Do you really know?

Until recently when confronted with arranging a funeral there has been a choice between burial or cremation. However, in parts of the US, Canada and soon the UK a third choice can be possible. Aquamation or as it is known technically “alkaline hydrolysis” is an alternative to traditional burials. The body of the deceased is placed in a pressurised stainless steel vessel and immersed in a mixture of water and alkali for three to four hours and heated to around 150C. During the process all the material is broken down leaving only the inorganic bone minerals which are then processed into powder and returned to the family in an urn. What is aquamation? What is the advantage of aquamation? What are the disadvantages of aquamation? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: Why has the Doomsday Clock moved 10 seconds closer to midnight? Am I listening to music too loud? What is the Ikea effect? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Amber Minogue. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are artistic movements which we’ve all heard of at least once, whether it be at school, in a museum or watching a cultural show on TV. But at the same time, it can be difficult to define them, and that’s why we’re here to help. Today we’re going to shed light on a 1960s anti-art movement known as fluxus. French-American cubist painter Marcel Duchamp invented the term anti-art in the early 20th century, to bring together various concepts that rejected the very idea of art itself. But bear in mind that even anti-art can still be art. Complicated, huh? Wait a minute; let’s start out with what anti-art is? And how does that relate to the fluxus movement? So what are the main works from the fluxus movement? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: Why has the Doomsday Clock moved 10 seconds closer to midnight? Am I listening to music too loud? What is the Ikea effect? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The end is nigh! Well at least it’s getting closer according to experts at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. They’re responsible for maintaining the symbolic Doomsday Clock, which represents how close we are to the end of the world. Midnight on the Doomsday Clock symbolises a potential global catastrophe to come. Each year, the Bulletin non-profit has its say on how close the world is getting to that scenario, measured in minutes or seconds to midnight. And on 24th January 2023, sombre-looking members of the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board unveiled the latest clock setting at a press conference. How did the idea come about in the first place? How has the clock fluctuated over time? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: Am I listening to music too loud? What is the Ikea effect? How can I avoid the side effects of antibiotics? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Troubles in Northern Ireland may have been over for 25 years now, but the painful memories are still there for many who lived through the period. One of the darkest days was Bloody Sunday, which refers to events that took place in Londonderry on 30th January 1972. 15,000 people, most of whom were Catholics, had taken to the streets of the city for a civil rights march. They were protesting peacefully against a recently adopted law which meant people could be detained or imprisoned without trial. The internment policy was designed to target suspected IRA members in particular. Despite being banned, the march went ahead, policed by British army troops. What was the fallout? Were the findings any different from the first time around? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: Am I listening to music too loud? What is the Ikea effect? How can I avoid the side effects of antibiotics? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scented candles, air fresheners and even scented cleaning products are all designed to make your home smell nice, clean and fresh. But using them can reduce the air quality of your home and lead to a variety of potential problems. For many people most of their time is spent indoors and, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), levels of indoor air pollutants are typically more than three times higher than outdoors. Causes range from cooking, heating, scented cleaning products as well as products like candles, diffusers or room sprays which are designed to make our homes smell nice. What affects the quality of our air inside? What are VCOs? Should I stop using scented candles and air freshener? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: Am I listening to music too loud? What is the Ikea effect? How can I avoid the side effects of antibiotics? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Amber Minogue. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode, let’s talk about a term which mixes sociology and lifestyle newspeak. Yuccies is an abbreviation for Young urban creatives. The term started trending after American journalist David Infante introduced it in an article on Mashable in June 2015. Within weeks, the concept had been covered on many other websites, with the original article being shared over 75,000 times. How did Infante know so much about yuccies? Well he claimed to be one himself. That sounds a lot like hipsters? What sets yuccies apart? What kind of careers do yuccies tend to pursue? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: Am I listening to music too loud? What is the Ikea effect? How can I avoid the side effects of antibiotics? