random stuff and closing out

Thanksgiving is an American holiday, which is mostly about food! Today we'll be talking about what you do on Thanksgiving, the history, and also Black Friday and Cyber Monday!

Bookmark Chapters:
00:00 Intro
02:17 What does Thanksgiving mean today?
04:10 History
09:13 My Thanksgiving from UC Berkeley
19:52 Cyber Monday

In this episode, we'll be talking about a recent BB gun battle event that I went to. I'll tell you about how fun it was, how much it hurt, and also try to explain the rules of the game, all in my easy-to-understand Kuli English.

Bookmark chapters:

00:00 Intro
03:15 What is an airsoft gun
12:38 Rules of the game
20:05 Board game rules are a good test of language skills

In this episode, we'll be playing a Guess the Accent Game with Mare! I'll play an audio clip donated by a viewer/listener/friend, and then we'll see if Mare can guess the accent!

To find out more about Mare the actress, including her original show in December, see her Instagram page! @behope_bemare

In this episode, we chat with Mare, a theater actress based in Tokyo! She shares how she began acting as a child, how she fell in love with musical theater, and how she became fluent in English. Mare will also be performing a new original show in early December 2025 — check out her Instagram @behope_bemare for details! More info on the duo showcase available at: https://note.com/mareinny/n/n2f0aa3354ff8

In this episode, we talk about dreams. There are two main meanings to dream, one being the dream that you see when you sleep, and the other being a big goal that you have. In this episode, we talk about both!

Bookmark chapters:
00:00 Beginning
00:15 Real start
03:18 Dreams (sleeping)
09:42 My own dream (sleeping)
19:34 Controlling dreams (sleeping)
24:04 Dreams (goals)

In this episode, we'll be talking about my recent trip to Okinawa, including stories about the new amusement park Junglia, pretending to be a Japanese person who can't speak English, and also a conversation about superpowers!

Bookmark chapters:
00:00 Intro Music
01:50 Junglia
15:55 Pretending to be Japanese to practice English
29:23 If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
40:07 The most useless superpower

In this episode, I will be reading an original short story that I wrote, called Timmy the Tofu Salesman. As always, I will be speaking with Kuli English Level, with pauses and explanations for hard words.

Bookmarks:
00:00 Start
03:38 Start of the story
09:20 Timmy's Date
15:00 End of Timmy's Date
23:21 Story Summary

In this episode, we talk about six commonly used phrases about time. There will be about 15 minutes of explanation of those phrases, so if you already know those phrases, feel free to skip directly to the next chapter, "Real examples from Chris's life"

Chapter bookmarks:
00:00 Start
03:37 English phrases about time
17:13 Real examples from Chris's life
24:14 Me and Japanese
30:40 Ways to study

In this episode, I talk about my experience with drawing, something I'm really bad at. As always, I'll be talking about true stories from my life, both as a kid in the US and as an adult in Japan.

Bookmark chapters:

00:00 Start
02:06 Little Chris was bad at art
07:30 Middle school
12:36 They don't believe that I'm actually bad
19:01 Recent art class
25:12 Deep talking about zooming out
33:25 Summary

In this episode, I talk about a summer camp I went to for music and writing called Quartz Mountain. As always, there will be silly stories, like throwing Cheetos at spiders and hiding a laptop underneath my pillow for two weeks.

Chapter bookmarks:

00:00 Start
02:46 What is Quartz Mountain?
05:00 Application process
08:26 Making up a story: ants
12:16 Typical day
18:14 Throwing Cheetos at a spider
22:47 Secret laptop
25:55 When you fail at something

In this episode, we have an interview with Eriko, a freelance hair stylist in Tokyo. Eriko's Instagram is @ericolor_19870328. All video, sound, and editing for this episode was done by Oikawa san, his Instagram is @basperfilms

Chapter bookmarks:

00:00 Start
02:26 The what button
04:01 Why did you become a hair stylist?
10:15 How was New York?
13:17 My old bird watching boss
14:53 Why did you come back to Japan?
15:51 What's the worst part about New York?
16:49 Chris got scared in New York
19:32 Are you gonna live in Japan forever?
20:32 Eriko...

