Do you really know?

We’ve already talked about greenwashing, pinkwashing and sportswashing in past episodes. Well even the world of health doesn’t escape from cynical marketing practices. Let’s talk about healthwashing.

The term covers a pretty wide range of practices, but it’s most commonly associated with the food industry. Manufacturers often overplay the addition of certain nutritious items in their products, implying that there are real health benefits to be gained.

You might see labels using buzzwords such as : “contains natural flavours” or “made with real fruit” while in reality the products may actually be comparable to other processed foods.

This can lead consumers into a false sense of security, as shown by a study from the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in 2017. Participants surveyed were less likely to look for nutrition information when a nutrient claim was shown on packaging, and often ended up selecting a less healthy product as a result.

What exactly does it consist of? Well, that’s not great, but it’s still pretty common in the grand scheme of things, isn’t it? Well if it’s as simple as reading a label correctly, we should be OK, shouldn’t we? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Remember our episode on #QuitMyJob, about thousands of Americans publicly quitting their jobs on TikTok? Since then, the phenomenon has continued gaining momentum in the United States under a new name: the Great Resignation, or the Big Quit.

According to a report published by the US Department of Labour on October 13, 2021, this August alone saw 4.3 million resignations nationwide. Count in the rest of summer and spring, and the figure jumps to a staggering 20 million. In the spirit of similar past initiatives, The Big Quit is yet another movement that offers resistance to unfair employers and unsafe working conditions.

What got this trend started then? Has the movement spread to other countries? Does the movement prompt companies to become more attractive by raising wages, for example? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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At COP26, leaders from more than 100 countries, including Brazil, will commit to halting deforestation, restoring forests and ending land degradation by the end of the decade. Collapsology is the transdisciplinary study of how our industrial civilisation could collapse, and indeed what may come afterwards. Its ideas are gaining in visibility and popularity. The term collapsology is a neologism, having been created in 2015. It was popularised by French authors Pablo Servigne and Raphael Stevens, who that year published a book called How Everything Can Collapse. As far back as 1972, the Meadow Report published by MIT researchers warned of the risks of exponential population and economic growth on a planet where resources are limited. One of the main ideas of collapsology is that human activity is affecting the planet in a negative and lasting way.

Well, there’s nothing new in those ideas, really? So we’re all screwed then! In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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On October 27, 2021, "Jackass Forever", the American squad’s fifth and last feature film, was released in cinemas. It’s the perfect opportunity to look back at an MTV show which achieved huge popularity in the early 2000s.

The Jackass Squad is a group of somewhat provocative and downright daredevil friends, who take on crazy challenges, often with reckless disregard for their physical health. The almost exclusively male team consisted of about ten permanent members and some occasional guests.

What kind of crazy stuff did they get up to? How did it start? Is the crew still active these days then? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Since its release in September 2021, Squid Game has become the most popular Netflix show of all time. The South Korean production tells the dystopian tale of 456 people mired in debt, who face off against one another in survival games. The show has become the most-watched series in 90 countries.

Along with other trials, the game of Statues takes place on a deserted island. The stakes? The jackpot or death.

What evidence is there of the show’s success? The concept seems rather violent! The idea isn't exactly new... In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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The term “woke” took off in the United States in the 2010s. The past form of the verb “to wake” is used to imply an awakening to injustices inflicted upon minorities by an oppressive system.

Woke activists call out systemic racism and police violence against groups like Black Lives Matter. Since then, it has become a go-to in public and media debates. Its critics say it has become a loaded term and those who use it often don’t understand the true meaning behind it.

Even though its popularity is relatively recent, the origins go back further. As far back as 1860, there was a Wide Awake anti-slavery movement supporting Abraham Lincoln, who was running as a candidate in the presidential election of that year. Around a hundred years later, similar allusions could be found in the speeches of Martin Luther King. At Oberlin University, Ohio in June 1965, he urged young Americans to stay awake and be an engaged generation.

What do “woke” people stand for these days? Do you mean, over time, the term has come to encompass all these different causes? Is there a way to put an end to injustice? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Sex work is basically a term used for any practices involving a sexual service, whether physical or not, in exchange for money.

Contrary to popular opinion, it’s not simply limited to prostitution. The term also includes lap dancing, phone sex, erotic massage and escort services for example. Not to mention online services like webcam performance and adult content creation.

The term sex workers is sometimes abbreviated to SW.

