Do you really know?

Maybe you’re among the millions of new users to have recently downloaded messaging app Signal. Just like Whatsapp or Messenger, Signal is a free-to-use messaging app which can be used on smartphone or desktop computers. Unlike its competitors though, Signal is independent and prides itself on being the most secure messaging app around.

The first version of the Signal app launched in 2015, created by American entrepreneur Moxie Marlinspike. But it was only at the start of 2021 that Signal really took off. And ironically, its new found success is largely down to competitor Whatsapp.

For years now many of us have been using Whatsapp to call friends across the globe, without racking up a massive phone bill. Its group functions allow friends, family and colleagues to share media.

Ah yes the famous family Whatsapp group that I’ve had on mute for about two years now!

Anyway, all was going well for Whatsapp and its 2 billion users until the start of 2021. One day, parent company Facebook, announced that its terms of use were changing. A new mandatory privacy policy would see some information shared with Facebook and Instagram, in order to serve targeted advertising.

Facebook did its best to reassure Whatsapp users that this would only affect messages to business or enterprise accounts. The deadline for accepting the new policy has also now been pushed back by three months. But the damage has been done, and many fear that Facebook could seek to access their private messages and photos.

A tweet from Elon Musk, who recently became the richest person in the world, added flames to the fire. The post to his millions of followers simply read “Use Signal”. Whistleblower and former NSA contractor Edward Snowden has also backed Signal, expressly stating it is more secure than Whatsapp.

So what does Signal have that Whatsapp doesn’t? In what way is it independent? Who does Signal belong to? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To l…

Prithee, a maiden doth serenade from afar! What enchanting melody be this?

Fear not, Shakira didn’t rip-off a medieval musician when she brought out Hips Don’t Lie in 2005. What you’re listening to was created by medieval minstrels of the 21st century. You might call them bards, as they enjoy creating medieval covers of modern-day hits. This kind of music has been baptised bardcore, or tavernwave.

Another crazy internet phenomenon! Where on earth did bardcore come from?

Modern musicians have been exploring Middle Age music styles and instruments for a number of years. But the bardcore boom is relatively recent, dating back to April 2020. Most of the world’s population was locked indoors, hiding from Covid-19, the modern-day equivalent of the Black Death. 27-year-old Cornelius Link from Germany became perhaps the first ever Bardcore composer. The web developer made the most of his time in lockdown by creating a medieval remake of electronic dance track Astronomia, best known from its use in the coffin dance meme.

Inspired by Link’s work, a number of dedicated Youtube channels sprung up in a short space of time, all posting medieval covers. Some put their sounds together using audio software, while others actually record themselves playing contemporary instruments like the lute, pipe, harp or tambourine.

Let’s take another listen.When we looked, this cover of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance already had 6.5 million views in just 7 months! Not bad huh?!

Why do I feel like the words are different? How similar is the bardcore style to real Medieval music? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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You won’t find the term compersion in the dictionary, but it could be defined as the pleasure derived from seeing someone else experience happiness and joy. It’s often associated with polyamory and non-monogamous relationships, having been coined by the Keristan polyamorous community in 1970s California.

So are you saying I should be happy if my partner loves someone else?

Compersion is all about being happy for someone else, even when their positive experience isn’t related to us. In a relationship, you could see it as the opposite of jealousy and possessiveness. Compulsory monogamy is a social mandate which suggests that having multiple partners at the same time is immoral. We are traditionally raised to view dating in this way, which can lead to an expectation of jealousy and feelings of ownership over our partners.

That’s not to say that polyamory is for everyone, but some couples have taken the conscious decision to move away from the status quo when they feel it’s not working for them. Society teaches us that we’re supposed to satisfy all of our partner’s needs and vice versa but often that’s simply an unrealistic expectation.

How do people go about cultivating compersion in polyamorous relationships? Can compersion exist outside of polyamory? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Today is Inauguration Day, and Joe Biden is to be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, following his victory in November’s election. Inauguration Day is perhaps the ultimate public display of American democracy, marking a peaceful transition from one president to the next.

There’s been nothing peaceful about the events of recent weeks in the United States!

Traditionally, the outgoing President escorts the President-elect from the White House to the Capitol on Inauguration Day. But it came to the surprise of no-one when Donald Trump announced he wouldn’t be attending Biden’s inauguration.

Trump has adamantly contested the election result and repeatedly refused to concede. He then became the first US President to be impeached a second time, for his role in inciting the storming of the Capitol exactly two weeks ago.