In this episode, we talk about a few differences between everyday life in Japan vs. the US, including food, hangouts, friends, and language. As mentioned near the end of this episode, here is the link to The Tokyo Talks blog post about Kuli English Podcast: https://www.thetokyotalk.com/post/mic-on-thoughts-in-motion-chris-jeng

Contents:

00:00 Start
07:20 Food
28:34 Hangouts and friends
37:07 Language

What does awkward mean? In this story, we'll be covering four of my real life stories about feeling awkward!

Contents:
00:00 Start
04:28 Ticket gate story
08:02 Sushi story
17:33 Date story
29:10 21 guns story

In this episode, I talk about the Penguin Story, a prank where I dressed up as a penguin and ran in an election!

In this episode, I talk about my main two tips for how to tell stories in English: put in feelings, and put in checkpoints!

In this episode, we're going to focus on language stuff! I'll be sharing three main tips on how to learn English. As always, I'll be speaking at an intermediate-friendly English level, which I call Kuli-English level.

If you have any tips that you'd like to share, please comment them below!

In this episode we talk about getting nervous! Why do we get nervous, and how can we humans avoid it??

Today, we talk about one of my favorite hobbies - programming robots to cheat in video games! If you have no experience at all with programming, don't worry! I'll be explaining everything with the usual easy-to-understand Kuli level English.

In this episode, we talk about musical instruments, and introduce them in a way that's easy for anyone to understand, even if you've never played any music before! As always, I'll be telling stories in easy-to-understand, Kuli English.

In this episode, we talk about the American school system and how it works, all in easy-to-understand Kuli-level English and with lots of little stories to keep things entertaining.

In this episode, we dive into a wild Japanese children’s book called The Red Shoes. I rewrote the story into easy-to-understand “Kuli English” and added comments and explanations to help English learners follow along.

In this free-talk episode, we talk about a pretty mundane story about going to a pizza shop and pretending not to speak Japanese. We also talk about Kabukicho and how to avoid talking to people!

In this episode we talk about superstitions, from lucky pennies to fortune telling in Yokohama, and also a childhood story about my lucky pet rock.

Wesley joins to talk about growing up bilingual, forgetting words in both languages, and how language shapes memory. We also share childhood stories, including getting locked in a bathroom and sticking a finger in a fan.

It’s the middle of the year, so let’s talk New Year’s resolutions! In this episode, we'll talk about purposely failing a fitness challenge at Google, broken water heaters, and the Japanese sento!

Content:

00:00 Intro
00:34 New Year’s Resolution
07:09 Google Walktober
09:50 Sedentary Squatters
16:23 My Water Broke
23:58 Hurt My Thumb

Today, we talk about how using the word “please” can sound polite — or rude — in English. We compare English and Japanese politeness, bust the myth of Business English, and share funny stories about coconut water, fried chicken, and supermarket small talk.

In this episode, I retell The Trumpet of the Swan, one of my favorite childhood books, in my easy-to-understand Kuli English. Louis is a swan who can’t make any sound, but with the help of a trumpet, his super dad, and his human best friend Sam, he goes on a cute journey to find his voice, get a job, and maybe even find love.

Listen for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube: https://linktr.ee/cxjeng

Contents:

00:00 - Intro
01:55 - Story start 
04:07 - Meeting Sam
08:33 - Meeting the sex...

In this episode, we share our fun stories about scooters, skateboards, and also a near-death experience on a skateboard! We also talk about scooters as a kid vs. an adult, electric scooters, and as always, lots of silly personal stories.

Contents:

00:00 - Intro
02:19 - Scooters in college 
05:27 - Skateboarding
10:08 - Scooter vs. Skateboard
12:24 - Dangerous skateboarding story
17:27 - Safety reminder & 
18:32 - Electric Scooter
20:52 - Getting in trouble with the police

Explore Kyoto’s Arashiyama Monkey Park with me — learn about boss monkeys, banana politics, and how to survive the monkey mafia. Plus, a random story about chicken nuggets. Enjoy some fun English listening practice along the way!

I got sick in Japan and accidentally visited four wrong clinics before finding a real doctor. In this episode, I share a funny and embarrassing true story about getting sick, culture shock, and making mistakes in Japan.

You’ll hear how I ended up at a hair loss clinic, an STD clinic, and even a breast cancer clinic. I also talk about why making mistakes is okay and how to laugh about them.

Use this episode for your English listening practice. You don’t need to understand every word—just relax and enjoy!

In this first episode, I’ll introduce myself and explain how you can use this podcast for fun, easy English listening practice.

If this feels a bit boring, no problem — skip to Episode 2 for the real stories!