Do you really know?

Can carbon farming help us reach net zero by 2050? Reaching carbon net zero by 2050 is one of the main objectives in the struggle against global warming. It’s also part of the Green New Deal the EU agreed upon in 2019. Since the start of 2022, many figures in agriculture have been pushing for a carbon farming policy which would see farmers rewarded for their efforts in sequestering carbon.   How d...

The annual celebration of World Music Day on 21st June is upon us and Do You Really Know? is aiming to strike a chord with listeners. We'll be harping on about music all week long, covering related terms, concepts and famous figures. What is the Mozart Effect? What if listening to 10 minutes of Mozart could increase your IQ? That’s exactly what Frances Raucher and her Californian research team sug...

The annual celebration of World Music Day on 21st June is upon us and Do You Really Know? is aiming to strike a chord with listeners. We'll be harping on about music all week long, covering related terms, concepts and famous figures. What is K-Pop? 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...

How did Where’s Wally become an international phenomenon over the last 35 years? With his red and white hooped jumper, round glasses and funny hat, our man Wally is easy to recognise, but much more difficult to find! Anyone who’s read through one of his books will tell you that. And that’s a lot of people, given that as of 2007, 73 million copies had been sold. As the series turns 35 years old, le...

The annual celebration of World Music Day on 21st June is upon us and Do You Really Know? is aiming to strike a chord with listeners. We'll be harping on about music all week long, covering related terms, concepts and famous figures. Who are Oasis?   On August 10th 1996, Oasis drew over 250,000 fans to their gigs on two consecutive nights at Knebworth Park. Much like the band, these record-breakin...

What is art nouveau and how did it flourish around the turn of the 20th century? This aesthetic movement dominated many artistic fields in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was influenced by nature and used trademark organic shapes and sinuous lines, moving away from previous limits to create new kinds of design objects. Let’s take a few minutes to reflect on where art nouveau came from,...

The annual celebration of World Music Day on 21st June is upon us and Do You Really Know? is aiming to strike a chord with listeners. We'll be harping on about music all week long, covering related terms, concepts and famous figures. Who are Abba? A full forty years after their last LP “The Visitors”, Abba have only gone and released a new album! That’s right, with Voyage now available for downloa...

What are subliminals? If you listen to some people out there, they’ll tell you you can improve your self-esteem, change your eye colour, or become a mermaid simply by viewing or listening to certain clips on Youtube. Sounds far-fetched right? Well, the idea is based on subliminal messaging, so let’s discuss how realistic it is. It’s important to distinguish between audio and visual subliminals. Th...

What is sadfishing? Since the advent of social media, we’ve gotten used to seeing highlight reels of people’s lives on our newsfeeds. But in recent years, people have been more and more willing to share posts about moments of sadness, rather than acting like everything’s perfect all the time. More authentic, or simply another veiled form of attention seeking and like hunting? The practice has been...

What is Jurassic Park? The recently released Jurassic World Dominion concludes the storyline which first started out in the original Jurassic Park trilogy, from 1993 onwards. Reviews of the latest film have so far been poor, but that won’t take anything away from the legendary franchise’s legacy. Let’s look back at some of the main talking points and secrets behind Jurassic Park. How did Jurassic...

Today is the World Blood Donor Day. This event brings awarness on the importance to donate blood and it encourages people to become a donor. What is the World Health Organization? The World Health Organization is a United Nations agency that is responsible for international public health. In the case of a global health pandemic, such as the ongoing Coronavirus crisis, the WHO has a central role in...

What are carbon bombs? The controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline project moved one step closer to construction in March 2022, with the signing of a $10 billions Final Investment Decision between French multinational Total Energies and its joint venture partners. The pipeline is set to become the longest in the world, at 1000 miles long, and will transport petrol from Uganda to the Tanzania...

What are umbrella species? Within an ecosystem there are many different species, and it can be difficult for conservationists to come up with specific strategies to protect every single one of them. That’s why some have started focusing on umbrella species, because of the benefits that protecting them has for other co-occurring species. It’s as if they’re putting an umbrella over the entire surrou...

What is rewilding? Over the history of life on planet Earth, there have been five mass extinction events, due to changing sea temperatures, volcano eruptions and the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. And now experts fear a sixth mass extinction is underway, this time directly linked to human activity. According to a study published in Biological Review in January 2022, 10% of the plane...

What is 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 began its invasion of Ukraine. Between now and the end of the year, the Union’s 27 member states will cut imports of Russian oil by 90%. Russia is one of the three biggest oil producers in the world, after Saudi Arabia and the United States. The embargo...

What is low tech? In the struggle against climate change, politicians are getting behind technological innovation. But some experts believe that, rather than high-tech, we should instead be banking on the simple, robust and reparable solutions offered by low tech. The all-powerful nature of high-tech has been called into question for decades, with regular controversies and debates on subjects like...

What is Tetris? 6th June sees the anniversary of one of the most successful and addictive video games of all time: Tetris! Pretty much everyone is familiar with the game concept: it involves moving and rotating falling shapes to form gapless lines which then disappear. In theory you can carry on ad infinitum, but the shapes fall faster and faster the longer you play, thereby increasing the difficu...

What is the thyroid? This small butterfly-shaped gland is situated at the bottom of the neck, wrapped around the windpipe. It plays an important role in a number of bodily functions, but isn’t as well known as it should be. According to The American Thyroid Association, over 12% of the country’s population will develop a thyroid disorder at some point in their life. Many people are actually unawar...

What is mental load? Mental load, or emotional labour, is a sociological concept often relating to the daily management of a household. Research has shown that within traditional families, the strain of mental load is more often than not taken on by women. It’s become a feminist issue due to this imbalance. Early discussions relating to mental load date back to the 1980s. Sociologists noted how wo...

What is asthma? According to figures published in the Lancet in 2020, asthma had affected around 260 million people the previous year, causing 455,000 deaths. The condition can’t be cured, but with the right management it can be kept under control, so people with asthma can still lead active lives. Asthma symptoms are brought on by inflammation of the respiratory system, and more specifically the...

What is Stranger Things? On 27th May 2022, one of Netflix’s most iconic shows made a long-awaited return. Many series and films were delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and Stranger Things was no exception. But the fourth season is now available for streaming, and has already broken a Netflix record, with 287 million viewing hours on its opening weekend. Let’s discuss how the series, which was f...

What is ecological debt? With World Environment Day coming up on 5th June 2022, let’s take a moment to consider a concept which highlights both the scale of the climate crisis and inequalities between different areas of the world. Discussions around ecological debt are closely linked to that of overshoot and the overuse of planet Earth's resources. As regular listeners know, humans have now long b...

What is a zombie company ? If you’ve ever seen horror movies, you’ll know that when you see a zombie, you should start running! Well, the term is also used in the world of business to describe companies which are hugely indebted and only able to pay their fixed costs and interest, but not actually able to reduce the debt itself. Much like the horror film creatures, you could say these companies ar...

What is gender dysphoria? Gender dysphoria describes the unease that people can feel when there is a mismatch between their biological sex and gender identity. So for example a person with male genitals and facial hair might not identify as a man. This unease can cause depression and anxiety in some cases, and have a real impact on a person’s daily life. How is this label different from more commo...

What is monkeypox ? This viral infection gets its name from first being discovered among lab monkeys in Denmark in 1958, although its natural reservoir remains unknown. It’s a cousin of the now eradicated smallpox virus. The first human infections date back to 1970 and cases are rare, occurring mainly in central and Western Africa, where the virus is endemic. Until recently, the only four identifi...