online news story, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2017/08/21/language/podcasts-learning-japanese-go/  

[EXCERPT] It was back in 2005, the year that podcasts started to take off, when Peter Galante, a Ph.D. student studying economics at Tokyo's Hitotsubashi University, decided to launch Japanesepod101. 

...For those interested in something less structured バイリンガルニュース (bairingaru nyūsu, Bilingual News) is a great option. The show, ranking No. 1 in iTunes charts in Japan, is created and hosted by close friends Mami and Michael (who keep their surnames a secret). They touch on a host of topics ranging from 哲学 (tetsugaku, philosophy) to 宗教 (shūkyō, religion). Whether it be 国家機密 (kokka kimitsu, state secrets), 人工知能 (jinkō chinō, artificial intelligence) or セックスロボ (sekkusu robo, sex robots), nothing's considered taboo. 

  

Other Podcasts 

   Easier than Bilingual News in terms of content and much shorter in length, but without any English, News in Slow Japanese has Sakura reading one news item a week in Japanese, first slowly, then at regular speed. If casual, 気楽 (kiraku, carefree) conversations are more your thing, you should maybe give Learn Japanese Pod a try. For beginners, NHK World's やさしい日本語 (Yasashii Nihongo, "Easy Japanese"), which is in an audio drama style centering on an international student from Thailand, is a good option. [cf. online reading with furigana added, http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/)

News Web Easy - NHKオンライン www3.nhk.or.jp news web easyは、小学生・中学生の皆さんや、日本に住んでいる外国人のみなさんに、わかりやすいことば でニュースを ...

school lunches - documentary & feature story (in English)

This article is several pages and will appeal to learners of Japanese language and society at all ages.

More Than a Meal School Lunch in Japan

By Alexis Agliano Sanborn

published at Education About ASIA Volume 22, Number 1 (Spring 2017)

online at http://aas2.asian-studies.org/EAA/EAA-Archives/22/1/1468.pdf 

[concluding paragraph]

    Kyūshoku is an ever-shifting and complex program, borrowing from

the past, adapting to the times, and continuing to innovate its systems,

models, and flavors. For students, school lunch provides the means by

which to connect the home to the nation. For outside observers, it is a

system both uniquely Japanese and a model prime for international expansion

and growth. What will be the next phase of lunch? It's difficult to say.

Whatever it is, it will most likely be delicious.

_____________________________________________________________________

Cafeteria Culture's documentary film School Lunch in Japan —It's Not Just About Eating! 

Directed, edited and filmed by Atsuko Satake Quirk, Cafeteria Culture's media director. 

https://tinyurl.com/lohfeum  and on Vimeo at https://tinyurl.com/lffxkrd . 

School Lunch in Japan - It's Not Just About Eating! tinyurl.com Get inspired to see how Japanese students operate their lunch period! You can see why "lunch period" is placed as a learning period in Japanese schools.

Visit the Cafeteria Culture website at https://tinyurl.com/lepxwvk to learn more about their work.