Do you really know?

On September 6th, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres released a 96-word statement in which he referred to “climate breakdown” having begun. It was in response to a report from the World Meteorological Organization, which highlighted the impact of record-breaking heatwaves across the globe this summer. 

June, July, and August 2023 are the hottest three-month period ever recorded. The WMO says that the increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves we’re experiencing are causing air quality to decline, impacting human health.

What’s the definition of “climate breakdown”? Was this summer expected to be so hot? Is there any way back? In...

I don’t know about your love life, but let’s be honest; for most people having sex doesn’t work out as smoothly as what you see in the movies. Not only is the act itself idealised, but so is what comes after. On screen, you tend to see couples snuggling and drifting off in each other's arms, all cosy and serene. 

But what movies tend to skip over is the part where you have to slip out of bed with your legs pressed together, and waddle like a penguin to the bathroom to pee and wash up...

In French, when someone is beautiful, you can say they’re  ‘canon’. The word itself means a general law, rule, princely or criteria by which something is judged, but when it comes to beauty it is simply means model that we elevate to the level of perfection.

Except that this model has changed a lot over the centuries and across cultures. Those who are considered “canons” today would have been considered ugly in another era.  And some of the beauty standards of the past would probably look downright grotesque to us today.

Did people alter their skelet...

What are silent discos? Thanks for asking!

I don’t know about you but I sure miss partying the night away. In the age of social distancing, most of us can barely remember what it’s like to be part of a crowd dancing together in a club.

While we wait for life to slowly get back to how it was pre-Covid, you might be interested to know about another kind of party. Even your neighbours are unlikely to complain, seeing as there’s no noise. We’re talking about si...

Even during the summer, the mere idea of taking an ice cold shower may well be enough to give you the shivers. After all, the soothing feeling of warm water running over skin is what most people prefer.

But a lot of social media content creators claim to have reaped health benefits from taking cold showers. They tend to talk about blood circulation, skin quality and the immune system. So do their claims have any basis in fact or are they just seeking attention?

What’s the impact on blood circulation? It's also said that co...

Have you ever found yourself in a debate with someone and realised as it goes on, that the person you’re talking to simply isn’t going to change their mind. That might be the case even if they’re expressing a controversial point of view, or saying something that goes against scientific evidence.

It’s often because they’re so convinced their perspective is right that they can’t see any nuances in the discussion. Even when you present a solid argument that challenges their views, they only focus on what supports their position and twist it into thei...

Almost all kids are afraid of the dark, and sometimes that fear even lingers into adulthood. It's a shame really because, contrary to what you might think, darkness is actually not our enemy but a friend when it comes to drifting off to dreamland.

Being exposed to light at night can have negative consequences on person’s health in the long-term. That’s according to a study by researchers at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in the United States. They published their findings in 2022, having discovered a correlation between exposure to light while sleeping and conditions like...

According to Mental Health UK, nearly one in five people in the country don’t get enough sleep. We’ve talked about various types of sleep disorder in the past on Do You Really Know and the link between good sleep and good health is well established.

Many people turn to sleeping pills, but there’s a totally natural alternative which may actually yield better results.

What's that? Why is sex so beneficial then? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:

⁠⁠⁠How long do I...

What is mirror work ?

It’s not easy to learn to love yourself and have good self-esteem. But here’s the good news: it is possible to work at it. That’s the main premise behind positive psychology and personal development at least. One particular new thought method from the United States has gained a significant following; it’s known as mirror work.

Who invented mirror work then ? And what does the method consist of? But how can saying things to a mirror improve my self-confidence ? ⁠⁠ In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions !⁠⁠

To listen to the...

In June 2025, the Met Office announced that the UK had had its warmest spring on record, with a mean temperature of 9.5°C, beating the previous mark set just a year prior in 2024 and exceeding the long term average by 1.4°.

It’s becoming increasingly important to adapt to periods of extreme heat, and one way to make stiflingly hot days more bearable is to adjust what you eat.

What should be avoided then? And what about drinks? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:

They buzz around your fruit salad, hover over your barbecue, and seem to think the edge of your pool is their hangout. Every summer, it’s the same story - wasps turning your outdoor bliss into a swatting frenzy. But it doesn’t have to be this way; there are ways to keep them at bay. 

