Do you really know?

What is impostor syndrome? Thanks for asking! Impostor syndrome is a psychological phenomenon which causes many high achievers to feel like frauds who haven’t really earned their success. Those affected think their accomplishments are simply down to luck, or other factors out of their control.  Up to 70% of people are affected by impostor syndrome at some point in their life, according to the Jour...

What are minks? Thanks for asking! After the pangolin, another kind of animal is getting increased attention due to Covid-19. That’s right, we’re talking about minks, which were recently culled in their millions in Denmark following an outbreak of the Cluster 5 coronavirus strain.  The fear is that this particular strain, hosted by minks, could prove resistant to vaccines being developed. French a...

What is a mixtape? Thanks for asking! Not as long as a studio album, but longer than an EP, a mixtape is a collection of music from one or more artists, which is usually released free of charge and with little notice. This format came from hip hop culture and is now being used more widely in pop music too, increasing creativity within the music industry. The name mixtape refers to the cassettes on...

What is the circular economy? Thanks for asking! The circular economy is an economic system where all resources are continually used and nothing is wasted. Goods and services are produced in such a way that primary resources are preserved as far as possible. European policy aims to support the transition towards a circular economy, but it requires significant change. The concept of a circular econ...

What is a unicorn? Thanks for asking! A unicorn is a privately-owned start up company valued at over $1bn when launched on the stock market. That’s right, we’re not talking about mythical animals, but economy and finance! The term was popularised in 2013 by venture capitalist Aileen Lee, with the choice of word reflecting the rarity of such success stories. Even more rare are decacorns and hectaco...

What is Tourette’s Syndrome? Thanks for asking! Tourette’s syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder which usually begins in childhood. It’s estimated that around 1% of all school-age children and teenagers have Tourette’s, with boys several times more likely to be affected than girls. The main symptoms are involuntary sounds and movements known as tics. Some examples of physical tics are blinking...

What is Cluster 5? Thanks for asking!   At the start of November, the World Health Organisation announced that six countries had reported COVID-19 cases in mink farms. These include Denmark, which is the world’s biggest producer of mink fur, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Italy and the United States. This development led Denmark to take the radical decision of culling all 15 million minks in the...

What are microplastics? Thanks for asking! There are tiny fragments of plastic pretty much everywhere in the ocean, in the ground and inside animals, including humans! These are known as microplastics, and their potential impact on human health and the environment is a cause for concern. Microplastics aren’t a specific type of plastic per se. The term is used to refer to any fragments which are un...

What is cultural appropriation? Thanks for asking!  Think of Katy Perry in her video for This Is How We Do, Madonna in a traditional Berber outfit at the 2018 VMA awards, or Adele with her hair in Bantu knots to mark Notting Hill Carnival. That’s right, we’re talking about cultural appropriation in today’s episode. It’s a practice which has caused regular controversy in the world of pop culture. M...

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...