Free lessons about the news

Empower students aged 10+ with informed and open-minded discussions about the biggest issues of our time.

Ready to start inspiring classroom discussions and bring real-world context to your teaching?

Our Topical Talk lessons help students develop essential critical-thinking, oracy and communication skills, media literacy and cultural capital.

Topical Talk lessons are created by experienced teachers in collaboration with journalists at The Economist to combine deep educational knowledge with world-class journalistic expertise.

Adaptable activities support students to be sceptical about media stories and value the importance of evidence in an age of misinformation and fake news.

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Topical Talk Festival 2025

January 20th – March 7th 2025

The Festival brings Topical Talk lessons to life by giving students the chance to discuss what they’re learning about in the classroom on a global scale. Young people are invited to learn from, and exchange ideas with, international peers and topic experts. Each Festival is packed with inspiring activities, online events and awards for thoughtful conversations and ideas.

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“The programme has been a revelation. Every week, new and interesting resources are produced, all of which go hand-in-hand with relevant and appropriate termly topics. These are accessible to all learners: they are bespoke, carefully thought-out and allow students to improve across a number of key skills.”

Michael Baker, Farringdon Community Academy, UK
Collage of pages from the “Ocean conservation: Iceland’s whaling licence” teaching resource showing the cover and lesson plan

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Collage of pages from the “The media: information or influence?” teaching resource showing the cover and lesson plan