There are gentler, and smarter ways to make them buzz off. Essential oils are a great place to start. Scents like lemongrass, cloves, and lavender are natural wasp deterrents.

What about when you're having a barbecue? But aren’t we supp...

Have you ever seen the Black Mirror episode called "Be right back"? It aired back in February 2013 and sees a character called Ash die in a car accident, leaving behind his pregnant wife Martha. During Ash's funeral, Martha’s friend Sarah tells her about a company which creates AI versions of dead people, by using personal data they had shared online. Initially reluctant, Martha eventually caves in and tries the service. As a result, she’s able to chat with an Android Ash as if he was alive.

Now, Black Mirror is well known for delving into poss...

Some people believe they simply can’t function in the morning until they’ve had a cup of coffee. Others seem to be grumpy every morning, as if they’ve got out of the wrong side of the bed. 

Of course, a poor night’s sleep can be the cause, whether it be down to stress, not getting to bed early enough, drinking or other physical conditions like sleep apnea. Psychological factors can also come into play, like a lack of motivation in your job or relationship issues. But sleep quality and mental health aren’t the only factors...

There are plenty of ways to get the attention of someone you're crushing on. It might come very naturally to some, but for others, flirting can be an intimidating proposition.

Have you ever wondered if someone is flirting with you, because of their somewhat ambiguous approach? Well, they may have been micro-flirting, a technique that dating experts say is used by shy men in particular. And there are actually some pretty recognisable under-the-radar strategies that qualify as micro-flirting, which is what we’re going to shed light on today.

How exactly does one micro-flirt then? Wh...

According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, there are as many as 430 deaths per year due to wrong-way crashes in the United States alone. That might be hard to believe as for most of us driving on the “right” side of the road is as automatic as brushing your teeth.

But there is of a course a divide between countries that drive on the left and those that drive on the right. In ancient times, driving was not really regulated, but it was nevertheless the norm to drive on the left. And it’s down in no sma...

What is squirting? Thanks for asking!

OK, so from their teenage years onwards most men get used to fluid shooting out of their genitals on a regular basis. But female ejaculation is a thing too, and it’s known colloquially as squirting.

Most often, it’s when a woman expels fluid from the vulva either before or during an orgasm. It’s generally seen as a pleasurable sensation, even when it doesn’t happen at the same time as a climax.

The terms squirting and fema...

What is Godwin’s Law? Thanks for asking!

The events of the Holocaust are part of the compulsory curriculum in many countries across the world, especially in Europe. Indeed, it’s pretty rare to come across any adult who hasn’t heard of the unique horrors that took place. 

Most people would agree that comparing recent Covid-19 restrictions and vaccination campaigns to Nazi atrocities is at best extreme and misguided; at worst disrespectful and downright offensive. But that’s exactly what some politicians and members of the public have done duri...

What are blue zones?

Humans have wondered about the secrets behind longevity since the beginning of time. Well, as it turns out, the world’s five blue zones offer some revealing insight into this mystery. In these regions, people seem to live longer than in the rest of the world. Researchers have sought to understand the unique lifestyles that may be behind this phenomenon. Let’s go back to the year 2000. Studying the province of Nuoro in Sardinia, Italian professor Gianni Pes and Belgian demographer Michel Poulain discovered to their great surprise that certain vill...

What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? Thanks for asking!

During the Covid-19 pandemic, governments around the world have taken it on themselves to judge what’s essential or not for their citizens. Think of non-essential shops, businesses, products and leisure activities, for example. Restrictions based on these judgements have evolved constantly during various stages of lockdown or closures.

At an individual level, the Covid era has forced us all to think more deeply about what is truly essential to get by day to day; things we may have take...

She's one of the most influential women in the world. Taylor Swift, a country star in the United States who has become a global pop star, is shattering all records. She has been named the Personality of 2023, and has won Album of the Year for the record-breaking 4th time.

In November 2024, Joe Biden, the President of the United States, is standing for re-election. His main opponent is still Donald Trump, what does Taylor Swift have to do with all this? Well, she has a considerable say in the outcome of the election.

How so? What...

What is Ocean Viking? Thanks for asking!

The Ocean Viking humanitarian vessel now has well over 500 survivors on board, located in waters between Italy, Malta and Libya. It has carried out a number of rescue operations in the last week.

