Today I Learned

In February 1986, a revolutionary mass revolt in the Philippines led to the downfall of its corrupt and cruel dictator, Ferdinand Marcos. He and his family fled the country. Yet, 36 years later, the Philippines voted in the son of that very same dictator, namely Ferdinand Marcos Jr (also known as Bongbong). So, how did this happen? Dr Maria Atienza, a professor of political science in the Philippi...

Did you know that moral policing women or normalising certain things that men do by chalking it up to “boys will be boys” contributes to violence and sexual assault against women? It’s called Rape Culture. But what exactly is rape culture? Image credit: Ms Jane Campbell/Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The richest person on the planet, Elon Musk, is on the verge of owning Twitter. Mark Zuckerberg owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Billionaires are also behind YouTube. On the surface, these may seem like benign information. But what if we told you that this is dangerous and harmful to you and free speech? Image credit: Frederic Legrand - COMEO/Shutterstock, Twin Design/Shutterstock, Wikimedia...

Healthy Eating can sound scary. Does eating healthy mean no more Nasi Lemak? Does it need to be expensive? Do you have to pick a fancy-sounding diets like “Keto” or “Intermittent Fasting”? Or are these just myths? Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mamak restaurants. They’re everywhere in Malaysia. In fact, they’re a part of our culture. They sell a wide variety of Malaysian food, cater to all races and even televise football matches which brings about massive crowds, especially during the weekend. But how did this unique restaurant concept come to be and how has it contributed to social cohesion in the country? Image credit: Ahmad Fairuzazl...

WWE just concluded its 38th annual Wrestlemania event. The show took place over two days at a packed AT&T Stadium in Texas. More than 130 thousand tickets were sold. In 2015, WrestleMania made the list of most valuable sports brands, even topping the UEFA Champions League. But what on earth is Wrestlemania and why is it such a big deal? Image credit: Wikimedia Commons See omnystudio.com/listen...

Happiness – we all want it, many of us are constantly chasing it, but most of us have no idea what it means to begin with. In this episode, we explore happiness, how it’s different from contentment and how we can go about attaining it. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Economic sanctions. We’ve been hearing this term a lot recently, especially with relation to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. We know that countries are throwing sanctions at Russia in an effort to stop their invasion of Ukraine. But what exactly are sanctions? And how do they work? Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here’s how many people believe elections in Malaysia work: You cast your vote on election day. The party/coalition that amasses more than half of the population’s votes wins and forms the government. But what if we told you that this isn’t the case; That a lot of the time, the party that forms the government, is a party that isn’t popular amongst the people. On this episode, we discuss our First-P...

Feminists hate men and want women to be the dominant gender. Is that true or is that a myth? It’s International Women’s Day today. International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. In light of that, in this episode, we will be busting myths surrounding feminism. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

Russia has invaded Ukraine. Conflict between Russia & the West has reached a boiling point. But what interests lie behind the conflict, and what should be the position of good working-class people? Image credit: Shutterstock & Wikimedia Commons See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Breakups. Not only do they hurt so bad, they’re not easy to overcome. But why? Why is it so difficult to get over breakups and move on, and what can we do about it – How do we get over a breakup? Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Consent means actively agreeing to be sexual with someone. Sexual activity without consent is rape or sexual assault. But what exactly constitutes consent and can it be withdrawn?  Jernell Tan of AWAM joins us to give us the 101 on consent. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’re Malaysian, you’ve probably heard things like “Indians are all gangsters and criminals," or "Indians are alcoholics, drug addicts and wife beaters." But is the concept of the “rowdy Indian criminal” based on facts or are there systemic issues that need addressing? Is it a myth consciously or subconsciously perpetuated to protect the status quo? Image credit: Jagat (2015) & Kabali (201...

Breakups are not easy. They can be unpleasant, uncomfortable and even scary. We all know this. Many of us have experienced it. The question is, why is breaking up so hard, even if we know the person is not right for us? Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wrestling is scripted. The winners and losers are pre-determined and so is the over the top drama, tension and animosity. We all know this – wrestling fans, especially. So, why are millions of people crazy about this crazy, erm, sport? Artform? Entertainment? Image credit: Dashran Yohan Instagram Page See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s the end of the year, so let’s relive some of the best moments from the show in 2021. On this week’s best of, we revisit some of the conversations we had on political economy, media and the likes in the US and Malaysia. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s the end of the year, so we take a look at some of the fun things we’ve learned this year, from ‘why we swear’ to if ‘introverts are antisocial or misunderstood.’ Relive some of the best moments from Today I Learned in 2021. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last month, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and women’s rights activist, Malala Yousafzai’s marriage sparked debate. While many were happy for Malala, many others argued that Malala’s decision to marry is an antithesis to feminism and goes against what she stands for. The question is, is marriage anti-feminist? Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Xenophobia is dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries. We’ve seen this a lot but over the past couple of years during the COVID-19 pandemic, bigotry and prejudice against foreign nationals have only risen. But why are people xenophobic? What role do politicians and capitalism play in it? Image credit: The New Humanitarian Drop here! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

When it comes to the US media, we often bash Fox news for spewing fake news. But what if it isn’t just Fox? What if the entire US media system is broken? And if so, how did it become this way? Asst Prof Peter Beattie, Lecturer in Global Political Economy, joins us to discuss. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons & toppng See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All around the world, people are talking more and more about socialism or left-wing politics, particularly on social media. It is becoming more popular. However, this doesn’t seem to translate into election results. But why, exactly? And what can socialists do about it?   Image credit: flickr.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everyone has a fundamental human right to adequate housing. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of themself and of their family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services.” Yet, Malaysians by and large simply cannot afford to buy a house anymor...

It’s an unfortunate reality that even today, society places so much emphasis on the colour of your skin. People may perceive you as intelligent or stupid based on the colour of your skin, beauty is often tied to a particular colour, and people may even see you as a threat, because of the colour of your skin. And we’re not necessarily talking about race here, or racism, but rather racis...

There has been an increase in chatter about cannabis in recent years, particularly when it comes to legalising medical cannabis? It was recently brought up by Muar MP Syed Saddiq. But should Malaysia legalise medical benefits? And what would be its benefits? Image credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.