Back to school! In this edition of ChinesePod's "Saved by the Gong" series, physics students learn the principles of buoyancy. What causes one object to float in a liquid where another one sinks? Learn all about it in this lesson! Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/2299

The scene is a young couple's bedroom. He's dressed and ready to go, while she's only just begun the long process of outfit deliberation. There will be ideas, questions, new ideas, reconsiderations, and changing of one's mind. If you gain nothing else from this Chinese lesson, at least learn the phrase "I changed my mind." Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1592

You haven't been paying attention in class all semester and the exam's next week; it's going to take more than some serious cramming to make up for all the slacking you've been doing. There's only one option: beg the teacher for the test questions in advance. Listen in as a group of unprepared students try to wrest useful test information from their teacher's unwilling grasp in today's upper-intermediate lesson. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1921

When a friend or co-worker tells you a relative has passed away, what do you say? You could probably use some help in this delicate situation. For one thing, you don't say "I'm sorry" in Mandarin. Learn how to offer your consolation the Chinese way in this lesson. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1589

Your company's brand-new kimchee-flavored chocolate has been painstakingly perfected and is ready to hit store shelves. There's just one problem: how are you going to get anyone to buy it? Tune in to today's lesson to hear how the marketing department is planning to introduce the new product to the public. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1914

It's that time of year, and a flu vaccination is probably a good idea. In this lesson, we follow a fearless child and her mother into the doctor's office to get a flu shot. Learn all the essential vocabulary you'll need to get a vaccination, as well as the super-useful question, "are you afraid of pain?" Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1586

This lesson is for our boldest, hardiest, and most probably craziest users out there. We're listening in today as one such athlete discusses ironman triathlons in Mandarin Chinese; if you're like us, you'll probably relate much more to the astonished listener than the competitor! Learn how to talk about triathlons and the intensive preparation they require in today's upper-intermediate lesson. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1911

If you're like us, you know a lot of people, and you make a fair amount of calls with your cell phone. But every once in a while, you'll get this annoying recording telling you the call won't go through because it's a "nonlocal number." Fortunately there's an easy solution. Learn about it in this Chinese lesson. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1582