Do you really know?

What is the FIRE movement? Imagine you could quit work by the age of 40 and enjoy the freedoms afforded by retirement while still pretty young. Well that’s exactly what the FIRE movement, standing for Financial Independence, Retire Early, is all about.  The way of life is particularly popular among millennials, and although its origins date back to a book from the 1990s, it really gained in popula...

"Do you really know?" is Bababam's daily podcast, which helps you understand the words, acronyms, and concepts that are making the news every day. From December 6th to 20th, discover the words that have left their mark on the year, with our 2021 Retrospective. From the "Pandora Papers" affair to the "#QuitMyJob" hashtag and of course the "Long Covid" condition, (re)discover these words that sum up...

What is Tangping? China is known for its hyper competitive work culture, with young people accustomed to doing long hours and having an always-on mentality. But earlier this year, Tang ping came along as a counter culture, an antidote if you like. Literally the word simply means to lie down flat. But it has taken on political significance in 2021. What kind of pressures are we talking about? Are w...

"Do you really know?" is Bababam's daily podcast, which helps you understand the words, acronyms, and concepts that are making the news every day. From December 6th to 20th, discover the words that have left their mark on the year, with our 2021 Retrospective. From the "Pandora Papers" affair to the "#QuitMyJob" hashtag and of course the "Long Covid" condition, (re)discover these words that sum up...

What is West Side Story?   Steven Spielberg’s remake of “West Side Story” hit UK cinemas just last Friday. That makes it a perfect occasion to dedicate an episode to one of the most iconic musicals in history. What is the story about? So what makes this story so special? So how did the cinematic adaptation come on? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you c...

"Do you really know?" is Bababam's daily podcast, which helps you understand the words, acronyms, and concepts that are making the news every day. From December 6th to 20th, discover the words that have left their mark on the year, with our 2021 Retrospective. From the "Pandora Papers" affair to the "#QuitMyJob" hashtag and of course the "Long Covid" condition, (re)discover these words that sum up...

What is hybristophilia? We tend to file serial killers among the worst examples of humanity, so it’s hard to imagine anyone would be specifically attracted to them. Well believe it or not the term hybristophilia refers to just that. You could say it’s a bad-boy fixation taken to the extreme. The term comes from the ancient Greek hybrizein, which means committing an atrocity against somebody, and p...

"Do you really know?" is Bababam's daily podcast, which helps you understand the words, acronyms, and concepts that are making the news every day. From December 6th to 20th, discover the words that have left their mark on the year, with our 2021 Retrospective. From the "Pandora Papers" affair to the "#QuitMyJob" hashtag and of course the "Long Covid" condition, (re)discover these words that sum up...

"Do you really know?" is Bababam's daily podcast, which helps you understand the words, acronyms, and concepts that are making the news every day. From December 6th to 20th, discover the words that have left their mark on the year, with our 2021 Retrospective. From the "Pandora Papers" affair to the "#QuitMyJob" hashtag and of course the "Long Covid" condition, (re)discover these words that sum up...

What is Hanukkah? This week saw the end of Hanukkah, so let's look at the history and customs related to the annual Jewish festival which falls in December each year. It's often known as the festival of Lights, and its origins go back as far as 22 centuries! The celebration is synonymous with commemorating a miracle. According to rabbinic tradition and ancient texts, Hanukkah represents the victor...

"Do you really know?" is Bababam's daily podcast, which helps you understand the words, acronyms, and concepts that are making the news every day. From December 6th to 20th, discover the words that have left their mark on the year, with our 2021 Retrospective. From the "Pandora Papers" affair to the "#QuitMyJob" hashtag and of course the "Long Covid" condition, (re)discover these words that sum up...

What is Yentl Syndrome? You may have already heard about examples of sexist bias in medicine. Well Yentl Syndrome is a perfect demonstration of how women and men sometimes receive different medical treatment. American cardiologist Bernadine Healy, a former President of the National Institutes of Health, came up with the name in 1991, as the title of a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine....

