Updates on Britney Spears, Havana syndrome, Notre Dame, Impossible Foods, and more

The latest news on Plain English topics we’ve covered in the past

Today's expression: Stack up
Explore more: Lesson #407
October 14, 2021:

This lesson reviews the latest updates on previous Plain English topics: Britney Spears’ conservatorship legal battle with her father; Havana syndrome in American diplomats; progress on the Notre Dame cathedral restoration after the 2019 fire; the verdict on Impossible Foods and other meatless alternatives; cashless shops, and more. Plus, learn “stack up.”

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Here’s an update on some previous lessons: Britney Spears, Havana Syndrome, Notre Dame, meatless meat, and more.

Lesson summary

Hi there everyone, I’m Jeff and this is Plain English, where we help you upgrade your English with current events and trending topics. Every Monday and Thursday, we focus on one issue in the news. But twice a year we make an exception, and we revisit topics we’ve discussed previously. That’s what we’re doing today.

The topics we are revisiting are Britney Spears, Havana Syndrome, Notre Dame cathedral, cashless shops, and one more. Remember when I taste-tested the meatless Impossible Burger? Well, I tasted meatless sausage and meatless chicken nuggets…so that you don’t have to. You’re welcome.

Later in the lesson, I’ll show you how to use the English phrasal verb “stack up.” And JR has a song of the week. Let’s dive in.

Update on previous lessons

Britney Spears

She’s almost free. Britney Spears’s father, James Spears, filed a petition in California court to dissolve the conservatorship that has governed his daughter’s life for over ten years . However, this was not an act of benevolence. Britney’s father was the subject of very negative publicity when the pop star first sought to remove her father from the conservatorship. To save face, he proposed dissolving it altogether.

In a petition to the court, her father said that he would agree with dissolving the conservatorship if Britney agreed that’s what she wanted. That was on September 7. A later court filing, by the pop star herself, made it clear that she is in favor of ending the conservatorship, but that her most urgent priority is removing her father from the arrangement .

In lesson 381 , you heard about the urgent and emotional testimony Britney gave to a court regarding her conservatorship. In the time since that hearing, her lawyers have maintained pressure on the legal system to improve her situation.

As long as a court agrees with both Britney and her father that the conservatorship should be dissolved, Britney will finally be free to do as she pleases. And she recently announced her engagement to her longtime boyfriend Sam Asghari.

Havana Syndrome

In Lesson 118 , which came out in early 2019, we talked about Havana Syndrome , a mysterious illness afflicting American diplomats stationed in Cuba and China. This syndrome affects victims’ balance, concentration, sleep, hearing, and vision. Early victims said that they felt a low-level buzzing all the time, pressure in their skulls, an annoying sound, heat, or other bizarre physical effects. These are not consistent with any known disease or syndrome. American intelligence suspects that foreign governments are targeting diplomats and spies with a new kind of weapon.

In the five years since this was first discovered in Cuba, Havana syndrome has been experienced by hundreds of American diplomats around the world. Last month, the CIA, America’s intelligence agency, recalled its station chief from Vienna over his handling of Havana syndrome in Austria. According to news reports, a “growing number” of American CIA agents in Austria were coming down with Havana syndrome, reporting dizziness, migraine headaches, and memory loss. The top CIA officer in Vienna wasn’t taking the reports seriously enough and the CIA director in Langley called him home.

It is now a top American national defense priority; some people in the government say it’s the hardest intelligence challenge they’ve ever tackled. A senior CIA officer, who was once in charge of the hunt for Osama bin Laden, is now in charge of the investigation into Havana Syndrome.

Notre Dame

In some of the saddest lessons in Plain English history, we chronicled the fire that severely damaged Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in Lessons 149 and 154 . Last week, the agency in charge of its restoration announced that the first phase was complete and the cathedral is on schedule to re-open in 2024, five years after the blaze.

In late September, the agency announced that the “safety phase” of the restoration was complete. The burned scaffolding was removed, structural elements were reinforced, and the unique architectural elements were wrapped and protected to prepare for the next phases of restoration. Inspections have confirmed that the cathedral remains architecturally sound, and the important restoration phase can proceed.

Work was temporarily paused during the coronavirus. However, it is scheduled to be completed by 2024, keeping a key promise of French President Emmanuel Macron, who pledged it would open five years after the tragedy.

Impossible Foods

In Lesson 184 , I gave you a taste test of the Impossible Burger, which is made entirely with plants. I said, “They did the impossible” when they made a veggie burger taste good. The maker of the Impossible Burger is called Impossible Foods. They and a competitor, Beyond Meat, have since expanded from plant-based beef into plant-based breakfast sausage, pork, and chicken.

You might remember my verdict was that the Impossible Burger nailed the texture and that it tasted good but lacked the true flavor of a beef burger. How, then, do the sausages stack up ? I’ve had the sausages from both manufacturers, and I must say the sausage was very similar to the burgers. The look, color, casing, and texture were all similar to genuine pork sausages. Like the burgers, though, they lacked that juicy, meaty flavor. They’re good if you have them with a lot of sauces and toppings that lend additional flavors.

The chicken is what really surprised me the most. The Beyond Meat chicken tenders and the Impossible Foods chicken nuggets are the real deal. In a blind test, I would not be able to taste the difference between plant-based chicken nuggets and similar, real chicken nuggets. Although, the Beyond Meat tenders did have a grayish color. Both those and the Impossible nuggets didn’t hold together like a real chicken nugget; it was almost like they were made of shredded chicken. But that’s only noticeable if you look closely. Close your eyes and taste these plant-based “chicken” tenders and nuggets, and you’ll think you’re really eating chicken.

As with the burgers, the plant-based sausages and nuggets are not, nutritionally, better for you than the real-meat originals. But they are better for the animals (obviously) and for the planet since they have a much lighter environmental impact.

Cashless shops

If you listen to Plain English, you will be on top of the latest global trends. If you were listening on May 6, 2019, you would have learned about some shops that were no longer accepting cash . That was half a year before the coronavirus ushered in a new era of contactless payments. Since then, Tesco has opened a new set of grocery stores in London that are entirely cashless and contactless. Amazon is expanding its Amazon Go stores that use cameras and QR codes to check out. Dubai even has a contactless grocery store.

Small restaurants are getting in on the action, implementing affordable point-of-sale systems like Square and Toast at their restaurants, which let customers pay entirely electronically with a phone or a contactless card. Toast saw its revenues plummet early in the pandemic but quickly pivoted to be the contactless provider of choice for many restaurants as they reopened. They had their IPO late last month and the three co-founders are all now billionaires. Good for them.

Misc.

In Lesson 346 , we talked about the movie Nomadland. On my recent trip to Europe, I saw that Nomadland was playing in a cinema in Vienna, so if you’ve been waiting to see that on the big screen, now might be your chance. On my travels, I noticed the duty-free shops were back up and running. That’s a relief for you duty-free shoppers who listened to lesson 349 . In Lesson 391 , we talked about old food brands: just last month Cheez-Its turned 100 years old. How I overlooked that one in the lesson, I have no idea.

New Britney documentary

That Britney Spears case is just infuriating. There’s a new documentary called “Controlling Britney” that features interviews with her former security team, former assistants, and other people in her circle. The story they tell about the unrelenting control people have had over her life is just really sad. I’m glad she’s finally about to break free of this abusive situation. “Controlling Britney” is the name of the new documentary. I wonder if we’ll ever hear her full story after this legal stuff is all over.

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Expression: Stack up