Do you really know?

All week long we're looking at the 10 words that will be on everyone's lips in 2023. If, like us, you're a fan of Netflix series Black Mirror, you’ll remember that several episodes are set in a near future where technology allows humans to have fully immersive experiences. Where the sensations felt in the virtual world are identical to those in the real world.  Of course Black Mirror is sci-fi, bu...

All week long we're looking at the 10 words that will be on everyone's lips in 2023. Every year, linguists at Oxford University choose a Word of the Year and in 2022, they allowed the public to vote on the winner for the first time. The 340,000 English speakers who voted were given three choices: metaverse, the #IStandWith hashtag and, drumroll please, the eventual runaway winner…Goblin Mode. The...

A European Union embargo against maritime shipments of crude oil from Russia went into effect on the 5th of December 2022, along with a price cap agreed to by the Group of Seven leading industrialized economies and Australia. Listen to our rerun episode about the Russian Oil Embargo. The EU unanimously took this decisive measure on the night of 30th May 2022, a little over 3 months since Russia be...

No doubt you’ve realised that some types of food have a boosting effect, like eggs, oats and avocado for example. That’s because they contain tyrosine, an amino acid which is a precursor to dopamine, making them an ideal breakfast option. At the other end of the scale, some foods are better suited for preparing our bodies to go to sleep, by bringing on certain chemical reactions. In terms of what...

In early December 2022, German authorities carried out a sting operation on the neo-Nazi Reichsburger group that was plotting to overthrow the country’s government through a coup. It was one of Germany’s biggest ever counterterror operations, seeing 3000 police officers make 300 raids across 11 regions of the country, and led to a total of 25 arrests. The so-called Citizens of the Reich are just o...

You might be surprised to learn that how we use our electric devices can make real changes to our energy consumption and our bills. So here are some simple tips to help you change your habits and save on your energy bills.  Let’s start with leaving appliances on standby. Many appliances use energy even when they are on standby. Chargers still draw power even if the device is not connected, media p...

OCD stands for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Contrary to popular opinion, we’re not just talking about irritating little quirks. The condition profoundly affects the patient's mind, behaviour, and emotions. It all starts in the brain. Patients get intrusive thoughts that become obsessive over time. The more you hold on to these thoughts, the more anxiety you experience. OCD patients may even beli...

If you’ve ever felt strangely sad after having sex, you may have wondered what on earth was wrong with you. After all, we’re supposed to lie around in a haze or cuddle up to our partner in a state of post-orgasmic bliss, every single time. At least that’s what popular culture would have us believe. But rest assured, if that’s not the case for you, you’re not alone. Indeed, a lot of people have exp...

According to the British Snoring and Sleep Apnea Association, 41% of the UK population snore, which means there are approximately 15 million snorers in the country. That in turn means 30 million people are affected by snoring, given that the noises can prove disturbing to a partner or family member’s sleep. Of course when we breathe, oxygen passes through our nose, then behind the palate to reach...

For many new year’s is a great time to take a look at your life and make some changes. Unfortunately, According to the time management firm FranklinCovey, one third of resolutions fail before the end of January.  There are three main reasons resolutions fail. Firstly, resolutions made because of what you think you ‘ought’ to do, are not likely to succeed. Next, being too vague and finally not havi...

Here we are just a few days into 2023! Have you made, or perhaps already broken, any New Year’s resolutions? Well, it’s not too late to get involved. There are plenty of good initiatives out there and here’s one which is designed to help you stick to a resolution for a full month, or at least try something new. The Veganuary challenge is pretty easy to understand. It’s a contraction of the words “...

You’re most likely familiar with the concept of Dry January, which started out in the UK in 2013 and has since become hugely popular. It involves not consuming a single drop of alcohol for the whole month of January. In 2022, record participation numbers were recorded, with over 130,000 people signing up with Alcohol Change to take part. On average, British people drink 9.8 litres of pure alcohol...