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whether it’s in the street, on public transport or at home, almost all of us use headphones or earphones to listen to music. Now music might bring us joy and a whole lot of other emotions, but when it’s too loud, it can also represent a risk for hearing health. And it’s not just the case with personal listening devices; the same is also true when going to entertainment venues like nightclubs, bars, music concert arenas and sports stadia. The danger comes when the sound level gets too high, we’re exposed to it for too long, or worse, both. Both our ears and brains are involved in processing sound. The outer ear captures soundwaves and transmits the vibrations to the cochlea, a snail-shaped organ located in the inner air which contains fluid. What are healthy listening levels then? Are there any warning signs to look out for? What should I look out for? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Why does walking through doorways make us forget things? Will ChatGPT replace Google? What is the loverboy method Andrew Tate is accused of using? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You’re no doubt familiar with IKEA as the king of flatpack furniture. But you may not be aware that the Swedish company’s name is also associated with a cognitive bias. It’s all to do with how we assign greater value to objects when we make or assemble them ourselves. Now that might seem counterintuitive but it’s become an established marketing tactic over the years. Studies by American researchers Michael Norton, Daniel Mochon, and Dan Ariely backed it up with evidence. When releasing their findings, they coined the term “Ikea effect” to describe the bias. They ran a series of tests to find out if their belief in the Ikea effect was well-founded. One part saw test subjects divided into two groups. The first group was tasked with assembling Ikea furniture items, while the other group simply examined the same items, only they’d been pre-built for them. What was their evidence? Why on earth would we want to pay more for doing more work ourselves? Does the IKEA effect come into play in other areas of life? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Why does walking through doorways make us forget things? Will ChatGPT replace Google? What is the loverboy method Andrew Tate is accused of using? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Social science research is becoming more and more fruitful. As a result, an almost endless list of terms are emerging, like 'white privilege' or 'ageism’, which we have already covered in past episodes of Do You Really Know? These studies often share the same objective and that is to shine a light on social phenomena we tend to dismiss, calling out persisting discrimination. The words 'ableism' and 'disablism' appeared in public debate to denounce systemic oppression against people with disabilities. Although ableism and disablism both describe discrimination based on disability, the emphasis for each of these terms is slightly different. Disablism implies discrimination against disabled people. Meanwhile, ableism is discrimination in favour of non-disabled people by seeing them as the norm to the extent that anyone else is forgotten. What are some examples of ableism? Isn’t there a danger of manipulation? How can we work against it? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Why does walking through doorways make us forget things? Will ChatGPT replace Google? What is the loverboy method Andrew Tate is accused of using? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Antibiotics are critical to modern medicine, and have saved millions of lives since first being introduced in the mid-20th century. However, there are drawbacks to prescribing antibiotics when they’re not actually required. Of course there’s the issue of antibiotic resistance, which is seen as a major threat to human health. And there are also unwanted side effects of antibiotic use to take into account. After all, they don’t only target the bacteria that are making us sick. They also kill harmless bacteria in the gut which actually keep us healthy. What’s more, according to MedicalXpress.com, “this disruption to gut microbiome composition can last for up to two years after antibiotic treatment.” Other side effects include diarrhea and bloating. Is there anything we can do to protect our gut? Can antibiotics also lead to yeast infections? Do I have to go right to the end of my course of antibiotics? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Why does walking through doorways make us forget things? Will ChatGPT replace Google? What is the loverboy method Andrew Tate is accused of using? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever walked into your living room, kitchen or bedroom and completely forgotten what you went there for? It can be pretty annoying, and a little unsettling too. You might start wondering if you’ve got memory problems. This mental block phenomenon actually has a name: the doorway effect. It happens to most people from time to time. Through a series of studies run by Gabriel Radvansky and his colleagues at the University of Notre Dame in the USA, the doorway effect has been proved scientifically. The findings were published in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology in 2011. Has it been studied by researchers? So what’s actually going on in the brain at that specific moment? Should I be worried if it happens to me? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Will ChatGPT replace Google? What is the loverboy method Andrew Tate is accused of using? Should I buy an electric car? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the consequences of the pandemic has been the increased interest and possibility for people to work from home. For many it is a great option, but increasingly employers are worried about time theft. Time theft is a catch all term for employees being paid for being at work when they were not really working. It could be because of things like taking longer breaks than scheduled; logging off early; or using work time to do personal tasks. This has all been illustrated rather well with the case of Karlee Besse who worked remotely as an accountant. But she was fired and sued her company for unfair dismissal and was awarded compensation. What is time theft? What is TimeCamp? What is the problem with ‘bossware’ ? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Will ChatGPT replace Google? What is the loverboy method Andrew Tate is accused of using? Should I buy an electric car? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Amber Minogue. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ChatGPT AI chatbot has grabbed a lot of attention since it was released in December 2022. GPT stands for generative Pre-trained transformer, and the chatbot is based on one of the most advanced AI language models currently available. Those who’ve tested it have been impressed at how it generates complex, human-like responses to many different kinds of questions. It’s also been used to write essays and scripts for a TV sitcom. It’s led to speculation that AI will soon revolutionise industries, and could even replace Google, which has an 84% search engine market share according to Statista. Why would people stop using Google to browse the internet? Are there any drawbacks? Is ChatGPT meant to be used as a search engine? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Are baths or showers better for our health? Can this budgeting method help us save better? Is microwaving food bad for you? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Online influencer and self-confessed misogynist Andrew Tate has now been in prison for over a month, following his arrest in late December on human trafficking charges. The Romanian police force who arrested him released a statement saying Tate, along with his brother and two other suspects, used “physical violence and mental coercion” to force victims to perform pornography. The statement went into further detail, saying the group recruited new victims by “misrepresenting their intention to enter into a marriage/cohabitation relationship and the existence of genuine feelings of love”. This tactic is also known as the loverboy method. Charges haven’t actually been brought against him and his brother yet, but they did appeal against their detention in early January, a bid which was unsuccessful. Does Tate deny the charges? Why is it called the loverboy method? Isn’t it easy to detect? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Are baths or showers better for our health? Can this budgeting method help us save better? Is microwaving food bad for you? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Electric cars feel like a great choice for the environment but are they a great choice for you? Here are some tips and advice to help you decide. Despite the cost of electricity going up recently electric cars are still less expensive to run than petrol or diesel equivalents. When it comes to charging your car you will get the best price by charging at home on off-peak hours. Using a public charger can be more expensive but it should still work out cheaper than filling up with petrol. Also, electric cars are usually less expensive to have serviced as they have fewer moving parts to repair or replace. What are the advantages of an electric car? Are they really better for the planet? Are they better for us? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Are baths or showers better for our health? Can this budgeting method help us save better? Is microwaving food bad for you? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Amber Minogue. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When it comes to getting clean, some people prefer chilling in the bath for a good half an hour or more, while others like how quick and practical it is having a shower. Let’s consider the two choices from a health perspective. It's pretty common knowledge that taking a bath isn't very eco-friendly, in terms of water consumption. Of course there are variables at play here when comparing the two. When taking a bath, you only really need to fill around a third of the tub up, so your torso is submerged when you lie down. But some people will fill it higher, which obviously uses more water. When taking a shower, it depends how long you keep it running for and how powerful the flow rate is. What does taking a bath do to our bodies? What about its impact on the cardiovascular system? Are there any points of comparison where taking a shower is better? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Should I walk 10000 steps a day? What is a vertiport? What is productivity paranoia? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Data published by YouGov in August 2022 showed that as of the previous month, Britons were using a whopping £3.5bn worth of overdrafted funds from their bank accounts. Each month, between 25% and 30% of people dip into their overdrafts, generally just for a few days leading up to payday. It’s hardly surprising with the ongoing cost of living crisis and energy bills rising rapidly. If you’re one of those people who struggles to save, maybe you could use a few tips to help budget better. One popular method is the 50 - 30 - 20 rule, which was introduced by American senator Elizabeth Warren in a book entitled All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan. It splits your income into three categories to help manage it better. What do the numbers mean then? How can I apply the rule? What if my needs add up to more than 50% of my income? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Should I walk 10000 steps a day? What is a vertiport? What is productivity paranoia? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The COP26 summit, which took place earlier this month, revealed that concerns related to climate change are now more pressing than ever. In June 2021, Madagascar became the first country in the world officially affected by a climate change famine that swept over the south of the island as a result of global warming. What makes it a particularly affected area is that 9 out of 10 people there live below the poverty line. According to the UN, 30,000 Malagasy are suffering from famine and 1.3 million are victims of acute malnutrition. The World Food Program reported that the figure includes 500,000 children, with over a fifth of those children affected by a severe form. How did this climate change famine come about? What do Madagascar's inhabitants eat then? Is there a chance of similar famines breaking out in other countries? