
Join this common conversation among native speakers
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Michelle
This is an All Ears English podcast. Episode 2526. Time change got you down. How to talk about it in English.
Lindsay
Welcome to the All Ears English podcast. Downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection. With your American host, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz and Lindsey McMahon, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, usa.
Narrator/Ad Voice
A common connection topic for native speakers in the US Is Daylight Savings time.
Lindsay
And all the opinions that go along with it.
Narrator/Ad Voice
Listen in today to find out how to talk about this common topic in English.
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Lindsay
Hey Michelle, how's it going today?
Michelle
Hey Lindsay. I'm good. You know, I'm feeling a little gloomy all of a sudden. I don't know. What about you?
Lindsay
Yeah, these days, the days are very short, right. This. Well, especially on the east coast where you are. Because the sun goes when now that we've already gone through daylight savings time, we're on standard time again. You, you, your son goes down on the east coast, what like 4:30?
Michelle
So yeah, pretty much. And it's funny, so this started, you know, the guys were recording a little in advance. I mean, yes. So we. But so this happened just about a week ago. Yeah, yeah, about a week. And it's, it's interesting because I feel it immediately. I don't know. Do you feel it? I mean. Well, again, maybe it's not as bad where you are.
Lindsay
It's not as bad where I am. The sun is more like 6:00pm here rather than 4:30. I, I remember living in New Hampshire when I was a kid or Boston. I mean, at the height of it, it's like, like 3:30, it's getting dark, which is pretty intense.
Michelle
Yeah, yeah, exactly. And I always just, I, I, I remember I had this moment. It, and it always happens to me kind of after the t. The clocks change and it gets dark earlier. There's always this moment like a day or two after, not that same day, a day or two after where I'm like, why do I kind of feel a little emotional?
And then I'm like, oh, right, it's the daylight savings time.
Narrator/Ad Voice
I mean, I think a lot.
Lindsay
I think we don't, we get so, you know, in our heads and with technology, but we don't realize our bodies are very much tuned into the, you know, the, the clock of, you know, our, our bodies have a clock. We know, you know, when it's supposed to be dark, when it's supposed to be light, when we're supposed to be up, and when we're supposed to be sleeping. And the body does respond to that, even emotionally. It's really interesting.
Michelle
Y. Yeah, yeah, it's, it is interesting. And every year I'm like, why do I feel a little sad? I'm like, oh, interesting.
Lindsay
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I actually don't, I don't mind it because, well, these days it's. Now that we've done the change, it's sunny and bright in the morning when it wasn't before. So I do walks with my dog in the morning and like, there's a beautiful sun rising over the park and I actually love it. More people are out in the morning and that morning light to me is, is crucial. Like, if I didn't have that, if I didn't have it, it would be hard, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Michelle
So, well, this is what we're going to be talking about today because this is a huge connection topic. I mean, we, Lindsay, we could have just kept on going and going talking about this. Yeah, we did an episode a long time ago about this phenomenon, daylight savings time, because. And where we explained the concept and some basic vocab. So later, I'll give you the episode. I mean, that was a really long time ago. But I do want to give you the episode because I think it would help.
Narrator/Ad Voice
Yeah.
Michelle
So. But for. For the. So for the purpose of this episode. Yeah. Daylight saving times, there's less daylight. It gets darker earlier than in the warmer months. And not everywhere in the world does this change. Right. With the clocks.
Lindsay
Yeah. Yeah. I think the US Originally did it because of farmers.
Michelle
Yeah. Something with farmers.
Lindsay
It's always something with farmers. Yeah. Yeah, it's true. But this is. I just want to re. Emphasize what you just said, Michelle. This is a conversation that happens every year, especially around the times of the change in the spring and the fall, with friends, colleagues, constantly.
Narrator/Ad Voice
So our listeners who live in the.
Lindsay
US need to be ready to have this conversation with native speakers.
Narrator/Ad Voice
All right.
Michelle
Yeah, exactly. And what's interesting here is Aubry lives in a place where they don't change the clocks. Isn't that right?
Lindsay
Yeah, it's a little confusing.
Michelle
Oh, my gosh. I never know what time it is. Where Aubry is. I. I don't know what time it is.
Lindsay
Problem there is the area that she's. She's in is doing it differently from the rest of the country, and that creates massive problems for her when it comes to calendars and syncing up with other time zones. I mean, she will tell you about it. It is a nightmare. So I know here in Colorado, people have brought this up and tried to.
Narrator/Ad Voice
Put it on the ballot to get.
