Do you really know?

Every year in May, film stars and fans flock to the French city of Cannes for a 10-day celebration of cinema, or as it’s referred to in the host country, “the seventh art”. This year though, the festival the festival will take place from May 13th to 24th 2025. Already at the time of recording there have been a number of attention-grabbing moments, including a hero’s welcome for Tom Cruise, who rec...

Ever cringe after listening to a voice note you just sent—wondering how your voice could possibly sound that high-pitched or nasal? You’re not imagining it, and you’re definitely not alone. The phenomenon is called voice confrontation, and it comes down to how we hear ourselves differently than everyone else. When you speak, you hear your voice through both air and bone conduction, which makes it...

Coffee purists tend to look down on the likes of the latte, cappuccino and mocha, suggesting that only black coffee is the real deal. They often double down by saying that drinking coffee with milk causes bloating and messes with digestion. But a recent study from the University of Copenhagen found that it might actually be beneficial for our health, after all. How so? Is the link proven then? It...

Data published by YouGov in August 2022 showed that as of the previous month, Britons were using a whopping £3.5bn worth of overdrafted funds from their bank accounts. Each month, between 25% and 30% of people dip into their overdrafts, generally just for a few days leading up to payday. It’s hardly surprising with the ongoing cost of living crisis and energy bills rising rapidly. If you’re one of...

Ever wonder whether gold is really the “safe haven” everyone says it is? With so much talk of inflation, market crashes, and economic uncertainty, it’s no surprise investors often turn to precious metals. Gold has captivated humanity for thousands of years—and for good reason. It holds its value, is easy to trade globally, and isn’t tied to any single currency or economy. But it’s not all glitter:...

Surprising as it may seem, balance is more important than you might think. In September of 2022 the British Journal of Sports Medicine published the results of a ten year study which involved more than 1,700 middle-aged participants. They concluded that not being able to balance was associated with an almost twofold increase in risk of death.  Volunteers were asked to stand on one leg with their a...

As we enter 2023, we’re desperately looking for ways to combat human-induced climate change. It’s a worthy cause, but it’s clear that some irreversible effects have already happened, and that will continue for some time.  So it would be foolish not to prepare for the reality of living on a planet which has undergone significant warming. There’s relatively little known about how our bodies will rea...

“You’re hot and you’re cold, you're yes then you're no, you're in then you're out, you're up then you're down.”  So goes Katy Perry’s hit single Hot n Cold back in 2008, talking about a romantic relationship which is unstable due to one of the partner’s mood swings. Maybe you yourself have been with someone like that in the past. They would shower you with attention one day, only to ghost you the...

When it comes to news about the environment, it can feel like everything is doom and gloom. But we recently discussed how some people’s climate anxiety has turned into climate optimism of late, and that’s a trend that could continue this year. One piece of good news relates to depletion of the ozone layer. You may well have heard of the so-called “hole” in the ozone layer. Well, the name is a litt...

First there were screw top wines, then wine in boxes and now the latest alternative is wine in cans. Although it’s still relatively niche, it's a fast growing market, making up around 10 % of overall wine sales in the US according to the Food Science and Human Nutrition Department at the University of Florida. Glass bottles, according to a 2014 study by the Wine Institute, an industry association...

Charles Darwin once wrote that “Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge”, and real-life situations which reflect that are all too common. To cite just one prominent example, in January 1995, American men MacArthur Wheeler and Clifton Earl Johnson were arrested after carrying out coordinated bank robberies in the state of Pennsylvania. Incredibly, they didn’t bother wearing...

Scandi lifestyle trends have been all the rage for a number of years now. Regular listeners may remember we’ve talked about Hygge and lagom on the show in the past. Well here’s another one from Sweden. Fika is basically a short break with friends, family or colleagues sharing a moment together while enjoying a hot beverage. On the face of it, the concept might sound pretty mundane, but it’s a real...