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: What is synthetic fuel? What is a frozen conflict? What are warming stripes? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been labelled a “marvel of engineering” and a “miracle of convenience” by Harvard Health Publishing. Data published by Statista in July 2022 showed that in 2018, 93% of UK households owned a microwave, a figure which had risen from 67% when the survey started back in 1994. But still some doubts persist about whether microwaving food is bad for your health. Some people even say they cause cancer. Rest assured they don’t. But there are a range of other complaints and concerns over food quality and health. So, are they simply urban myths or based on frightening reality? Let’s investigate! How do microwaves work? What about all the radiation? Doesn’t microwaving food reduce nutrient value? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Should I walk 10000 steps a day? What is a vertiport? What is productivity paranoia? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve talked about eco-anxiety before on Do You Really Know, and it’s real. A survey published in the Lancet in December 2021 found that 75% of young people thought the future was frightening. But others are preaching a more positive outlook, with cautious climate optimism looking set to be a trend in 2023. While our fears around the climate crisis are justified and useful, if they paralyse us out of doing anything, those feelings of hopelessness are inevitable. Psychologists call it “learned helplessness”. What cause is there for optimism? What are the arguments against climate optimism? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Should I walk 10000 steps a day? What is a vertiport? What is productivity paranoia? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most of us are familiar with the idea that you need to take 10 thousand steps per day to stay healthy but getting to this magic number is not that easy. The 10,000-step target first became popular in Japan in the 1960s. A clockmaker capitalising on people's new interest in fitness following the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games made a pedometer with a name that, when written in Japanese characters, resembled a walking man and coincidentally translated as “10,000-steps metre.” A study of over 78,000 people in the UK between 2013 and 2015 using wearable trackers was published in the journals JAMA Internal Medicine and JAMA Neurology. Where did we get the number 10 thousand from? Does that mean that we do not need to take 10 steps? So how many steps should I be aiming for per day? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Are my smart devices spying on me? What is synthetic fuel? What is a frozen conflict? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Amber Minogue. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All week long, we’re looking into 10 new terms and concepts that are certain to be on everyone’s lips in 2023! Flying vehicles have long been imagined as part of the not-too-distant future, as well as a making regular appearances in TV and film works of fiction. Just think of the Jetsons or Harry Potter for example. And the attraction is understandable. Imagine you could avoid all road congestion by travelling by air, even over a short distance. Well, even if we’re not quite there yet, we may be getting closer, due to the emergence of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, known as EVTOLs for short. A lot of manufacturers are getting on board. Hyundai has said it expects the air mobility market to be worth close to $1.5tn within the next 20 years. Where does the name come from? Are there any vertiports already open? What are the challenges? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Are my smart devices spying on me? What is synthetic fuel? What is a frozen conflict? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All week long, we’re looking into 10 new terms and concepts that are certain to be on everyone’s lips in 2023! Covid-19 restrictions changed work practices radically; a large proportion of the workforce have worked remotely for nearly three years now. That’s the case even in post-pandemic working structures, with many sectors favouring a hybrid model rather than a full-time return to the office. We now have a generation of workers who often have never met their colleagues in person. But still the fear persists among a lot of managers that their teams aren’t as productive working from home. What do employees think? So what’s the problem then? What can be done to fix productivity paranoia? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Are my smart devices spying on me? What is synthetic fuel? What is a frozen conflict? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Smart devices can be very handy, but increasingly people are worried about exactly how smart they are, what they know and what they are doing with our data especially after a rogue Roomba ended up sharing embarrassing photos of one young woman on the toilet. Smart devices are electronic devices or gadgets that have the ability to interact, connect and share information with other smart devices. It is often associated with the term the ‘internet of things’. The Internet of things refers to a network of devices that gather data and share information with each other through the internet. This includes things like smartphones, fitness trackers, smart tvs, smart speakers and much more. What are smart devices? What are the advantages of smart devices? How can I protect my data from misuse? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: What is synthetic fuel? What is a frozen conflict? What are warming stripes? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Amber Minogue. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

