Well-Informed & Open-Minded

Whole-body deodorant is having a moment in America—and it’s changing how people think about smell. In this episode, we explore the rise of sprays and creams designed for everywhere from feet to groin, driven by aggressive marketing from big brands and a surge in anxiety about body odour. We unpack why most of these products mask scent rather than stop sweat, why doctors warn about irritation and o...

China has always been obsessed with long life—from Qin Shi Huang’s doomed search for immortality to today’s biotech boom—and now that ancient dream is being rebooted with modern science. In this episode, we explore China’s fast-growing longevity industry, where state money, private startups and elite consumers are pouring into anti-ageing pills, clinics and research promising to slow, halt or even...

America’s war on drugs is starting to look a lot like its war on terror. In this episode, we examine Washington’s turn toward military force in Latin America—reviving old naval bases, deploying destroyers, fighter jets, and drones, and rebranding drug gangs as “narco-terrorists” to justify air strikes. Inspired by counter-terror playbooks from the post-9/11 era, the strategy promises toughness but...

India’s skies are getting busier—while China’s are quietly emptying. In this episode, we explore a sharp reversal in Asia’s private jet market, where China’s fleet has shrunk amid a property crash, zero-COVID hangovers, and a political crackdown on flashy wealth, even as India sees a full-blown boom. A new class of super-rich Indians is buying jets not to show off, but to get things done—flying fr...

Tech hype has a familiar rhythm: wild excitement, inflated promises, and then a sharp comedown. In this episode, we unpack why every new innovation—from blockchain and NFTs to the metaverse and now artificial intelligence—seems destined to ride the same hype cycle. We explore how moments like the launch of ChatGPT ignite genuine breakthroughs but also tempt founders to overpromise, risking credibi...

Evangelical Christianity is staging an unlikely comeback inside Britain’s most traditional church. In this episode, we explore how the Church of England is fighting decades of decline by “planting” new, youth-oriented congregations inspired by Holy Trinity Brompton—swapping organs and robes for live bands, casual dress, and even craft beer. These churches are drawing hundreds of young worshippers,...

City grids may look boring, but they quietly shaped the modern world. In this episode, we trace the rise of the rectilinear grid—from Renaissance Italy and the Spanish Laws of the Indies to Manhattan, colonial capitals, and purpose-built cities like Brasília and New Delhi. We explore why straight lines, square blocks, and central plazas proved so irresistible to empires, planners, and real-estate...

More than 2,000 years ago, China’s first emperor set out to conquer death itself. In this episode, we explore the Terracotta Army—over 8,000 life-sized clay soldiers buried to guard Qin Shi Huangdi in the afterlife. Discovered accidentally by farmers in 1974, the vast underground force reveals a ruler so obsessed with immortality that he recreated his empire beneath the earth, complete with genera...

In parts of rural South Korea, the future of public transport costs just nine cents. In this episode, we look at the “100-won taxi”—a heavily subsidized ride service created to replace disappearing bus routes in aging, shrinking villages. As younger residents move to cities, elderly people are left isolated, struggling to reach clinics, markets, and community spaces. These ultra-cheap taxis have b...

Singapore is getting wilder—and that’s both a triumph and a test. In this episode, we explore the city-state’s unexpected urban wildlife renaissance, as otters, hornbills, parrots and even the occasional tapir reclaim spaces in one of the world’s densest cities. Fueled by decades of environmental cleanup, green corridors, and restored waterways, animals once threatened or gone are now thriving alo...

Britain’s £3 bus-fare cap has been a rare political hit—popular with passengers and hailed as proof that public transport can be affordable again. But in this episode, we explore why the policy also exposes a contradiction at the heart of Labour’s promise to devolve power. By imposing a blunt national cap, the government undercuts local control just as cities like Manchester fight to rebuild their...

Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa is centuries old—but it’s having a very modern moment. In this episode, we trace how a traditional Chinese cough syrup first brewed in the 1600s has gone global, with sales surging thanks to TikTok “biohacking,” celebrity endorsements, and viral tutorials in the West. We explore why ancient remedies suddenly feel appealing in a digital wellness age—and how trade tariffs and geo...