All fifty states are on alert, prepared for armed pro-Trump marches and possible violent outbreaks. More than 20,000 National Guard troops are to be deployed in Washington DC.

Tell me more about the historical traditions of Inauguration Day! In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Sorry to start the week with bad news but today is Blue Monday, often cited as the most depressing day of the year. Blue Monday has existed since 2005, and is based on an equation which takes into account various factors. However, its detractors criticise the idea as pseudoscience and say it is driven by money.

Why does Blue Monday occur in January?

Since the first Blue Monday equation was devised by psychologist Cliff Arnall, there have been a few different variants, but there are common elements to each.

Of course you’ve got the winter weather, which explains why Blue Monday isn’t a phenomenon in the southern Hemisphere, where January is a summer month. Blue Monday is also not well known in the United States, as it usually clashes with Martin Luther King Day.

Furthermore, people are often indebted in January, after overspending at Christmas time, and there’s still over a week to wait until payday. The joy of the holiday season has passed and many of us have already failed to stick to our New Year’s resolutions.

Black Friday, Super Saturday, Blue Monday - why do I get the feeling this is just another marketing thing? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Bionic soldiers have been making headlines since early December, when a French military ethics committee approved the development of technological upgrades for members of the country’s armed forces.

Less than a week prior to that announcement, the US Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe raised concerns about China’s military technology plans. Writing an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, he accused Beijing of “developing soldiers with biologically enhanced capabilities”, with the ultimate aim being to “dominate the US and the rest of the planet economically, militarily and technologically.”

And the United States government has also invested heavily itself in developing new generation military technology. In 2016, it spent millions to create an implant allowing the human brain to communicate with computers.

This all sounds like something out of science fiction! Are we going to see cyborgs on the battlefield soon?

It’s true that the idea of enhancing a human's physical or cognitive abilities through the use of technology was long restricted to sci-fi. Films like Universal Soldier and Robocop are perfect examples. But recent discussions around bionic soldiers have made such developments seem closer to becoming reality.

French defence minister Florence Parly insisted that there were currently no plans to develop bionic soldiers, but the ethics committee ruling does mean it would be allowed in the future. Using a superhero analogy, Parly said the country’s intention would be to have armoured fighters like Iron Man, rather than genetic mutants like Spiderman.

What kind of enhancements would bionic soldiers have compared to regular humans? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Induced lactation refers to the production of breast milk in non-gestational parents. That’s right, a woman who hasn’t ever been pregnant can still breastfeed their child using this method. Sounds complicated? Well it is, but it’s not impossible, and it can allow adoptive or surrogate mothers to breastfeed if they desire.

The benefits of breastfeeding for a baby’s wellbeing and development are well documented, in addition to the emotional bond the physical connection can create. Quite simply, breast milk is seen as the best food for a baby, so it’s understandably an option that many families would wish to explore.

In 2019, a collection of photos showing a same-sex married couple breastfeeding their twins together went viral. Kelly Pfeiffer had carried the babies, while her wife Jaclyn induced lactation.

What’s the science behind induced lactation then?

Human breast tissue contains small clusters of alveoli, whether you’re a woman or a man. These hollow cavities are lined with cells which secrete milk. But it’s actually the hormone prolactin, produced by the pituitary gland in the brain, which stimulates the mammary glands and is mainly responsible for lactation.

Interestingly, prolactin is present in the bodies of both women and men. Outside of pregnancy, women have around a third more prolactin in their bodies compared to men. During a pregnancy, this rises to 10 times more. This spike is what causes the breasts to swell and breast milk to be produced.

In the case of induced lactation, hormone therapy and herbs may be used to simulate the effects of pregnancy, with close medical supervision of course. It’s also possible to produce milk through mechanical stimulation only. Devices like breast pumps and feeding tubes can assist.

The process produces low volumes of milk to start with, but studies have shown the milk is just as good for a baby as that of biological mothers.

Women planning to induce lactation shoul…

Back in 2013, anthropology professor David Graeber penned an essay in radical magazine Strike, criticising the proliferation of what he called Bullshit jobs. Despite having a higher social status compared to careers in teaching or nursing for example, these positions are effectively pointless. Even those paid to occupy them often struggle to justify their existence. And yet teachers and nurses are less well paid despite offering a more meaningful contribution to society.

Well yes, there’s a reason they’ve been called “essential workers” during the Covid-19 pandemic, isn’t there?