Where does the expression come from? What does it do? How does that fit in with the feminist movement? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Postponed for a year because of Covid-19, COP26 meets in Scotland from October 31 to November 12. A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the energy and raw material consumption of a person, organisation or event. It is measured in the volume of CO2 emitted. Per capita emissions in the USA are estimated at around 16 tons per year. That includes CO2 produced directly by an individual’s household, and emissions created by products they consume. The rough split is 70/30 between the two.

It’s a bit of a vague calculation though, isn’t it? But it must be pretty darn difficult to place an accurate value on the impact of all living beings in a country? How can I reduce my own footprint? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Although the global vaccination rate reached 40% in mid-October, Covid-19 clearly hasn’t gone away for good just yet. The most common symptoms of coronavirus are mostly well-known, but it keeps surprising us with new repercussions, like restless anal syndrome for example.

On September 23rd, the BMC Infectious Diseases journal reported on the case of a 77-year-old Japanese man suffering from restless anal syndrome several weeks after being discharged from hospital. He’d had no such problems prior to Covid infection, leading researchers to suggest that it could be responsible.

How did this unpleasant side effect come on? But how on earth did we get from a seasonal virus to a restless anus? Does it have anything to do with restless leg syndrome? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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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 planet.

The label eco-anxiety has emerged as the latest addition to a growing vocabulary around climate change, alongside terms like climate depression and solastalgia.

A 2017 definition from the American Psychiatric Association calls eco-anxiety a “chronic sense of environmental doom”. It’s not strictly speaking a medical diagnosis, but it can interfere with people’s daily lives and personal ambitions.

Is it really that widespread? What’s the best way to manage feelings of eco-anxiety? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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We had already had hints over the summer, but it’s now been confirmed by a recent statement from Facebook HQ. The Silicon Valley tech giant has big plans to hire 10,000 new highly-skilled staff in Europe over the next five years, as part of plans to develop the metaverse.

It’s even planning to change its name, with a rebranding announcement expected any day now.

Wait a minute; are you saying it won’t be called Facebook anymore? A digital parallel universe, huh! What does that even mean? When did this metaverse idea first appear? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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In its fifteen years of existence, Netflix has revolutionised the way we watch films and series, becoming synonymous with the explosion of online streaming.

The company actually started out as a DVD rental business in the United States before the turn of the century. But of course it's now known for its transformation into an on-demand streaming service, the first of its kind in the world.

Its initial success was down to a large catalogue of films and series which drew in the first waves of subscribers.

Since then it’s become more known for producing its own original content, right? Which series have been the most well received? Spill the beans then, which shows came out on top? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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The British government wants to get tough on smoking. On October 20, 2021, MPs submitted to Parliament an amendment to the Health Bill that would allow each cigarette to carry the words "Smoking kills". This is an opportunity to return to the term "e-cigarette". An e-cigarette is a vaporizer that simulates smoking without tobacco consumption. A product like this could therefore help smokers to quit. The use of electronic cigarettes is on the rise, while tobacco sales are dropping. But before we get carried away about wiping out tobacco, we should remember that e-cigarettes are not totally risk-free.

How did e-cigarettes come about? What do they contain? Are they dangerous? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Since launching in the US in 2012, there’s no doubting Tinder has certainly revolutionized dating and relationships. According to Business of Apps, it has over 75 million monthly active users, making it the most used dating app worldwide.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Tinder, it’s just like any online dating platform in that you enter your personal details, orientation and a short bio, upload a few pics, and, this part is important, share your location.

After all, the particular appeal of Tinder is its geolocation system, which lets you connect with and meet people nearby. It quickly became synonymous with swiping: right to like or left to pass. Once you’ve matched with another user, you can exchange private messages.

Sounds simple enough! So what are the latest developments in the world of Tinder? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Look out Premier League clubs, a new big boy is in town! That’s right, following approval of their acquisition by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Newcastle United has all of a sudden become one of the richest clubs in the world!

While the Toon Army are celebrating their club’s new found wealth and dreaming of trophies to come in the future, other observers aren’t in such a buoyant mood. They’ve accused the new owners, who effectively represent the state of Saudi Arabia, of sportswashing.

Have the new owners actually done anything wrong? How common are we talking then? Why would sports clubs or athletes want to risk tarnishing their image with such links? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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With Brexit finally having become a reality earlier this year, could other countries follow suit and leave the EU? Well the prospect of a similar Polexit isn’t outside the realms of possibility according to some observers.

To understand why the term is on everyone’s lips, you need to look back at what happened in Poland on October 7th. The country’s constitutional court found that certain articles of EU treaties were incompatible with the national constitution. It ruled that Polish law should supersede EU law.

The country openly challenging the primacy of European law, which dates back to the 1960s, is truly a historic and unprecedented decision.

What was the EU’s response? How did relations get to be so strained between the EU and Poland? Is Polexit really possible? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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After Generation X, Generation Y (also known as the Millennials) and Gen-Z, where do you go next? Well back to the start of the alphabet as it turns out, albeit a different one! That’s right; Generation Alpha takes its name from the first letter of the Greek alphabet, and it’s the unofficial name for the successors of Gen Z.
The term came from a survey carried out by Australian consulting agency McCrindle Research in 2008. If it catches on enough, we could expect the following generations to be known as Beta, Gamma and Delta.

What are the characteristics of Generation Alpha members then? What else is noteworthy aside from technology? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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The British government is stepping up its pressure on Brussels and demanding "significant changes" in the protocol governing post-Brexit customs arrangements specific to Northern Ireland. It’s been 23 years since the Good Friday peace agreement put an end to The Troubles, a decades-long period of violence which saw 3,500 people die. Nevertheless, in recent weeks riots broke out in loyalist areas of Northern Ireland’s major cities, including Derry and Belfast. Gangs of youths attacked police, injuring scores of officers in the worst violence the country has seen for years.

What’s caused tensions to rise again in Northern Ireland? How did the Troubles begin? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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His name might not be as familiar as that of Stephen King, but that hasn’t stopped novelist Harlan Coben achieving unrivalled success in his field, at least when it comes to book sales. After all, we’re talking 75 million copies of his 32 books printed and sold in over 40 countries worldwide. In his home country, the US, he has won pretty much every award out there for crime novels.

What are the secrets of his success? Given the success of his books, I bet filmmakers were excited at the prospect of adapting them! How has Coban’s popularity grown in recent years? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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We’ve covered several Scandinavian wellness trends in the past and here’s one which is good for both the body and soul. Plogging is a mash-up of the Swedish term “plocka upp”, which means picking up, and the English word “jogging”.

So what are we picking up while jogging? Does it actually burn that many calories? How can I get started then? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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On October 3rd, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists began publishing leaked documents exposing the hidden assets of some of the world’s richest and most powerful people.

Five years after the Panama Papers revelations, the latest investigation, carried out over two years, represents the biggest ever leak of offshore data, showing the global scale of tax evasion. In total 11.9 million documents were leaked, totalling 2.94 terabytes worth of data.

It has been dubbed the Pandora Papers, evoking Pandora’s Box from Greek mythology, a jar containing the world’s evils.

So who is implicated in the Pandora Papers leak? Did they actually do anything illegal? What’s different this time compared to previous leaks like the Paradise Papers and Panama Papers? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Degrowth advocates believe that if we continue prioritising economic growth, political, environmental and geopolitical crises will only increase in number. It’s a form of opposition to consumerist society, all about the importance of the collective over the individual, and planet Earth over the human race.

Where does the term come from? What are the arguments in favour of degrowth? So how do we get started on ‘degrowing’? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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In the midst of the scandal surrounding pedocriminality within the Catholic Church, conversion therapies have been voted to be banned in France on October 5, 2021. Conversion therapy, also known as homotherapy, is a pseudoscientific practice that seeks to convert homosexuals to heterosexuality, or at least encourage them to be abstinent. Largely pushed by religious groups, this kind of therapy is still growing in Europe and America. The practices are not only ineffective, but can also be dangerous.

OK so it’s mainly a thing in religious or conservative countries, is it? So does it actually work? Can you change someone’s sexual orientation? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Just a couple of weeks ago, 90s catwalk star Linda Evangelista shared an emotional post on Instagram. The model revealed she had left the public eye for the last five years to hide the disastrous results of a coolsculpting procedure.

She has decided to sue Zeltiq Aesthetics, the company who markets CoolSculpting, for $50M, arguing the botched treatment has had a huge impact on her earnings and emotional distress.

So is CoolSculpting a kind of cosmetic procedure then? So what went wrong on this occasion? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Hearing the term will likely make you think of another kind of psycho-social condition related to the world of work; that of a burnout. Well bore-outs are perhaps less well-known than their workaholic cousin, but they are actually much more common.

A Forbes article from January 2020 suggested that between 43% and 53% of employees are bored of their job.

What are the signs of a bore-out? What are the primary causes? What can be done to avoid a bore-out? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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