Do you really know?

From 2nd to 8th May 2022, it's time to unplug for the annual Screen Free Week celebration. All around the world, people are encouraged to limit their screen time and turn their devices off in favour of other activities. Do You Really Know is rerunning a series of episodes dedicated to the digital world and its impact on our lives. What is a digital detox? A digital detox is a period of time when a...

What are the Puppy Blues? You’ve no doubt already heard of the baby blues, a nice-sounding euphemism for the rather unpleasant postpartum depression. Well, some new pet owners have started talking of puppy blues in the same way, to describe the sadness they sometimes feel after adopting a new furry companion. The puppy blues might be behind increased animal abandonment rates during the summer. Add...

What is a home exchange? If you’re the kind of person that plans ahead, you’ve probably already got your summer holidays booked months ahead of time. Nevertheless, holidays are always pricey, with Europeans spending an average budget of €1600 over the last 3 years according to Statista. For those of us who are lucky enough to be able to travel, let’s not take it for granted. It’s a privilege, whic...

What is the PKK? On 19th April, Turkey launched Operation Claw Lock, an air and ground military offensive against PKK forces, in the North of Iraq. The Turkish defence minister justified the country’s actions, saying that the PKK was planning a large-scale attack against Turkey. However, the Iraqi president Barham Salih criticised Operation Claw Lock, calling it a threat to his country’s national...

What is the Tower of Babel? The subject of today’s episode is often referred to when people aren’t able to understand one another. It’s an origin myth which comes from the book of Genesis in the Bible. Who wrote about the Tower of Babel? Did the Tower of Babel really exist? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: What is the Streisand effec...

What is induced lactation? Induced lactation refers to the production of breast milk in non-gestational parents. That’s right, a woman who hasn’t ever been pregnant can still breastfeed their child using this method. Sounds complicated? Well it is, but it’s not impossible, and it can allow adoptive or surrogate mothers to breastfeed if they desire.  What about men? Could they also lactate and brea...

What is the Streisand effect? Entertainment icon Barbra Streisand celebrated her 80th birthday on 24th April 2022. The actress, director, producer and musician has been in the public eye since the age of 20 and belongs to a very select group known as EGOT winners. That means she’s won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. Her dazzling career has seen her sell over 150 million albums worldwide, a...

What is antibiotic-free meat? You may not have realised, but when you’re eating a chicken leg or steak, you may also be consuming antibiotics. That’s still the case despite a growing trend of not using antibiotics, due to the dangers posed by antibiorestistance.  Recent research by Food ID found that animals at some American livestock farms tested positive for antibiotics, despite having been labe...

What is the Chernobyl exclusion zone? It’s just over 36 years since the worst nuclear disaster in history. On April 26th 1986, reactor number 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. Following the accident, an exclusion zone of around 1,000m2 was established by the Soviet army.  It covers the areas most affected by radioactive contamination, including the city Prypiat situated 2 miles away...

What is a migraine? These pulsing headaches are known for affecting quality of life in a high number of people. They’re one of the most common disorders in the world, with the WHO suggesting at least 1 in 7 people have migraines across the world. If you’re lucky enough not to get migraines, don't underestimate how debilitating they can be for some people. They’re far from being simple headaches. W...

What is critical thinking? Critical thinking is the intellectual process of evaluating information, thinking clearly and rationally as a guide to belief and action. You could see it as an attitude whereby no statement or piece of information is accepted as true or false, without first being carefully analysed. Simplistic conflations, generalisations and preconceptions are all challenged, as is any...

What is The Office? It has gained revived popularity since the dawn of the streaming era, becoming the most watched series on Netflix US in 2020, with 57 billion minutes streamed. But the Office was already a new generation sitcom classic well before making its way onto the platform. The first episode was released on NBC back in May 2005. What made The Office stand out? How did the US version go o...

What is deep ecology? Today is Earth Day, so let’s talk about a philosophy that promotes the worth of all living beings on our planet, regardless of whether they cater to our human needs. Deep ecology was theorised by Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess in the 1970. He published his original paper on the subject in a 1973 edition of Inquiry journal. The article was entitled “The Shallow and the Deep,...

