💷 Basic Income already here! Reddit reacts to "free" money

Ireland's Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) in a nutshell

The Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) pilot scheme provides €325 per week to 2,000 artists and creative arts workers, launched in 2022 and originally scheduled to run for three years until 2025. The scheme was extended by six months to February 2026, and in Budget 2026, Ireland committed to making the program permanent (4)

A cost-benefit analysis found that for every euro invested in the scheme, society received between €1.31 and €1.75 in return, with an overall return of €1.39 per euro invested. This return comes through increased wellbeing, higher public engagement with arts and culture, and gross income gains for artists.

This topic has been discussed by S2S (website) users this week. It has got sooo much positive feedback, that I want to remove paywall as an exception and share the Speaking plan on "Basic Income" with all of you. I hope it will help you find the words to express your nuanced thoughts on this topic. ENJOY

🪴 Speaking Plan [Notion link] overview

🫧Short text + Full reddit screenshots + audio
🫧10 phrases explained + audio
🫧A gap fill exercise for 10 phrases + clues
🫧Questions for discussion
🫧3 external resources to verify the info, learn more, and/or get engaged in a debate

🧛 You know who to share this with

How "pronunciation" kills people (Joke 3) 🫧4 morbid puns

Transcript
"I'm sorry to say that the operation has left you completely blind."

"Oh, I see."

"Oh, cool. Then forget I said anything."

---

"Hello. My wife is going into labor."

"Is this her first child?"

"No, this is her husband."

---

"I'm sorry, sir. Your dad was pronounced dead."

"Oh, I can't believe I've been pronouncing it wrong all this time."

---

"Hey, James. I've got your test results here."

"Did I pass?"

"You will."

💅

Breaking down the wordplay behind

Joke 1: The Blind Patient

The doctor tells the patient they're blind, and the patient responds "Oh, I see" (meaning "I understand"), which contradicts their medical condition. The doctor then panics, thinking he made a mistake.

Wordplay/Pun (double meaning of "see")

Joke 2: The Labor Mix-Up

The receptionist asks if this is the wife's first child, but the husband misinterprets the question as asking who *he* is, so he clarifies he's the husband, not the child.

Type: Misunderstanding/Literal interpretation humor

Joke 3: "Pronounced" Dead

The doctor says the dad was "pronounced dead" (declared dead), but the son thinks they mean he's been saying "dad" with the wrong pronunciation his whole life.

Type: Wordplay/Double meaning of "pronounce" (serious vs. trivial interpretation)

Joke 4: The Test Results

James asks if he "passed" his medical test, and the ominous response "You will" implies he'll pass away soon (die), not that his results were good.

Type: Dark humor/Morbid implication

💅

Glossary

🫧

To pass

1. To pass a test - to get a good/satisfactory mark
2. To pass away - to die

🫧

To go into labour

To start giving birth to a child

🫧

To pronounce

1. To articulate, say something
2. To declare, announce: To pronounce dead

🫧

A pun

Wordplay, double meaning

IG reference ogmomothecat

🪴 Which expression did you like the most?
Let us know - your feedback gives birth to top relevant content

9 Book Recommendations by Admin

It's a rainy season time of the year where I am — a perfect excuse to let my introverted part take, avoid networking events, and double down on reading. Let me share what's on my Kindle to of the list now

1. "The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life" by Lynne Twist, a global activist, fundraiser, founder of "Soul of Money" Institute.
First published in the USA, 2003.
305 pages for people wanting to transform their relationship with money from scarcity to sufficiency. Reading difficulty: 4/10
[Our stand alone post inspired by this book]

2. "AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can't, and How to Tell the Difference" by Arvind Narayanan & Sayash Kapoor, Computer Science Professor & PhD candidate (Princeton).
First published in the USA, 2024.
360 pages for anyone wanting to separate AI hype from reality. Reading difficulty: 5/10

3. "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu (Sunzi), a military strategist and general.
First published in China, 5th century BC.
100 pages for leaders, strategists, and anyone interested in timeless principles of conflict, competition, and strategic thinking applicable beyond warfare. Reading difficulty: 5/10

4. "TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking" by Chris Anderson, TED curator, journalist, Oxford graduate.
First published in the USA and the UK, 2016.
270 pages for anyone who needs to give presentations and wants to get heard. Reading difficulty: 4/10

5. "The Creative Act: A Way of Being" by Rick Rubin, Nine-time Grammy-winning music producer.
First published in the USA, 2023.
432 pages for those seeking to unlock their creative potential. Reading difficulty: 5/10

6. "The Art of Loving" by Erich Fromm, PhD in Sociology, Psychoanalyst, Social philosopher.
First published in Germany, 1956.
180 pages for readers seeking to understand love as a practiced skill rather than a feeling. Reading difficulty: 7/10

7. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey, a novelist, creative writing graduate (Stanford).
First published in the USA, 1962.
320 pages for readers interested in counter-cultural literature exploring themes of individuality, institutional authority, and the nature of sanity. Reading difficulty: 6/10