Latin may be fading from most British classrooms, but its mystique is alive and well. In this episode, we explore why a language barely spoken for centuries still carries such powerful social prestige in England—from its history as a “smug social shibboleth” for the elite to its lingering aura of cleverness that novelist Evelyn Waugh once weaponized for snobbery. We trace how universities eventual...

In this episode, we step inside the quiet, intricate world of American death care—seen through the practiced hands of veteran embalmer Shawn’te Harvell. While his craft restores an “illusion of life” for grieving families, the industry around him is rapidly changing: cremation is now the norm, green burials are rising, and the chemical rituals that defined 20th-century funerals are losing ground....

Chinese youth are embracing xiexiu —a playful, “heretical” approach to life that swaps burnout culture for ingenious shortcuts. In this episode, we explore how these quirky hacks, now racking up billions of views on Douyin and Xiaohongshu, offer a middle path between the punishing 996 grind and the passive resistance of “lying flat.” Born from economic frustration, high housing costs, and stalled...

Baby Boomers are aging—but not into the quiet, cardigan-wearing archetype many expect. This episode dives into the startling rise of risky, often reckless behavior among older adults in wealthy countries, from surging alcohol and drug misuse to unexpected spikes in STDs and even higher involvement in crime and political violence. While younger generations grow more cautious, Boomers—buoyed by fina...

At first glance, the viral jokes about “naan Mandarin” on Chinese social media seem like harmless regional parody—but they reveal something deeper and far more fraught. In this episode, we unpack how memes mocking the Mandarin accents of Uyghurs, like the now-infamous “Apple U,” blur quickly into prejudice in a region already shaped by surveillance, suspicion, and cultural tension. We trace the li...

Professional tennis may glitter at the top, but most of the sport lives far from Wimbledon’s pristine lawns. In this episode, we dive into the brutally honest world described by former player Conor Niland, where competitors ranked outside the top 100 grind through lonely tournaments in obscure corners of the globe, chasing points they can barely afford to pursue. Prize money often doesn’t cover th...

At the world’s largest religious gathering—the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj—getting lost isn’t an anomaly, it’s an inevitability. In this episode, we step inside the festival’s vast, temporary lost-and-found center, a pop-up institution built to reunite thousands of separated pilgrims amid crowds that number in the hundreds of millions. Through stories like the disoriented Draupadi Devi and the em...

Meet the “High Earner, Not Rich Yet”—or Henry —the British six-figure worker who looks wealthy on paper but is quietly being squeezed by the tax system. In this episode, we dig into how earning just over £100,000 can trigger eye-watering marginal tax rates of 60–71%, wipe out allowances, and even leave some Henrys worse off than if they earned less. They’re excluded from perks like free childcare,...

Tamil Nadu is home to a political tradition unlike anywhere else in India—one where movie stardom is the surest path to power. In this episode, we explore how Kollywood’s “mass heroes,” from the legendary M.G. Ramachandran to today’s political dynasties, turned fan devotion into electoral machinery. These actors didn’t just entertain; their on-screen righteousness became a political identity, ampl...

In this episode, we dive into the strange, high-stakes world of the global arowana trade—a market where a single shimmering “dragonfish” can sell for tens of thousands of dollars and inspire both obsession and danger. Once an endangered food fish, the arowana has become a Southeast Asian status symbol, propped up by superstition, luxury culture, and a booming breeding industry in places like West...

Intermittent fasting promises simplicity in a world of complicated diets—but does it actually deliver better health? In this episode, we look at the evidence behind time-restricted eating, from the popular “5–2” plan to daily fasting windows, and unpack why studies show it’s often no more effective for weight loss than old-fashioned calorie counting. Beyond the hype, we explore the tantalizing ani...

American evangelicalism is facing a crisis of prophecy. In this episode, we look at the explosive rise of self-appointed Christian prophets—many of whom flourished online during the Trump years—and why their influence keeps growing despite a string of failed predictions. We follow the dramatic story of Jeremiah Johnson, a prominent figure who apologized for wrongly prophesying Trump’s 2020 victory...

Venezuela’s latest “ghost election” tells a bleak story about a country caught between political theater and economic freefall. In this episode, we unpack how Nicolás Maduro’s regime claimed a sweeping victory amid record-low turnout, why the opposition sees abstention as both tactic and trap, and how expiring U.S. sanctions exemptions could plunge the nation back into deeper recession and renewed...