That’s right, and in fact the last year has seen some high-profile instances of bullshit work. Think of the UK consulting firms that as of October 2020 had been paid a combined £175m to advise the government on its response to the pandemic. This use of public money has come under strong scrutiny, especially due to the poor results achieved.

One example was the £560,000 contract awarded to McKinsey & Company to define the “vision, purpose and narrative” of the country’s testing programme.

What was the impact of Graeber’s essay? Do you have some examples of these BS jobs then? So what’s the solution to the bullshit jobs problem? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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With over 3 billion visits per month, it’s the 10th most popular website worldwide. Don’t act all innocent; if you have an internet connection, it’s almost certain you have at least heard of PornHub.

It’s perhaps the world’s most popular porn site but it has been making headlines for controversial reasons in the last month. Reports have surfaced, accusing PornHub of hosting illegal content, such as videos of non-consensual sex and child abuse.

How did PornHub get to be so successful?

The site was launched in Montreal in 2007 and has grown explosively ever since, being bought out by MindGeek in 2010. Each year, a combined 6 million videos are uploaded to the platform by pros and amateur members of the PornHub community.

In 2019, PornHub recorded over 40 billion visits in a single year. For comparison’s sake, that’s more annual traffic than either Amazon or Netflix. Analytics site Similarweb estimates the average time on site at 8 minutes and 53 seconds.

It sounds like everything is going swimmingly at PornHub then! Until December 4th 2020... In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Over the last few years, citizens have been planting tiny forests in towns and country settings. There are now over 2,000 across the world, all inspired by the Miyawaki method and designed to help prevent the collapse of biodiversity.

Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki was born in 1928. While studying seeds and natural forests, he observed that the vast majority of Japanese forests were made by humans. Trees had been planted according to the quality of their wood, in order to build buildings or houses. The problem was that these trees weren’t the most resistant or efficient against global warming.

Don’t we already have a lot of forests in Europe?

You’re right in so far as forests cover 182 million hectares or 43% of the total land area in the continent. The figure for the UK is comparatively low, at just 3.21 million hectares and 13% of land area.

The thing is most of this land is accounted for by monoculture forests, which are only home to one type of tree. As explained by non-profit organisation Project Drawdown, many were created “with purely economic motives and little regard for the long-term well-being of the land, environment, or surrounding communities.”

The resulting lack of plant biodiversity in turn has a negative impact on animal biodiversity, and can cause diseases to spread more easily.

Let’s get back to Miyawaki. Tell me more about how his method works. What is the environmental benefit of all this? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Picture this: you’re indoors, in front of a warm fireplace, with a plaid rug over your legs, sipping a cup of tea or cocoa while watching a film. Or you could be relaxing with a candlelit bath, soothing music and a book in your hands. Well, you might not realise it, but you’re experiencing a typical hygge moment.

Wait a minute, what language are we talking about here?

The word is derived from a 16th century Norwegian term for wellbeing, and can’t be literally translated to English. Hygge is generally described as a concept of cosiness and conviviality, which is a way of life for Danes in particular.

It’s a highly flexible word, which can be used as a noun, verb or adjective. It’s omnipresent and has an endless amount of compound forms, such as hyggebusker. That’s a comfortable pair of sweatpants you secretly love but would never wear in public.

When did hygge get to be so popular? Is this kind of cosiness really that specific to Scandinavia? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Well here we are in 2021. Many are glad to see the back of 2020, now looking forward optimistically to the future thanks to global developments like the arrival of Covid-19 vaccines and Joe Biden entering the White House.

The turn of the year also means it’s time to come up with New Year’s resolutions. Setting ourselves objectives for the whole year is always a big ask, and not everyone is able to keep theirs for various reasons.

When were New Year’s resolutions actually invented?

Nowadays, New Year’s resolutions are primarily a Western custom, but their origins actually go back to Mesopotamia in the 3rd century BC. The Babylonians would celebrate the twelve-day Akitu festival to commemorate the New Year. They would pledge their loyalty to the king and promise to pay back any debts they owed. The idea was that the gods would look favourably on them in the year ahead.

In Roman times, new year’s resolutions were linked to two-faced god Janus, who was believed to look both backwards at the previous year and forward into the future. The Romans made sacrifices to Janus and promised their good behaviour for the new year.

In this day and age however, New Year’s resolutions are mostly secular and tend to focus on self-improvement.

What are the most popular New Year’s resolutions? And does anyone actually keep their resolutions? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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In early December, the IOC officially announced it was adding breaking to the list of Olympic sports for the Paris 2024 Games. First and foremost, breaking is a form of art which was pioneered in the 1970s by members of the New York hip-hop movement.