8. "The Mom Test: How to Talk to Customers & Learn If Your Business Is a Good Idea When Everyone Is Lying to You" by Rob Fitzpatrick, a serial entrepreneur, YCombinator alum, startup advisor.
First published in the USA and the UK, 2013.
138 pages for startup founders and entrepreneurs who need to validate business ideas through effective customer conversations without getting misleading feedback. Reading difficulty: 3/10

9. "Thought and Language" by Lev Vygotsky, a psychologist.
First published in the USSR, 1934.
390 pages for educators, psychologists, and students interested in understanding the relationship between language development and cognitive processes in children and adults. Reading difficulty: 8/10

🪴 What are you reading now? And in what language?

4 TOP Popular Posts of October

Bats, witches, and ghosts? Pfff, there's nothing that scares @ybeymlina more than not celebrating October's best moments at @englishforimpact

💓TOP by views
3 Challenging to Pronounce B2/C1 Level Vocabs
Great for pronunciation and vocabulary review, as well as recognising the admin's face :)

💓TOP by shares
51 Phrases from @durov and @lexfridman Interview
Great for ambitious learners who want to speak English like stars and their friends. Enjoy and share!

💓TOP by comments
October, 1 Around the World
Great for getting out of your bubble. Thank you for connecting in comments!

💓TOP by reactions
@durov again! 5 Quotes and Phrases from @durov x @lexfridman Interview
Great for... Well, now you better tell me what's good about it!

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October, 31st around the world

Boo! Scared? What keeps you up at night? Tap the video above to find out what @ybeymlina is afraid of!

Here’s how people deal with fears in 5 parts of the world

🇺🇸🇨🇦🇬🇧🇮🇪 Halloween (US, Canada, UK, Ireland)
Halloween, the eve of All Hallows' Day. Traditions include: trick-or-treating, costume parties, and carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns. Halloween celebrations are nearly 2,000 years old.

🇮🇪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Samhain (Celtic)
Samhain is an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. The distance between the living and the spirit world is at its thinnest. Dressed in costumes, Celts offered gifts of food to make peace with ghosts. This festival is still celebrated in Ireland and Scotland.

🇲🇽 Día de los Muertos (Mexico, Latin America)
Families build ofrendas (altars) adorned with flowers, candles, photographs, and food offerings to invite the spirits of the dead to visit. Unlike Halloween, there’s a vibe of love and happiness, not fear. A blend of Aztec beliefs of the afterlife with Spanish Catholicism.

🇩🇪 Reformation Day (Protestant, Germany)
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther protested against the sale of indulgences, marking the beginning of Protestant Reformation movement. Reformation Day is significant for Lutheran and Reformed Churches, officially recognized in some German parts.

🇵🇭 Pangangaluluwa (Philippines)
Pangangaluluwa is a Filipino tradition. People visit houses at night to sing songs related to All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, to solicit gifts. More commonly practiced in rural areas by children or teenagers.

💅 English For Impact: Embracing the fear 6 days a week since March, 2025

Happy Monday, channel! Have any interviews in English lined up this week? This video will help to come at your strongest 🌼

Transcript
Interviewer: What is your greatest weakness?
Candidate: Why do you ask?
Interviewer: Just a standard interview question.
Candidate: Define weakness.
Interviewer: Something you like to improve on.
Candidate: I tend to be a bit of a workaholic.
Interviewer: Many people can relate, but that doesn't sound like a weakness.
Candidate: Can't think of another one.
Interviewer: Everyone has areas they can improve on. No one's perfect.
Candidate: Maybe I'm just an exceptional candidate.
Interviewer: How about specific issues you faced in your previous job?
Candidate: HR often has problem with my PTO days
Interviewer: For taking too many?
Candidate: For taking... too... little

Glossary
🫧PTO days - Paid Time Off. When you do not work, but get paid.
🫧To face issues - To have problems.
🫧Many people can relate - Many people have had the same experience.

IG reference mengmengduck

What's your weakness, guys? Curious!

If you're hiring or looking for a job, feel free to share your CV or job opening in comments. At least, here you have educated people with a good level of English - magic may happen.

You turn
👩‍💼I'm hiring
🧛 I'm looking for a job
🏖️ I don't play these Squid games

Bonus: Can you find a grammar mistake in the Candidate's speech?

Do you know the project “Humans of New York”?

13M subs on IG, does exactly what it’s called: tells the stories of NYC residents. In a kind way, exploring the different angles of NYC life.

Inspired by it, we started thinking about “Humans of @englishforimpact”

Why? Cause we’re learning to communicate and get our message across. We want this channel to be the springboard of human talent.

We’re honored to get the ball rolling with Irina Kan, the author of @chasingwine

Let’s give ❤️ to Irina? How many can we give? We know you can be generous!

🪴 Want to share your story here? DM @ybeymlina “humans of english for impact” and links to your projects