Earth Day falls on 22nd April, and to mark this important date, Do You Really Know is rerunning a series of episodes about environmental issues affecting our planet. Let's take a refresher on some of the terms and concepts you need to be familiar with, in order to understand climate change. Happy listening! What is solastalgia? Solastalgia is the distress we feel when our local environment is tran...

What is Seinfeld?    Let’s talk about American TV’s most lucrative sitcom ever, a show which generated over $3bn. To give you some more numbers, it lasted 9 years from 1989 through to 1998, taking in 9 seasons and 180 twenty-three minute episodes. A 2012 poll by Vanity Fair magazine declared Seinfeld the best sitcom of all time, but in Europe, it has never managed to match the success and populari...

What is environmental amnesia? Why are we so slow to become aware of climate change and act against it? The explanation may lie in our brains, which are affected by environmental amnesia. This term was invented in 1999 by American psychologist Peter H. Khan. He theorised that humans were forgetting the history of the environment, or more accurately becoming used to its degradation from generation...

What is a troll farm? Trolls have been around for as long as the internet, but in recent years they've been getting professionalised. Indeed, companies have actually been set up with the specific aim of creating and spreading fake news online. Such organisations are known as troll farms or troll factories, and Russia has been home to some of the most prominent. Based in the city of St Petersburg,...

Earth Day falls on 22nd April, and to mark this important date, Do You Really Know is rerunning a series of episodes about environmental issues affecting our planet. Let's take a refresher on some of the terms and concepts you need to be familiar with, in order to understand climate change. Happy listening! What is the Green New Deal? The Green New Deal is a proposed package of legislation in the...

What is the perineum? The perineum is a surface region of the body which stretches from the pubic arch to the coccyx. It's actually kind of like a hammock, in that it supports our organs, including the rectum and bladder, as well as the vagina and uterus for women. It's also useful at absorbing impact. When it's fully functional, the perineum tenses and relaxes like any muscle. The problem is it t...

Earth Day falls on 22nd April, and to mark this important date, Do You Really Know is rerunning a series of episodes about environmental issues affecting our planet. Let's take a refresher on some of the terms and concepts you need to be familiar with, in order to understand climate change. Happy listening! What is an ecocide? An ecocide is a term for an act that causes significant damage to the e...

What is melatonin? The hormone melatonin is produced naturally by the body at nighttime, in response to darkness. It's nicknamed the sleep hormone due to its role in our Circadian rhythm, getting us ready to go to sleep in the evening. It's secreted by the pineal gland, located at the back of the brain, and then released into the bloodstream. In the morning, another hormone called cortisol takes o...

Earth Day falls on 22nd April, and to mark this important date, Do You Really Know is rerunning a series of episodes about environmental issues affecting our planet. Let's take a refresher on some of the terms and concepts you need to be familiar with, in order to understand climate change. Happy listening! What is biomass? Biomass is organic matter, mainly coming from plants or animals, used for...

Earth Day falls on 22nd April, and to mark this important date, Do You Really Know is rerunning a series of episodes about environmental issues affecting our planet. Let's take a refresher on some of the terms and concepts you need to be familiar with, in order to understand climate change. Happy listening! What is carbon footprint? Postponed for a year because of Covid-19, COP26 meets in Scotland...

What is war rape? In a report published on 3rd April, international NGO Human Rights Watch made allegations of "war crimes" carried out by Russian soldiers against civilians in occupied areas of Ukraine. These included executions, violence, threats and war rape, which is the subject of today’s episode. Since the start of the war, accounts have begun to emerge, with the truth being brought to light...

Earth Day falls on 22nd April, and to mark this important date, Do You Really Know is rerunning a series of episodes about environmental issues affecting our planet. Let's take a refresher on some of the terms and concepts you need to be familiar with, in order to understand climate change. Happy listening! What is carbon neutrality? All over the world, states are committing to reaching carbon neu...