Oh right, you’re talking about breakdancing!

Well yes, but the term breakdancing was actually invented by the media. This form of urban dance was originally known as “breaking”, as any self-respecting Bboy or Bgirl will tell you. Those are the terms for male or female practitioners.

So why is it called breaking? How did breaking make it into the Olympics then? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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OK, so you’re looking for a new calendar on which to mark family birthdays, Covid-19 dependent holiday plans and dentist appointments in 2021. Well, sorry the cosmic calendar won’t be of much use to you.

It’s totally different to the Gregorian or Islamic calendars, which measure individual days. The cosmic calendar is actually a method of scaling down the entire 13.8 billion year history of the universe, to match a 365-day year. Everything is in chronological order, so one can visualise cosmic evolution, the evolution of life, the relatively short evolution of humans and the even shorter period since history began.

In 1977 astrophysicist Carl Sagan published an essay called The Dragon of Eden, in which featured the first cosmic calendar.

OK, so how does it work?

Us humans are accustomed to measuring time in seconds, minutes and hours. Sagan’s concept helps us to have a better idea of the chronology of the universe. Each day in the cosmic calendar represents 37.8 million years of “real” time, while even a single second is equivalent to 438 years.

The calendar visualisation starts off with the Big Bang at midnight on January 1st, with the universe expanding, cooling and gravitating since. The present day is shown at the very end of the cosmic calendar year, on December 31st.

You can follow the cosmic evolution of the universe, such as the forming of the first stars and galaxies in early January. Believe it or not, our Milky Way Galaxy only forms on May 11th, with the Sun and Earth appearing in September.

Dinosaurs show up at Christmas time, but are then extinct five days later. The first sight of “anatomically modern humans”, also known as homosapiens, is only five minutes before the end of the year. Meanwhile recorded history, based on written records, only covers the final 10 seconds.

Well consider my mind blown! All those years of human history are just a flicker of time really... In under 3 minutes, we answ…

After testing and vaccination in 2020, the immunity passport is likely to be one of next year’s Covid-19 hot topics. Apps on our smartphones will be able to show whether we have been tested or vaccinated. The upside? It could lead to the reopening of international travel, meaning we’ll be able to go on holiday again as a result, and access other freedoms.

Big Brother’s watching us - It all sounds a bit creepy to me!

Well the idea of a vaccination card as an entry mechanism is actually far from new. Over a century ago, certain American schools required students and teachers alike to show evidence of their smallpox vaccination. A more recent example is the yellow card, a travel document created by the World Health Organisation in the 1960s. It’s used to prove whether a person has been vaccinated for yellow fever.

I’m guessing the 21st century version must come in the form of an app? Has there been any opposition to the idea of immunity passports? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Well, there you have it, Christmas 2020 has come and gone faster than you can say “socially distanced celebrations! Some influencers will nevertheless be relieved to take some time off, after a full month of Vlogmas.

The idea is to post a video per day from December 1st through to Christmas, like an Advent calendar. Sometimes this practice can extend through to the New Year. So if you love vlogs and love Christmas too, well this is perfect for you.

Beauty and lifestyle Youtuber Ingrid Nilsen is credited with creating the tradition back in 2011, when she was known as Missglamorazzi. At the time, daily vlogging was relatively rare and the project was a spur-of-the-moment thing. Since then however Vlogmas has become a real phenomenon, with online content and searches growing year-on-year.

What’s the idea then - festive-themed vlogs?

Since Vlogmas first appeared, December has become an important month for influencers. It’s like a marathon for vloggers, in particular for lifestyle Youtubers. Every day is a new immersion into the influencer’s daily life, more or less around the theme of Christmas, taking in activities like buying and putting up decorations, last-minute shopping and of course unwrapping gifts.

Some posts get hundreds of thousands of views and a simple search for “Vlogmas” on Youtube yields a seemingly endless number of results.

It sure sounds like a lot of work during the holiday season! What’s in it for the influencers themselves then? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three scientists for their breakthroughs in understanding one of the Milky Way’s darkest secrets: the black hole. The winners were British physicist Sir Roger Penrose, American astronomer Andrea Ghez and German astrophysicist Reinhard Genzel.

The closest black hole to Planet Earth is situated 1011 light years away and it’s believed one exists in every galaxy. Black holes generally form when a large star collapses in upon itself. As you may have guessed, black holes don’t emit any light and are therefore invisible in space. Their pulling force is so strong that nothing can escape, not even light.