Lindsay
Rid of daylight savings time, and I would vote against that 10 out of 10 times because I don't want to end up in a place that's not running in sync with the rest of the country. It would be a pain in the butt. I mean, just as Aubry.
Michelle
No, Aubry, when you listen to this episode, we definitely want to hear your opinion.
Lindsay
Yeah, it's true.
Michelle
So.
Lindsay
But a lot of people want to get rid of it because. Because of what we've been saying with the. It's a little bit irrelevant. Out of date. Was created for farmers, and we're not. Well, there are still farmers, of course, but it's a much smaller part of the economy. Right.
Michelle
The only thing I will say that I'm starting to appreciate about it is, like, when it's so light late at night, my kids are always outside, playing outside late at night, and. And. Which is great. But I kind of am appreciating, like, last night, you know, we were just inside because it's dark, and we kind of have a little more just family time. And even we played Rummy Cube with my son after my daughter Went to sleep. You know, there's kind of. This is kind of a different vibe. So I did have this moment where yesterday I was like, oh, I kind of. This is not terrible.
Lindsay
No, I, I think it's the same thing with. I mean, I wouldn't want to live in a place where there's no seasons. Right. I mean, some people do and they're fine. But personally, I need change throughout the year. I need to feel like summer nights.
Narrator/Ad Voice
We'Re out at 9pm it's light out.
Lindsay
Or winter nights were in at 4:30 and it's cozy. I need to feel that variation in my year. Yeah. You know. Yeah.
Michelle
Yeah. I think for the first time in my life yesterday I, I was feeling that.
Lindsay
You came around eventually. Yeah, yeah.
Michelle
Starting to come around to it.
Lindsay
So.
Michelle
But yeah, guys. So again, as you can see, this is a huge connection topic. Lindsay and I are sharing stories. We're hearing our opinions. We could just talk about this the whole time and not teach anything. And you, you know what I mean? Because it's such a good connection topic, we would get lost in it. So we want to teach you how to have these conversations, how to build connections using this topic today. Yeah.
Lindsay
We've got some key phrases that we might ask or say to start the conversation or to carry on a conversation like this. So, Michelle, what's the first one?
Michelle
Okay. I can't believe it's so dark already. It's only. And then you can say the time like it's only 4:30.
Lindsay
Yeah. And this is usually said right in the beginning, after the, the change has been made, maybe in the first month or so. Right. We're not used to it. And that is very stark, I will give you that. I mean, that is, that is hard to, to, to take in when you see, you look outside and you're like, I just had lunch and it'. Park, you know, or, or here's another one. I feel like it's 10pm but it's only 7.
Michelle
Or you can change around those times. Do you ever get that when.
Lindsay
Yeah.
Michelle
Oh, you know, now I'm. It's eight and I'm like, oh my God, it's so late. And yeah, it's, it's really not as late as, as you think.
Lindsay
Right. It was another one, Michelle.
Michelle
I hate when it gets dark early.
Lindsay
Yeah. And yeah, totally. Very, Very common things that native speakers will say. And then we might roll into some questions. Right. You might follow up with that native speaker and ask questions like, for example, do you get bummed out when it Gets dark earlier. I know there are people that deal with actual, what do they call it?
Michelle
Seasonal effective. Yep, yep. Sad, right?
Lindsay
Sad. But I have heard that those lamps work really well that you can get. I've heard that that's been proven to work quite well to replace.
Michelle
So that's. That was the next thing thing I brought up, I'm going to bring up is do you use anything to keep your mood happy or you know, to keep yourself happier during this time of year? So yeah, like Lindsay said, these lamps exercise, right?
Lindsay
Yeah.
Michelle
Certain, certain things that you can do to kind of maybe getting out earlier in the morning, like Lindsay said, getting, getting sunlight at a different time of.
Lindsay
Day or asking does the time change get to you or are you all right? Right.
Michelle
So what does that mean something it get to you? What do I mean?
Lindsay
What do you want that's a great for today get to you? Does it bother you? Does it annoy you? Does it trouble you?
Michelle
Right, right, right, right. Does it have an impact on your mood?
Lindsay
Yeah, Exactly. Good. All right, we'll take a quick break.
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Lindsay
All right, Michelle, we are back. So let's go through some of these questions here, shall we?
Michelle
Yeah, kind of. We kind of touched on these so naturally already actually, because we Were so excited to talk about it, but.
Lindsay
Yeah.
Michelle
Lindsay, do you, I mean, have you ever tried one of those lamps? I'll ask.