What is a testicle bath? Still in this day and age, the burden of being responsible for birth control falls mainly on women. You’ve got an almost endless list of reversible female methods, such as the pill, coil, vaginal ring and the implant, with new ones never ceasing to emerge. On the other hand, when it comes to male contraceptives, the options out there are pretty limited. Mentalities are evo...

"Do you really know?" is Bababam's daily podcast, which helps you understand the words, acronyms, and concepts that are making the news every day. From December 6th to 20th, discover the words that have left their mark on the year, with our 2021 Retrospective. From the "Pandora Papers" affair to the "#QuitMyJob" hashtag and of course the "Long Covid" condition, (re)discover these words that sum up...

What is Ghostbusters? Ghouls and spectres beware, the Ghostbusters are back! Ghostbusters: Afterlife hit cinemas on December 1, 2021. This is the long-awaited fourth film in the saga, which was originally due for release in summer 2020. Wait a minute, give us a bit of background for those of us who aren’t Ghostbusters aficionados. What went wrong? So why take a risk by trying again five years late...

"Do you really know?" is Bababam's daily podcast, which helps you understand the words, acronyms, and concepts that are making the news every day. From December 6th to 20th, discover the words that have left their mark on the year, with our 2021 Retrospective. From the "Pandora Papers" affair to the "#QuitMyJob" hashtag and of course the "Long Covid" condition, (re)discover these words that sum up...

What is an Advent calendar? If you’re anything like us, you’ll have been eagerly waiting for the clock to go past midnight on December 1st to have the first chocolate from this year’s Advent Calendar! These special festive calendars are used to count down to Christmas, all through the month of December. They traditionally offer simple treats like chocolate, but in recent years, holiday shoppers ha...

"Do you really know?" is Bababam's daily podcast, which helps you understand the words, acronyms, and concepts that are making the news every day. From December 6th to 20th, discover the words that have left their mark on the year, with our 2021 Retrospective. From the "Pandora Papers" affair to the "#QuitMyJob" hashtag and of course the "Long Covid" condition, (re)discover these words that sum up...

What is reality shifting? This trend took off among teenagers on both sides of the Atlantic during the first round of lockdowns last year. It found its home on TikTok, all starting out with the #ShiftingRealities hashtag, which went from 170 million views to over a billion in just a few months. Shifting implies moving one’s own consciousness to another alternative reality. It could be very similar...

What is a virus variant region? Another variant of the coronavirus has appeared: the omicron variant. An opportunity to talk about variant viruses again. The Indian variant known as B.1.617 is causing concern in Europe, particularly due to a steep rise in infections since early May. It recently spread into the United Kingdom, where it is currently taking over as the dominant variant. As a result,...

What are fine particles?   According to a European Environment Agency report in November 2021, 307,000 people in the EU died prematurely in 2019 due to fine particle pollution. That number represented a 10% decrease compared to the year before, but that’s not exactly cause for celebration; the figures are still alarming. Fine particle pollution is everywhere, especially in urban areas, and conside...

What is Albedo? The Albedo scale is studied and used in multiple fields like astrology and geology. It actually refers to the reflective power of any surface. The term comes from the Latin word for whiteness, and came into use in the field of optics in 1760. The notion is also significant in climate studies, and the idea of global warming. So how is it calculated? Can you give me any other real li...

What is woofing?   The world is still in the middle of a health crisis. And while travel has resumed with the reopening of borders, more sustainable tourism practices have come to the fore in the past two years. One such example is wwoofing, which started growing in popularity prior to the Covid pandemic. And no, it’s got nothing to do with dogs despite the name! The name is derived from the acron...

What are Yuccies? Thanks for asking! In today’s episode, let’s talk about a term which mixes sociology and lifestyle newspeak. Yuccies is an abbreviation for Young urban creatives.  The term started trending after American journalist David Infante introduced it in an article on Mashable in June 2015. Within weeks, the concept had been covered on many other websites, with the original article being...

What is Fast Fashion? Thanks for asking! Friday, November 19th, 2021, it was Black Friday. The opportunity to come back on the concept of fast fashion. Fast fashion is to fashion what fast food is to dining. That is to say a poor-quality imitation, which everybody criticises but still nevertheless consumes! Adopted by many clothing brands, this strategy consists of regularly bringing out new colle...