According to NGO SOS Mediterranee, who operate Ocean Viking, survivors on board are mainly refugees and migrants. Many are minors, some of whom were attempting the treacherous crossing unaccompanied. Yet governments so far seem in no hurry to come to their aid.

When was...

"Do you really know?" is Bababam's daily podcast, which helps you understand the words, acronyms, and concepts that are making the news every day. From December 6th to 20th, discover the words that have left their mark on the year, with our 2021 Retrospective. From the "Pandora Papers" affair to the "#QuitMyJob" hashtag and of course the "Long Covid" condition, (re)discover these words that sum up 2021.

What is the #QuitMyJob trend? Thanks for asking!

This hashtag went viral on TikTok during the summer. On social media, thousands of web...

Not everyone has the same relationship with social contact. Introverts, for example, recharge by spending time alone. Meanwhile extroverts get their energy from being around other people.

But here’s the thing: being introverted or enjoying solitude isn’t the same as being lonely. Loneliness can actually become painful, and even harmful, when it drags on for too long.

What happens when loneliness becomes chronic then? How does that work then? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To listen to the latest episodes, click here:

⁠Do our brains really tell the wh...

The World Health Organisation says that children between the ages of two and five should get no more than one hour of sedentary screen time per day, while children under two shouldn’t get any at all. But the general consensus is that many parents don’t enforce those guidelines, and many toddlers end up overexposed to digital devices as a result.

Increasingly, early childhood professionals are reporting concerning and unusual behaviour in children who have been excessively exposed to screens. Research published in Global Pediatric Health in 2020 referred to this as Early Media Overexposure Syndrome, and the...

What is rape culture? Thanks for asking!

Society generally sees rape as one of the most heinous crimes that exists. But the sociological theory of rape culture suggests that sexual assault continues to be so common precisely because of certain attitudes on gender and sexuality.

Certain myths and misconceptions are handed down from generation to generation, ending up embedded in cultural norms. The consequences: victim shaming, impunity for perpetrators and encouraging women to sacrifice freedoms to avoid being raped, are drastic

Are you talking about t...

Eating raw fish like sushi and sashimi has never been more popular, whether that’s in restaurants or on supermarket shelves. The good news is that such dishes are rich in fatty acids and vitamins from the A, D, and E groups, which brings a host of health benefits. But on the flipside, they can also be sources of contamination.

It’s mostly down to improper handling and storage at seafood markets, or cross-contamination. Some fish caught from polluted waters may contain toxins. It’s important to know that raw fish can carry parasites.

What kind o...

Ever feel like a grey cloud is hanging over you? Life seems a bit gloomy, and your days are dull. You’re craving a change, but you’re stuck in a rut.

Well,  there is good news and  the solution might be much closer than you think. Sometimes, all it takes is tweaking one or two elements of your day to transform your life. Enter the ‘Yes Man’ technique.

Where does it come from? Should You Say Yes to Everything? What’s the Point? What are the Limits? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To liste...

What is terraforming? Thanks for asking!

If you’re a fan of sci-fi, the idea of terraformation should be familiar. It refers to all the techniques and technologies which aim to transform the surface of a planet, making it suitable for human inhabitation. Basically, it means making a planet similar to Earth.

To make a Hollywood comparison, that’s exactly the purpose of the Weyland-Yutani company in Ridley Scott’s Alien series. Terraforming may have originally been dreamt up in works of fiction, but today's real-world science has taken inspir...

No one's proud of being unfaithful, but what if some people’s cheating was actually caused by genetics, rather than selfishness? That might sound like a convenient excuse, but actually there could be some scientific basis behind it.

In 2022 researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia analysed the DNA of over 7,300 twins aged between 18 and 49, all of whom had been in relationships for several years.

What were the study’s results then? Are some people simply programmed to cheat then?

To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:

⁠⁠⁠⁠Is it a good...

What is the Pegasus Project? Thanks for asking!

Ever since the Snowden case of 2013, the world has gotten used to the idea that states use surveillance to monitor people’s activity. All the same, the fallout from the Pegasus Project revelations of recent weeks has been huge, making it a highly significant cyber espionage scandal.

The initiative was coordinated by French media nonprofit organization Forbidden Stories, who last year obtained access to a list of 50,000 phone numbers targeted by Pegasus spyware. Thanks to the work of a consortium of in...