Lindsay
I haven't. No, I haven't really needed that. But for me it's getting outside. They say you're supposed to get sunlight right away. And that's why I'm troubled by the idea of getting rid of daylight savings time. Because if we did, it would be dark until 9am yeah. And I would really struggle because then you're working and you don't have time to go outside necessarily. So something about as soon as I wake up taking my dog, getting outside, my body really needs that. So that takes care of that for me. What about you, Michelle?
Michelle
Yeah, Anything that I do. No, I've always meant to get one of those lamps. I've always meant to try one of them because they sound. But it's just to me it always sounds like, really, how could that possibly work? But I hear that they do work. So I don't know. I don't know, maybe I should invest in one. But again, I'm, I, I guess, you know, trying to lean into what are the special times of this year? You know, special things of this time of year. Like, oh, getting into the holiday season. You know, this is kind of where Thanksgiving, you know, all of that stuff is starting and so that's of kind, kind of exciting. And then also, yeah, like I said, just not always being outside until our like late and having to stand outside and like, which I, which I of course love. But just having kind of this cozy time so, you know, just appreciating it for, for different reasons and trying to, to like, I don't know, feel that way. So. Yeah.
Lindsay
And I guess it's also good if you travel. I mean, I know when we were in Berlin a couple years ago in 2021 now I don't know if they do daylight savings time or not know. When we were there in December, we were there around Christmas time. The sun came up at about 9:30am.
And it went down around 3. And that was rough for me. For me, I think they get used to it and I think they have amazing summers because it's so far north. Right. So.
Narrator/Ad Voice
Right.
Lindsay
People are out on the street in the summer and the cafe culture, kind of like Paris, like an outdoor street culture. Bars, coffee shops.
Michelle
Yeah.
Lindsay
Out light outside till 10 or 10:30.
Michelle
That's so cool.
Lindsay
So it's like, it's the flip side of things.
Michelle
Right, Right, right, right, right, exactly. So should we do a role play to show how this might sound. Okay.
Narrator/Ad Voice
All right.
Lindsay
So what are we doing here?
Michelle
All right, well, we are friends and we are waiting outside to pick up our kids from an extracurricular activity, so.
Lindsay
Okay.
Narrator/Ad Voice
Yes.
Michelle
Here we go. Wow, it's cold.
Lindsay
Oh, I know. And I can't believe it's so dark out. It's only 5.
Michelle
Seriously. I feel like it's 10pm but it's definitely not.
Lindsay
Yeah, it's wild.
Michelle
I hate when it gets so dark. Dark so early.
Lindsay
Me too. Do you get bummed out?
Michelle
Oh, a ton.
Lindsay
Do you use anything to keep your mood happy this time of year?
Michelle
No, but I should. I want one of those lights you sit in front of. I hear those are good. What about you? Does the time change get to you, or are you all right?
Lindsay
I don't love it, but I do have one of those lamps and it does help.
Michelle
Oh, wow. Okay. You'll have to tell me which one to buy.
Lindsay
I'll send you the link.
Michelle
Okay.
Lindsay
Very common thing to say. I'll send you the link. Right, Yeah, I know.
Michelle
I was thinking that too. Oh, I'll send you the link. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Lindsay
Exactly. So we use a lot of our phrases here. So I started by saying, I can't believe it's so dark out. And that is how a lot of conversations will start in English. Someone making a comment about something that strikes them. Right.
Narrator/Ad Voice
It's not.
Lindsay
It doesn't have to start with a question.
Michelle
Right, right. Yep, exactly. And then I said, I feel like it's 10pm but it's definitely not.
Lindsay
And then I said, it's wild. That could be a bit of a bonus for today. It's wild.
Michelle
It's wild. That's a good way to comment.
Lindsay
So in. In fashion right now, this phrase saying that it's wild, what does it mean, Michelle?
Michelle
We talk about tigers instead of saying no, it's like. Instead of saying it's crazy or it's unbelievable.
Lindsay
Yeah, it's just really popular and trendy to say that right now.
Michelle
Wild. Yeah, it. Wild.
Lindsay
Yeah. Y. And then what did you say?
Michelle
I said, I hate when it gets dark so early.
Lindsay
Yeah. And I said, me too. And here we're finding a connection moment because we're agreeing on something. Right. And then I'm. I'm extending the conversation. Do you get bummed out or another way to say that? Do you get down?
Narrator/Ad Voice
Do you get down?
Michelle
You know, down? Yep, yep. And I said, oh, a ton. And you said, do you use anything to keep your mood happy this time of year? You could also Say something like, something like, do you have any tricks for, you know, staying keeping for being happier this time of year? Something like that.
