Ben Franklin's World is a production of the

O'Mohandro Institute.

Today's episode is brought to you by Babel,

the number one selling language learning app in the world.

Now as you know, Ben Franklin's world is a show for people who love history.

Each week we talk to historians about the people, places, and events that have shaped our present-day world.

But how do these scholars actually know what they know?

More often than not, they know what they know because they've spent dozens,

if not hundreds of hours pouring over manuscripts, letters, and ledger books,

often in several different languages.

See, the past didn't just happen in one language,

so the study of it can't happen in just one language either.

That's why I'm a huge fan of language learning.

Learning and understanding a new language

enriches not only your mind, but your knowledge of the size and scope of the world and its

history. And with Babble, you can learn just about any language you want to learn, like Spanish, French,

Italian, German, Russian, or even one of my additional languages, Dutch or Naderlons.

And you can learn these languages through fun lessons that take just 10 to 15 minutes.

You can take these lessons through Babbles' handy smartphone or tablet app or online with your computer.

Now what's great about Babyl's fun lessons are their practicality.

Babyl's designed its lessons to take you through all sorts of practical situations, like chatting with new friends, ordering food,

asking for directions, and more.

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