What is geophony? Thanks for asking!

Taking its name from the Greek prefix geo, as in the earth and phony as in sound, geophony could be most simply described as part of Planet Earth’s music. It’s a component of the soundscape that has surrounded us humans ever since we have been present on Earth. 

We owe the concept to experts like Canadian composer and environmentalist Raymond Murray Schafer, who popularised the idea of the soundscape, or American and bioacoustician Bernie Krause. This field of study gives us a lot...

The idea of a broken heart may make you think of a cartoon, an emoji or a bad break-up from your past. But broken heart syndrome is a real physical condition, which is also known as Tako-tsubo.

Good guess but just wide of the mark. Tako-tsubo syndrome was described for the first time in Japan, at the start of the 1990s. Researchers in the western world didn’t acknowledge the condition until several years later, towards the end of the decade.

The name is Japanese because that’s where the first case was recorded? How can w...

Ah, the G-spot... An often cited but frequently elusive erogenous zone which has a reputation of being able to unlock intense female orgasms if you know how to stimulate it the right way. 

The G-spot was first discovered by German gynecologist Ernst Gräfenberg - hence the G part of the name - back in 1950. But the term was only coined in his honour in the 1980s, by a group of researchers who were writing about female ejaculation and popularised Grafenberg’s findings in a book. Gräfenberg attributed three main functions to this hotspot: generating pleasurable sensat...

Because moving and doing regular physical activity is important for our physical and mental health! Listen again to our episodes about sport!

After an intense and sweaty workout, the first thing most of us want to do is jump into the shower to relax our muscles and wash off the sweat. However, that’s not actually the best idea. Showering too soon after a workout can have harmful effects on our health.

Really? Like what? Is it better to take a hot or cold shower? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions !

To lis...

With the summer holiday season drawing to a close, many university students are preparing to leave home for the first time and head to campus accommodation.

While they’re enjoying freshers week, chances are their parents may be finding it unsettling that their child is no longer present at home. That’s even more likely when it’s their last child who’s just left home. This form of grief is known as empty nest syndrome and it disproportionately affects mothers, who statistically tend to spend more time taking care of children than men, when it c...

In this day and age, it’s common to feel stressed every day, even right through to the evening. Have you ever struggled to lower your stress levels when it comes to bedtime, and taken a long while to fall asleep as a result?

The worry of not getting enough sleep then just gets you even more frustrated; it’s a vicious circle. If you’re falling victim to anxiety and fatigue for that reason, it’s time to stop binge-watching Netflix and try moon breathing instead!

What’s that? How can I get started with moon...

Are you someone who thrives on making decisions at work, or do you prefer to take a back seat and let others have the final say? Decisions can be a source of anxiety, even for those who generally like making them. That's especially true when the sheer quantity of decisions to be made adds up, and you've got a limited amount of time in which to make them. That happens frequently to people working in a high-pressure role or environment.

This is down to a phenomenon known as decision fatigue, which we've talked about in the past...

The UN’s COP26 summit is due to start this Sunday, and it’s pretty clear to most of us that climate change is the most serious threat to our health. Of course it’s a physical threat, especially to the vulnerable, due to extreme weather events like heatwaves, storms and fires, which are increasingly frequent and intense. 

But we mustn’t neglect the mental impact, as fear of the future is eating away at the minds of many. Indeed, climate-related disasters and environmental catastrophes are causing a lot of confusion and worry about the future of the plane...

What are Fan Tokens? Thanks for asking!

Even if you’re not a football fan, you can’t have missed the news of Lionel Messi’s recent transfer to Paris Saint Germain in mid-August. But you may not have heard details of the star’s €30M sign-on package at PSG, a significant proportion of which was paid in the club’s Fan Token cryptocurrency.

The move led to a spike in PSG trading, with the token value more than doubling from one week to the next.

Where...

What is mucosal immunity? Thanks for asking! 

It was announced last week that Covid booster vaccines would soon be available to millions of people across the UK, including all over 50s and other people with underlying health conditions.  

In the meantime, new ways to combat the virus are emerging, specifically that of an nasal spray vaccine designed to boost mucosal immunity. Regular listeners may recall our recent episode on this kind of vaccine. The latest developments this month saw a team of French researchers present promising results from preliminary cli...