If black holes are invisible, how can we even be sure they exist?

Black holes are indeed invisible, but astronomers have come up with ways to locate them. They have had to closely observe material and stars around black holes, which allows them to better understand the characteristics and behaviour of the black holes themselves, like their size and mass.

There are actually three main types of black hole: primordial, stellar and supermassive. Evidence suggests that all large galaxies have a supermassive black hole at their centre.

Scientists were able to detect the supermassive Sagittarius A* black hole in our galaxy by noticing that stars were orbiting around something that couldn’t be seen. Their presence in other galaxies has been revealed by high-energy jets of material, which can be emitted when a black hole consumes a star for example.

How can black holes be so powerful that they can even trap light? Are you saying we’ve never been able to look directly at a black hole? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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On December 10th, US President Donald Trump recognised Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region. The announcement came as a surprise, and has significant consequences, such as the normalization of relations between Morocco and Israel. Following the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan, Morocco is the fourth Arab League country to recognise Israel in recent months.

Situated in the North-west of Africa, the region of Western Sahara has a surface area of over 100,000m₂. It is one of the world’s most sparsely populated territories, consisting mainly of desert flatlands. It can be found to the south of Morocco, the north of Mauritania, and also shares a border with Algeria. The region has been contested for several decades now, and is one of the world’s last remaining major non-self-governing territories.

So who does the Western Sahara region actually belong to then?

Well, it was actually a Spanish colony from the late 19th century through to 1975. A self-determination referendum was due to take place that year, but Morocco expressed its opposition, having continually claimed the territory since the 1950s.

Following the Spanish withdrawal, Morocco annexed two-thirds of Western Sahara. It would go on to gradually secure control of around 80% of the territory, including all major cities and natural resources, which it continues to administrate.

The remaining 20%, the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, is controlled by the Polisario Front. This group is an indigenous independence movement which was founded in 1973, and has the support of Algeria.

What has caused the situation to escalate in recent months? Could this fighting have any impact on the US-brokered deal? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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In case you haven’t noticed, it’s Christmas Eve today, which means it’s time for the annual custom of last-minute gift wrapping. If you’re feeling creative, here’s an eco-friendly technique which dates back to 8th century Japan: Furoshiki wrapping.

Furoshiki is the art of wrapping objects in fabric, which was first used by Japanese nobles to protect valuable objects. The word literally translates as “bath spread”, as people carried their clothes in such fabrics when going to public baths. When sewing machines were invented, the practice became more and more common, for transporting shopping items or food. Until plastic bags came along in the 20th century, that is.

Is Furoshiki another victim of those damn plastic bags then?

That seemed to be the case, but increasing awareness of environmental issues has seen a furoshiki revival since the turn of the century. The Japanese Minister for the Environment has been promoting it officially for some time now, even publishing a guide on various wrapping techniques such as the Otsukai Tsutsumi, Katake futuro and Yotsu Musubi.

Great, I just wish I understood Japanese! In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Ho, ho, ho, Christmas time is here! For many people, the holiday season brings to mind decorations, gifts, and happy moments spent in good company.

But that’s not the case for everybody, and we would all do well to remember that. Some people find Christmas a difficult moment to live through, which causes sadness known as the Christmas blues.

Who are these people who don’t love Christmas then?

Well, there are actually several different types of Christmas blues that people experience. Firstly, you’ve got people who simply don’t like Christmas or find the period particularly joyful. Everyone has their own reasons, but it’s often linked to the apparent obligation of celebrating Christmas with false cheer. Some feel forced to see family members they don’t get on with, just because it’s a tradition that comes around once a year. And that can bring negative thoughts and feelings to the surface.

Others feel excluded and lonely during the holiday season, especially if they don’t have family around. It can be difficult to come to terms with being on your own, when everyone else is gathering with several generations of family around the dinner table.

Christmas Blues are also caused by the build up to the big day, which can be stressful for financial reasons. It’s no secret that Christmas goes hand-in-hand with gift giving. Many people are already struggling to make ends meet each month during the current economic downturn. So the pressure to spend extra money on presents can lead to feelings of shame about financial hardship.

So how can we help those feeling the Christmas blues, and avoid suffering from it ourselves? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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In the struggle against climate change, politicians are getting behind technological innovation. But some experts believe that, rather than high-tech, we should instead be banking on the simple, robust and reparable solutions offered by low tech. The all-powerful nature of high-tech has been called into question for decades, with regular controversies and debates on subjects like robots, satellites or artificial intelligence. As far back as the 1970s, author Ivan Illich published “Tools for Conviviality” about the proper use of technology, in which he argued that society should “give people tools that guarantee their right to work with independent efficiency”. In this day and age, tools are overwhelmingly controlled by specialists. For example, very few of us know how to build or repair a smartphone, car or washing machine.