We all know that the effects of tobacco on the human body are devastating. The World Health Organisation says that it kills more than 8 million people each year, making it one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever seen. It’s hardly surprising when you consider that cigarettes contain over 4,000 chemical substances, and at least 50 of them are carcinogens, meaning they are linked...

Have you noticed more of your friends talking about their star signs of late? Maybe they try to guess the sign of people they meet, or come out with unexpected references to “Mercury in retrograde” or “Saturn return” over dinner. Maybe you’re into it yourself; and you have an app which sends you horoscope notifications all day long. It wasn’t so long ago that most people would just read horoscopes...

"Dear you, spending painful days pretending to be okay for someone else. You don't need to tell us everything... but how about just a little of it?" Imagine you’re in the bathroom at uni and you notice a message like that printed on the toilet roll. Pretty weird right?! Well that’s exactly the situation students in the Yamanashi region of Japan found themselves in, when authorities rolled out thei...

Heading out to celebrate the New Year can be great fun, but it can also be stressful, crowded and expensive. And it is not always possible you might live far from a town, have little children and no babysitter or maybe you are just not feeling up to it. Whatever the reason, here are some tips on how to ring in the new year from the comfort of your own home but still have fun!  Being at home does n...

Do You Really Know, Bababam's daily podcast, helps you understand the true meaning behind the trends, concepts and acronyms that are making headlines. This week, we're looking back at 10 words and phrases that have been on everyone's lips in 2022. From the Uber Files leak to "shrinkflation" in stores or "quiet quitting" at work, refresh your memory on some of the events and phenomena that best sum...

If you’re a big social media user, you’ve likely seen an influx of illustrated selfies on your feeds in the last month or so. All of a sudden, your friends started posting self-portraits showing them transformed into fairy princesses, anime characters or astronauts. These impressive images might look like works of art, as if they’ve been carefully hand-crafted by hand. But they’re actually the res...

In our increasingly urbanised world, it’s important to make time for reconnecting with nature. The latest study to grab our attention in this area was conducted by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health and published in December 2022. It looked into the so-called 3-30-300 rule, which was theorised by Spanish forest researcher Cecil Konijnendijk in 2021.  It's made up of three criteria, which ea...

It’s great to be remembered by friends, colleagues, and family at Christmas, but despite people’s best intentions, they don't always get you what you want. So now the festive season is over and the wrapping is off it might be time to take some of those gifts back rather than let them gather dust in a cupboard.  If you bought something, in-store or online and it is faulty then by law you can get a...

Do You Really Know, Bababam's daily podcast, helps you understand the true meaning behind the trends, concepts and acronyms that are making headlines. This week, we're looking back at 10 words and phrases that have been on everyone's lips in 2022. From the Uber Files leak to "shrinkflation" in stores or "quiet quitting" at work, refresh your memory on some of the events and phenomena that best sum...

Distractions in the workplace are almost endless, from Slack group notifications to questions from colleagues to the dozen or more tabs you’ve got open in your browser. By the time your next meeting comes along, you realise two hours have passed and you’ve barely done any productive work at all.  Sound familiar? Thankfully there’s a method to improve your efficiency and concentration which may hel...

Do You Really Know, Bababam's daily podcast, helps you understand the true meaning behind the trends, concepts and acronyms that are making headlines. This week, we're looking back at 10 words and phrases that have been on everyone's lips in 2022. From the Uber Files leak to "shrinkflation" in stores or "quiet quitting" at work, refresh your memory on some of the events and phenomena that best sum...

Christmas festivities often go hand in hand with overindulgence, in the form of large servings of roast dinner, yummy pudding and alcohol consumption. That can result in heartburn, a condition which despite the terrifying sounding name, is usually relatively harmless.  It’s a burning sensation felt in the chest, behind the breastbone, which explains where the name comes from. But it’s actually dow...

Do You Really Know, Bababam's daily podcast, helps you understand the true meaning behind the trends, concepts and acronyms that are making headlines. This week, we're looking back at 10 words and phrases that have been on everyone's lips in 2022. From the Uber Files leak to "shrinkflation" in stores or "quiet quitting" at work, refresh your memory on some of the events and phenomena that best sum...