Lindsay
Exactly. There's a lot of things we could say. And then I said, you said, does the time change get to you or are you all right? Right. So you're really asking the same thing. Right. You're flipping it back on me in a different way. Get to you?
Narrator/Ad Voice
Does it bother you?
Lindsay
Right.
Michelle
Yeah, exactly. And guys, remember I, I mentioned that we did an episode a long time ago about this topic. So this was episode 1116 and that was spring forward, fall back. So that goes into a lot more with this concept of daylight savings. And there's, there's just a lot more that you can learn to be able to get into these conversations.
Lindsay
Yeah, don't forget to hit the follow button on the show, guys. And by the way, if that, that is a far way down to find that episode. So the easiest way to get that is to get on the app. So allersenglish.com app and just download it. It's free to listen to all of our episodes on the app by just.
Narrator/Ad Voice
Type in 1116in the search bar and.
Lindsay
It'Ll pull it up right away. Okay? Absolutely. All right.
Michelle
Any takeaways for today?
Lindsay
Well, I think anytime we can find one of these common thing, the weather is one of those things too. Daylight savings time, seasons, things we all go through, then it just, it's a natural conversation starter. And I can guarantee you these conversations come up all the time, especially at these key times of year.
Narrator/Ad Voice
So be ready for them.
Lindsay
Yep.
Michelle
Yeah. Yep. Absolutely. All right, Lindsay, thanks for talking about this with me today. And if you do try one of those lamps, let me know how it goes.
Lindsay
Okay, I will. Take care.
Michelle
Bye. All right, bye.
Lindsay
Thanks for listening. To all ears. English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz, go to allearsenglish.com forward/fluency score. And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.
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Hosts: Lindsay McMahon & Michelle Kaplan
Date: December 8, 2025
This episode dives into the topic of Daylight Saving Time (DST) and how it impacts daily life and conversation in America. Lindsay and Michelle explore not only the cultural and emotional effects of the time change but also provide practical English phrases and tips for ESL learners to discuss this topic with native speakers. The episode emphasizes natural, connection-driven English to help learners converse about small talk topics like the seasons and time changes—common ground for building relationships.
Hosts' Reactions:
Michelle shares feeling suddenly "gloomy" as days get shorter after the clocks change.
"I always just, I remember I had this moment… after the clocks change and it gets dark earlier. There's always this moment, like a day or two after, where I'm like, why do I kind of feel a little emotional?" – Michelle (03:32)
Lindsay notes the body’s internal clock and emotional response:
"We don’t realize our bodies are very much tuned into the...the clock of...our bodies have a clock. We know when it’s supposed to be dark… and the body does respond to that, even emotionally. It’s really interesting." – Lindsay (03:58)
Regional Differences:
"The area [Aubrey] is in is doing it differently from the rest of the country, and that creates massive problems for her when it comes to calendars and syncing up with time zones." – Lindsay (06:13)
"I would vote against [ending DST] 10 out of 10 times because I don't want to end up in a place that's not running in sync with the rest of the country." – Lindsay (06:33)
"Personally, I need change throughout the year. I need to feel like summer nights… or winter nights… I need to feel that variation in my year." – Lindsay (07:54)
"This is a conversation that happens every year, especially around the times of the change in the spring and the fall, with friends, colleagues, constantly." – Lindsay (05:38)
“I can’t believe it’s so dark already. It’s only [X time].”
“I feel like it’s 10pm but it’s only 7.”
“I hate when it gets dark early.”
“Do you get bummed out when it gets dark earlier?”
“Do you use anything to keep your mood happy during this time of year?” (e.g., lamps, exercise)
“Does the time change get to you, or are you all right?”
Talking about ‘SAD’ (Seasonal Affective Disorder):
Michelle and Lindsay act out a conversation between two parents waiting to pick up their kids, modeling how to use the DST topic for small talk:
| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:31 | Main conversation begins | | 03:32 | Hosts discuss immediate emotional impact of DST | | 05:34 | Explaining why DST exists; the US perspective | | 06:09 | Issues with regions (like Arizona) not observing DST | | 08:35 | Introduction of conversation starter phrases about DST | | 09:51 | Discussing “SAD” and lamps as a coping mechanism | | 10:32 | Explaining “get to you” as a phrase | | 12:24 | Recap and role play introduction | | 15:00 | Role play demonstrating DST small talk | | 16:24 | Vocabulary highlight: “It’s wild” and other trendy phrases explained | | 18:28 | Takeaways: Why this is a perfect connection topic |
If you’re looking to build authentic, “connection not perfection”-style English and want to confidently chat about everyday American topics, this episode gives you relatable, ready-to-use tools to talk about the time change like a native.