January 16th is Martin Luther King Day. In the United States, this is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. King was a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement, which protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. The fight against racial discrimination is still essential today. Listen to our rerun episode about the Black Lives Matter movement! The Black Lives Matter movement originated in the U.S., following another tragedy. In 2012, black teenager Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by security agent George Zimmermann. When Zimmermann was acquitted the following year, three female activists created the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on Twitter as a show of outrage at the verdict. It caught on, and gradually developed into a much wider movement, especially after the deaths of two more African-American men: Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Do black people really die more than others in the United States? Isn’t that just an attempt to dismiss the Black Lives Matter struggle? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: What is synthetic fuel? What is a frozen conflict? What are warming stripes? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All week long, we’re looking into 10 new terms and concepts that are certain to be on everyone’s lips in 2023! For a number of years now, we’ve been hearing that the future of transport is electric, in particular due to the impact of fossil fuels on global warming. But there are a number of drawbacks, including cost, battery life, battery recycling, charging time which mean some people are reluctant to get on board. There are also fears that the switch to electric vehicles won’t be quick enough to meet environmental objectives. Some experts believe that the fastest way to reduce CO2 emissions from transport is to use fuels synthesised from organic materials that are carbon-neutral and can power existing vehicles. How are synthetic fuels made? Why are they a good alternative to fossil fuels? Will it be available to the general public? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Why do we consider Friday 13th unlucky? Why has my sense of smell changed because of Covid? What are nepo babies? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All week long, we’re looking into 10 new terms and concepts that are certain to be on everyone’s lips in 2023! It’s nearly 11 months since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, and the war has reached somewhat of a stalemate. Many observers expected a swift Russian victory, no doubt including Vladimir Putin himself, but Ukrainian resistance proved fierce. Over the summer, Ukraine launched a counter-offensive and succeeded in taking back large parts of Russian-occupied territory. As we head into 2023, there’s a distinct possibility of the war becoming a drawn-out affair, even turning into a frozen conflict. That’s a situation where fighting has ceased, but there’s no clear resolution in the form of a peace treaty or political agreement. Hostilities could resume at any moment and the climate is unstable. Why could the Russia - Ukraine war become a frozen conflict? Why would that be in Russia’s interests? Are there frozen conflicts in other parts of the world too? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Why do we consider Friday 13th unlucky? Why has my sense of smell changed because of Covid? What are nepo babies? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’ve been to a climate demonstration in recent times, you may have noticed placards with a series of blue and red coloured stripes. Kind of like a barcode but in colour, with the shades varying from very light to very dark. You may have even seen them at political or sporting events, in the media, or on the cover of Greta Thunberg’s The Climate Book. This set of graphics are known as warming stripes, and they’re not as random as they might first seem. Indeed, the coloured stripes have become a go-to symbol for many climate activists, given that they feature no letters and no numbers, meaning anyone anywhere in the world can understand their meaning. Warming stripes were invented by Ed Hawkins in 2018. The British climatologist is a respected figure, having contributed to several IPCC reports as an author. What is the meaning? Why are they used on social media? How can such a simple graphic get across the complexity of climate change? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Why do we consider Friday 13th unlucky? Why has my sense of smell changed because of Covid? What are nepo babies? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today is Friday 13th, a day often seen as unlucky in Western superstition. Indeed, the tradition has become so ingrained that there’s even an associated phobia. It’s called, wait for it, paraskevidekatriaphobia! Now, it might seem Friday 13th doesn’t come around very often, but most years actually have two and sometimes even three, depending on the calendar. 2022 was an anomaly with it occurring just once. This year sees two Friday 13ths, the first today in January and the second to come in October. Interestingly, in Italy Friday 17th is actually seen as a more unlucky day, while in Spain and Greece it’s Tuesday 13th. Where does the superstition come from? There are a lot of references to Friday 13th in popular culture, aren’t there? Is it the same in every culture? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Why has my sense of smell changed because of Covid? What are nepo babies? What is menstrual leave? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the many symptoms of Covid 19 was a loss of the sense of smell It is estimated that about two-thirds of patients experience loss of smell during acute COVID-19 and around half of these will subsequently develop parosmia. Now researchers have been investigating what might cause this loss of smell and how to treat it. Loss of smell is known as anosmia. Parosmia is not a loss of smell but a smell disorder where odours are distorted and often smell unpleasant. This can affect food, toiletries or environmental smells. It can last weeks, months or even years and can be very upsetting. What is parosmia? Why does this happen? How can it be cured? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: What are nepo babies? What is menstrual leave? Can a weighted blanket help you get a better night’s sleep? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Amber Minogue. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When talking about diversity and inclusion, the glass ceiling refers to an invisible barrier stopping those in minorities from obtaining upper-level workforce opportunities. The metaphor is most often used when talking about women. They may find their careers stagnating, unable to progress beyond a middle-management role, through no fault of their own. When it comes to senior positions, they are overlooked in favour of men, despite often having equal or better credentials. Where does the expression come from? Where is the glass ceiling most noticeable? How has the situation evolved since the term “glass ceiling” was invented? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: What are nepo babies? What is menstrual leave? Can a weighted blanket help you get a better night’s sleep? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All week long, we’re looking into 10 new terms and concepts that are certain to be on everyone’s lips in 2023! In December 2022, New York magazine ran a cover which got a lot of attention. It featured the heads of a number of Hollywood celebs like Lily-Rose Depp, Ben Platt, Dakota Johnson and Zoe Kravitz, all edited onto babies’ bodies. In the centre of the page the bright pink headline read: “She Has Her Mother’s Eyes. And Agent.” The article inside labelled 2022 the “Year of the Nepo Baby”. What those celeb babies all have in common is that they’re the children of famous, successful parents. That’s where the “nepo” part comes from, as in nepotism. Right from the get go, these kids had an advantage or arguably a sure road to success. Isn’t that obvious? That’s been the case forever, hasn’t it? What do nepo babies themselves have to say on the issue? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Can a weighted blanket help you get a better night’s sleep? What is the internet of senses? What is goblin mode? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All week long, we’re looking into 10 new terms and concepts that are certain to be on everyone’s lips in 2023! Despite the fact that we’re in 2023, there’s still a certain squeamishness when it comes to discussions about menstruation, including in the workplace. But that might be about to change in Europe, due to a measure that was recently approved by the lower house of Spain’s parliament... In mid-December 2022, Spanish MPs voted to adopt a new bill creating menstrual leave for women suffering from period pain. That’s right, 3-5 days off work per month paid by the state. And while it’s a first in Europe, such a measure has already existed for decades in other parts of the world. Why do women need time off work during their periods? Which other countries in the world have a menstrual leave policy? Why is menstrual leave a controversial measure? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Can a weighted blanket help you get a better night’s sleep? What is the internet of senses? What is goblin mode? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A comfy mattress, be it firm or soft, and a good pillow are all essential for a good night’s sleep but increasingly people are also buying weighted blankets to help them relax. A weighted blanket is exactly what it sounds like, a blanket that is heavier than your usual duvet. They are normally filled with either plastic pellets or glass beads and their extra weight is designed to provide a light pressure that has a therapeutic effect, like being held, which for some, leads to a sense of calm, reduced anxiety and better sleep. Sensory integration theory suggests that deep pressure can have a calming effect on the nervous system which can help with a host of anxiety issues, troubled sleep, insomnia, restless leg syndrome and can even help calm people with an autism spectrum disorder. What is a weighted blanket and how does it work? What are the benefits of a weighted blanket? Are there any concerns about weighted blankets? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: What is the internet of senses? What is goblin mode? What should I eat before going to bed? A Bababam Originals podcast. Written and produced by Amber Minogue. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You may have spotted one in a park, at the edge of the woods, or in a parking lot in the middle of the countryside. Tiny houses on wheels or up on a trailer have been springing up like mushrooms for a number of years. The tiny-house trend is a social and architectural movement that demonstrates a desire to return to simplicity by downsizing living spaces. The tiny-house revolution started in the United States in the 1970s. The idea gained momentum thanks to English-born architect Sarah Susanka, the originator of the “Not So Big” residential architecture philosophy. Further exponential growth of their popularity can be linked to a number of events, including hurricane Katrina that swept over the United States and prompted the need for fast mass housing construction. Where does this idea come from? But what are the perks of going tiny? How do you move into a Tiny House? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: What is the internet of senses? What is goblin mode? What should I eat before going to bed? A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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, but we may not be that far away from something similar being possible in the real world. Tech giants like Ericsson, Apple and Tesla are taking a keen interest in sensory technologies and filing for patent after patent in the area. According to Ericsson, new technologies will allow us to create an “internet of senses” by 2025. The Swedish telecoms company introduced the term “internet of senses” for the first time in 2019. Are we talking about the five senses? Are there other internet of senses precursor projects? Won’t it be dangerous not being able to distinguish between the virtual and real worlds? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Why has far-right terrorism increased so much? How can I save money when using electrical appliances? Why do we get the post-sex blues? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with Upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 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 concerns not only crude oil, but also refined fuels like diesel. The agreement marks the sixth package of sanctions against Russia to come from Brussels, following previous measures. Why take such a measure? Mais quid du tiers du pétrole restant ? What else is in the sanctions package? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Why has far-right terrorism increased so much? How can I save money when using electrical appliances? Why do we get the post-sex blues? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with Upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 term secured an impressive 93% of votes. It might seem anecdotal and light-hearted, but you’re going to hear it a lot more often in 2023 as it’s definitely an expression that speaks to the times. Basically, it means shamelessly living as one wants, or ‘slobbing out’ if you like. What’s the official definition? Is it a brand new expression? So is going goblin mode a good thing then? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Why has far-right terrorism increased so much? How can I save money when using electrical appliances? Why do we get the post-sex blues? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with Upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 not to do, it’s most important not to eat anything too rich, not to eat meals that are too large, and not to eat too close to bedtime. You should aim to e nd dinner at least two hours before going to bed. That’s to limit any potential nighttime discomfort from indigestion or heartburn. On top of that, our body temperature needs to drop when we go to sleep, but digestion does the exact opposite. So what are the better options available to us then? Why is the role of amino acids so important? What about simply skipping dinner; does that work? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to more episodes, click here: Why has far-right terrorism increased so much? How can I save money when using electrical appliances? Why do we get the post-sex blues? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with Upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 one example of a dangerous threat that is becoming more and more widespread in the West: that of violent far-right terrorism. 2019 saw the Christchurch mosque attack in New Zealand, which killed 51 people, and a school shooting targeting the majority Latino community of El Paso, Texas. The following year, Germany saw the Hanau shisha bar shootings, and the murder of migrant-friendly MP Walter Lubcke. What are the aims of right-wing extremists? How has right-wing terrorism changed in recent years? Who tends to radicalise? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the latest episodes, click here: How can I save money when using electrical appliances? Why do we get the post-sex blues? What can be done about snoring? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with Upday UK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 players, Phones with displays that show when not in active use, like cordless phones and smart home appliances like refrigerators, washer and dryers that have always-on displays and many more. This energy consumption is often referred to as standby but also other names like phantom load, shadow loads, idle current or even vampire power. What's the easiest way to save money on electricity? What if I need to leave things on standby? How can I save money by changing the way I use appliances? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions ! To listen to the lastest episodes, click here: Why do we get the post-sex blues? What can be done about snoring? How can I make and keep my new year’s resolutions? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Amber Minogue. In partnership with Upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 believe that if they have a thought, such as getting into a car accident or catching a serious disease, it means the event will happen. Unless they do something to prevent it – and that’s where compulsions start kicking in. So how does it develop? And how long can it last? I get the idea. Is it possible to stop the spiral? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the lastest episodes, click here: Why do we get the post-sex blues? What can be done about snoring? How can I make and keep my new year’s resolutions? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with Upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 experienced what’s called post-coital dysphoria, also known as the post-sex blues. It refers to the negative emotions people feel after having sex. And it’s more common that you might think. A study on the condition was published in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy in 2018. It was based on a questionnaire that 1208 men took, of which 41% said they had had the post-sex blues at least once in their lives. What kind of feelings are we talking about? Could it be psychological too? What’s the best way to beat the blues then? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions ! To listen to the latest episodes, click here: How can I return unwanted gifts? Could the deep work technique help me concentrate better at work? What can I do to relieve heartburn? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 the pharynx and trachea. When we sleep, these muscles tend to collapse, which can hamper air flow. Our organs start vibrating and the noise spreads in the nasal cavities. That’s where snoring comes from. Is it a cause for concern? So what about the rest of us snorers who don’t suffer from sleep apnea? What if the snoring is down to my sleeping position? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions ! To listen to the latest episodes, click here: How can I return unwanted gifts? Could the deep work technique help me concentrate better at work? What can I do to relieve heartburn? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 having a realistic plan of how you intend to achieve your goal are all signs that your resolution will probably not make it. Your resolutions should be SMART. By that, I mean specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. This acronym is a great way to think about your resolutions and experts agree. Why do so many resolutions fail? How do you make successful resolutions? How do I know when I'm setting unrealistic goals for myself? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions ! To listen to the latest episodes, click here: How can I return unwanted gifts? Could the deep work technique help me concentrate better at work? What can I do to relieve heartburn? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Amber Minogue. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 “vegan” and “January”, the idea being to go vegan for a month, cutting out all animal origin food from your diet. According to organisers, over 580,000 people from 209 countries across the world registered to take part last year, and that figure is expected to increase again in 2023. How long has the Veganuary movement been around? How can I join in? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions ! To listen to the latest episodes, click here: How can I celebrate New Year’s at home and still have fun? Should we be worried about the Lensa AI avatar app? How does the 3-30-300 rule affect my mental health? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 per year, according to figures released by the OECD in 2021. Right from the first few hours of cutting out alcohol, the body starts its detox process. You may get noticeable withdrawal symptoms, depending on how dependent your body is on alcohol. If you’re a moderate drinker, you may have a little trouble getting to sleep. If you drink more often, you might get headaches or break into a sweat. It’s often said that the first three days are the hardest. Is there really an impact in such a short space of time? What about from week two onwards? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions ! To listen to the latest episodes, click here: How can I celebrate New Year’s at home and still have fun? Should we be worried about the Lensa AI avatar app? How does the 3-30-300 rule affect my mental health? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 to an increased risk of cancer. Many people will attempt to quit smoking as part of their New year’s resolutions, and we’re here to provide some information on the best ways to do so. It seems so, at least according to the most recent large-scale study on the subject which was published by Jama Network Open in October 2022. If I give up, will my body ever fully recover? What different methods are out there? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions ! To listen to the latest episodes, click here: How can I celebrate New Year’s at home and still have fun? Should we be worried about the Lensa AI avatar app? How does the 3-30-300 rule affect my mental health? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 in the paper for a laugh, but these days astrology seems to be all the rage. Dedicated webpages are getting more and more traffic, and there are even astrology based dating apps, like Ilios and Stars Align. Analysing human behaviour according to star and planet positions has existed for millenia across different civilisations, like the Mayas for example. Are we saying astrology has never been this popular before? What’s caused the resurgence then? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions ! To listen to the latest episodes, click here: How can I celebrate New Year’s at home and still have fun? Should we be worried about the Lensa AI avatar app? How does the 3-30-300 rule affect my mental health? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"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 their new suicide prevention initiative. That’s one example of the messages that were thought out by mental health specialists, and the toilet rolls also feature the number of a suicide prevention helpline and soothing images, like a cat playing with a ball or a young girl underneath an umbrella. Why are they looking to help young people specifically? Are things worse in Japan than elsewhere in the world? What's the attitude towards mental health in Japan? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions ! To listen to the latest episodes, click here: How can I celebrate New Year’s at home and still have fun? Should we be worried about the Lensa AI avatar app? How does the 3-30-300 rule affect my mental health? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices