Do you really know?

What is Big Pharma? Thanks for asking! At a time when the whole world is waiting for an effective COVID-19 vaccine, do citizens really trust the companies likely to be responsible for producing it? A few multinationals dominate the global pharmaceutical market and they are collectively known as Big Pharma. Common criticisms include a lack of transparency, lobbying and high prices. The term first a...

Who are the Grey Wolves? Thanks for asking! The Grey Wolves are a Turkish ultranationalist organisation which has come under the spotlight in several European countries of late. In France, for example, the group has now been officially banned, while there have been calls for the same action to be taken in Germany. Tell me more about the history of the Grey Wolves and their ideology. The organisati...

What is food play? Thanks for asking! In a sexual context, food play is a form of fetichism, where participants are aroused by the use of food in an erotic situation. Also known as sitophilia, it’s not necessarily a disorder or perversion as such. You could class it as a form of paraphilia, which is the experience of arousal relating to atypical objects or fantasies. For those who partake in food...

What is Baby Shark? Thanks for asking! On November 2nd, Baby Shark made internet history by becoming the most-viewed YouTube video of all time, with over 7 billion plays. This children’s song about a family of sharks is driving the whole world crazy, for good and for bad! No-one really knows where the song originally came from. It may have been sung in children’s summer camps in the 1970s, or inve...

What is carbon neutrality? Thanks for asking! All over the world, states are committing to reaching carbon neutrality in coming decades. That means achieving net zero CO2 emissions, by not emitting more than what planet Earth is able to absorb. If humanity doesn’t manage it, climate change could quickly become irreversible. We’re already feeling the effects of global warming through heatwaves, ris...

What is Islamism? Thanks for asking!   A spate of terrorist attacks have been carried out across Europe in recent weeks, most notably in France and Austria. Political leaders have attributed the violence to Islamists, calling for a united front in battling this form of radicalism. Nevertheless, use of the term “Islamism” is somewhat controversial. So what’s the difference between Islam and Islamis...

What is a non-essential shop? Thanks for asking! Many countries in Europe and other parts of the world are experiencing a second wave of the covid-19 pandemic. A new lockdown began in England last Thursday, due to last until at least December 2nd. The rules are seen as stricter than earlier in the year, coming at a time when trust in the government is low. Certain businesses have already been desi...

What are Incels? Thanks for asking! Incel is a portmanteau word which is short for “involuntary celibate”. These people are single despite themselves, and have abandoned any hope of one day finding love or even sex. The incel community is overwhelmingly made up of young men, who are particularly active online, expressing their hatred towards women. Members of this subculture are obsessed by the fa...

What is blasphemy? Thanks for asking! An act of blasphemy is an insult or offence committed towards a deity. Blasphemy is often a sensitive subject, and one which can lead to tragic consequences. So should insulting God or a religion be a crime or recognised as a basic right? The Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam have long condemned blasphemy. In the Middle Ages, the notion wa...

What is mental health? Thanks for asking! New lockdown measures are due to come into effect across England this week, following Boris Johnson’s announcement on Saturday. Pubs, restaurants, leisure facilities, most shops and places of worship will be forced to close, with remote work encouraged where possible. These new restrictions are sure to have an impact on the population’s mental health. The...

What is antimicrobial resistance? Thanks for asking! Antimicrobial resistance, or AMR for short, refers to how bacteria are able to become resistant to antibiotics. This phenomenon has been increasingly common since the turn of the century and is of great concern to public health authorities. AMR could become one of the highest causes of mortality across the world. Back in 1928, Alexander Fleming...

What is K-Pop? Thanks for asking! On October 15th, Big Hit Entertainment debuted on the Korean stock exchange. If you’re not familiar with the company itself, you’re more likely to have heard of BTS, one of the bands they created. In barely 24 hours, the success of the IPO had exceeded all expectations. A single day of trading was enough to bring the value of Big Hit Entertainment up from $4.5bn t...

What is the Electoral College? Thanks for asking! In the United States, the President isn’t actually directly elected by citizens. That responsibility goes instead to the electoral college. The system means it’s actually possible for the candidate elected president to have less votes overall than their defeated opponent. Since the year 1880, Election Day has taken place on the Tuesday following th...

What is synthetic DNA? Thanks for asking! Humanity is faced with the complex issue of how to store and archive all the digital data it produces. Sometimes the solutions to our problems are right before our eyes. Or even in every cell in our body! Soon enough, we may end up using synthetic DNA to store our data. In the last few years, scientists have made significant progress in sequencing and synt...

What is tax evasion? Thanks for asking!  Tax evasion refers to individuals, corporations, or trusts using illegal means to avoid paying tax. This could be by exploiting loopholes in the state tax system, or transferring property or business activities activity to another country with a more favourable tax regime. Meanwhile, tax avoidance, also known as tax optimisation, consists of using legitimat...

What is a think tank? Thanks for asking! A think tank is a private group of experts who conduct research and develop proposals for governments. There are many powerful think tanks all over the world, and some are criticized for a lack of transparency. Perhaps the world’s oldest think tank is the Fabian Society, which was founded in London in 1884 and is still active to this day. It wasn’t until th...

What is QAnon? Thanks for asking! The right-wing QAnon conspiracy theory alleges that the United States is run by a cabal of paedophiles who control the media and politics. The only person who can stop this cabal? President Donald J Trump of course. Critics have talked about QAnon beliefs as internet misinformation, while others have described it as a disturbing movement or even a terrorist threat...

What is the anti-vaxxer movement? Thanks for asking! On October 1st the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention and National Foundation for Infectious Diseases launched the 2020-2021 flu vaccine campaign. According to estimates, nearly 200 million doses of vaccine will be available this season. What makes this year’s campaign special is that it’s conducted in the context of the global Covid-1...

‌What is linguistic discrimination? Thanks for asking! Also known as glottophobia, linguistic discrimination is a form of prejudice based on a person’s way of speaking. For example, it could consist of mocking someone for their mother tongue, accent, or the range of vocabulary they use. Victims of linguistic discrimination are judged and treated differently as soon as they open their mouths. Studi...

What is malnutrition? Thanks for asking! World Food Day is celebrated every year on October 16th, commemorating the date on which the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization was created in 1945. Let’s take the opportunity to talk about malnutrition. It’s the consequence of a diet which doesn’t provide a healthy amount of certain nutrients. According to the World Health Organisation, this is due to...

What is LSD microdosing? Thanks for asking! What if it turned out LSD was more than just a hippy drug for those looking to go on a psychedelic trip? Researchers are convinced that microdosing, that is to say taking tiny quantities of LSD, could have a positive effect on productivity, pain and even depression. Let’s go back to 1930s Switzerland. Chemist Albert Hofmann is tearing his hair out, taske...

What is a flight to nowhere? Thanks for asking! With the Covid-19 pandemic putting a halt to long-haul travel, sightseers have found a new way to get their flying fix. Airlines are organising “flights to nowhere”, which take off from an airport, fly around for several hours taking in scenic views, and then land back at their original point of departure.  Great, I’ve been waiting months to take a f...

What is consent? Thanks for asking! Public discussion around the issue of consent has been greatly increased in recent years, thanks to the MeToo movement, and the resulting Harvey Weinstein trial. So when can we consider that a woman or a man has actually consented to having sex?  It’s often blurry isn’t it? When there are lots of signs that make you think you have consent, how are you supposed t...

What is the US Supreme Court? Thanks for asking! Following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September 2020, Donald Trump made clear his desire to quickly appoint a new justice to the US Supreme Court. To understand the importance of this nomination, it’s important to consider the major political influence of the Supreme Court justices. The Supreme Court was created in 1789, thirteen years after...

What is gaslighting? Thanks for asking! The term gaslighting refers to psychological abuse where victims are presented with false information by one or more manipulators. This is done deliberately to make them doubt their own memories and perceptions. The term originally comes from a 1930s play called Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton. The film adaptation, a 1944 psychological, thriller depicts a toxic...