Today, we’re talking about a new phenomenon that affects social interactions. Phubbing is something we've all likely experienced or done ourselves at some point. The term is a portmanteau of "phone" and "snubbing", and refers to the act of looking at your phone instead of paying attention to someone else in a social situation. It’s becoming increasingly common as our reliance on our mobile devices...

It might seem like just a loud (and annoying) habit, but snoring can sometimes be a sign of deeper health issues—including sleep apnea, stroke risk, and even long-term brain damage. In this episode, we break down why snoring happens, what it means for your health, and what evidence-based tips can actually help you or your partner stop. Why do some people snore more than others? Can snoring really...

Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world, with an average of 98 million cups consumed in the UK every day, according to the British Coffee Association. In moderation, there are plenty of benefits to be gained from drinking coffee, but there can also be some negative side effects, in particular due to its caffeine content. Decaf is an alternative, but is it really healthier? Our bodies...

As summer heats up, deodorant becomes a faithful ally. But this product can be very dangerous. On May 2022 a 14 year old girl, Giorgia Green, died from inhaling deodorant. The teenager, who was on the autistic spectrum, liked to spray deodorant on her blankets as she found the smell comforting. "The smell of it gave her a certain sense of relaxation," said her father. Sadly her cause of death was...

Gold has dazzled humans for thousands of years—but does that ancient allure make it a smart place to put your money today? In this episode, we dig into the facts: why gold is seen as a safe haven during economic crises, how it can diversify your investment portfolio, and what hidden risks come with it—like price volatility, storage costs, and lack of income. We also bust the myths around “get-rich...

According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of smokers in the UK is estimated at 6.6 million. The proportion has been steadily dropping for years now. Given the health risks, you’d think smokers would be delighted to give up, but the prospect of putting on weight is a cause of concern for many. To be fair, it i’s a well-founded fear to some extent. In 2014, Addiction journal report...

As 2021 draws to close, let’s discuss a word which has become more and more widespread in the United States at the end of the year. This contemptible practice was called out by young woman Megan Mapes on TikTok in October 2021. She had herself been a victim of hogging in an American college. The sexist and fat phobic ritual has caught on in some fraternities in the US. Male students compete to hav...

Daylight saving time (DST) It’s the practice of advancing your clocks by one hour during the spring and summer months, and then turning them back in the autumn and winter. The idea is to make better use of natural daylight and save energy. But some people question if it really works and if there are any advantages to us at all.   Daylight saving time was first proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1784...

Ever walk away from a date or social event wondering, “Did they even like me?” You’re not alone—and the answer might not be what you think. Psychologists call it the liking gap: the tendency we all have to assume people like us less than they actually do. It’s common in dating, new friendships, and even in fresh work environments. But here’s the kicker—this self-doubt can sabotage potential relati...

Have you ever noticed a man explaining something to a woman in a supremely confident way which suggests he absolutely knows more than her about the subject? Well, there’s a term for that, which is mansplaining. A recent thread on parenting forum Mumsnet invited women to share their worst examples of mansplaining. Among them were patronising explanations of the offside rule, a gas man telling a qua...

Most of us have that pile of clothes in limbo—not quite dirty, not quite clean. But do we actually need to wash our clothes as often as we do? The answer might surprise you. A rise in laundry loads in the UK has led to more water usage, higher energy bills, and more microplastic pollution. Synthetic fabrics, in particular, shed microfibres during washes. But experts say we could cut down—jeans, fo...

The idea of carbon footprint dates back to the early 2000s and ironically was introduced by oil giant BP. But recently, a new concept was created: the climate change shadow. It's a relatively recent addition to the ever growing list of terms relating to climate change. American writer Emma Pattee introduced the idea of the climate shadow in a blog post for Mic.com in December 2021, as a more compr...

For many people, asserting themselves at work is a real challenge. There’s a lot of possible reasons for that, including stress, anxiety, new responsibilities, deadlines, personal issues or a lack of self-confidence for example. But there is an active congitive strategy, actually a pretty simple one, based on the psychological concept of "self-distancing," that could help you overcome these obstac...