Isn’t the awesome thing about technology that it’s guaranteed to become more and more complex?

Well not everyone agrees with that. Experts have warned that renewable energies, nanotechnologies and biotechnologies all use up scarce resources, which are complex and difficult to recycle. The idea behind low tech is effectively to do more, better, with less. From a technical point of view, a low tech object should be durable, robust and reparable or recyclable. It should also consume little in the way of raw materials and energy. So designers are coming up with low-tech houses, cars, agriculture and even computers. But remember that renewable materials don’t last forever. It would be foolish to think we can maintain current production levels with different techniques. So before figuring out how to optimise production techniques, we need to accept that producing less is a necessity.

OK so we’re talking about people who want us to go back to the stone age basically! In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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Gender dysphoria describes the unease that people can feel when there is a mismatch between their biological sex and gender identity. So for example a person with male genitals and facial hair might not identify as a man. This unease can cause depression and anxiety in some cases, and have a real impact on a person’s daily life.

How is this label different from more commonly used terms like transidentity?

The term transsexualism, which appeared in the 1950s, was used for almost everything until recently. In medical jargon, it has gradually been replaced. In 1980, the American Psychiatric Association included it in its list of mental illnesses, as a psychosexual disorder. In 2013, it clarified that gender dysphoria itself wasn’t a mental disorder, but that its main characteristic was the resulting discomfort. It’s important to recognise that not all transgender people experience gender dysphoria, as they may feel perfectly at ease with their bodies. In recent years, there’s been a shift in terminology, with gender dysphoria increasingly being used instead of other long-standing terms like “identity disorder” or “transidentity”. And yet, the term itself isn’t new! The notion emerged in 1973, around the time when gender studies were developing. It was coined in the United States by psychiatrist Norman Fisk and plastic surgeon Donald Laub.

What can people with gender dysphoria suffer from? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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What is The Cartel Project?
What is an mRNA vaccine?
What is Fast Fashion?

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In early December, the Forbidden Stories consortium unveiled The Cartel Project, which continues and publishes the work of other journalists who are victims of threats, prison sentences or murder.

It takes its name from the work of Mexican journalist Regina Martinez, who was killed in 2012 while investigating links between drug cartels and politicians. Martinez was working for a weekly investigative news magazine called Proceso when she was found dead in her home.

For several months now, 60 journalists from 18 countries have been continuing her work as part of the project, and looking into the suspicious circumstances of her death. They come from 25 different media outlets, including the Washington Post, the Guardian, El Pais, La Prensa and Le Monde.

That’s impressive! How have all these media outlets managed to work together?

Everything has been coordinated by Forbidden Stories. It’s a global network of investigative journalists which was created in 2017. Forbidden Stories was also behind the Daphne project, named after Daphne Caruana Galizia, a journalist who was murdered in Malta that year.

But let’s get back to The Cartel Project. 199 journalists have been killed in Mexico since the turn of the century, with eight victims this year. These figures make it the world’s most dangerous country for reporters. A large proportion of these crimes are committed in the Veracruz region, where drug cartels have a strong influence.

Working on links between politicians and drug cartels in Mexico is certainly a dangerous business. Founder Laurent Richard has gone on record as saying the Cartel Project is the most dangerous investigation that Forbidden Stories has ever opened.

After 10 months of work, a lot of information has come out, in particular evidence that Mexican drug cartels continue to prosper with impunity for crimes against journalists. It has emerged that 99% of such crimes against Mexican journalists are never…

The first two COVID-19 vaccines to pass clinical trials have a significant point in common. They are both mRNA vaccines, and in fact, it will be the very first time vaccines of this kind have been made available to the public. Patients in the UK already started being vaccinated a week ago, but some observers are concerned by the unknown characteristics of this technology.

RNA is an abbreviation of ribonucleic acid. Inside our bodies, this substance transports the information contained in DNA, and produces proteins. Scientists have been aware of RNA for decades, but are still far from unravelling all its mysteries. Many studies have sought to find medical uses, like treating cancers or genetic disorders for example.

There had already been some unsuccessful mRNA vaccine tests in the past. But the Covid-19 pandemic really caused research in this area to accelerate.

What’s the difference between a traditional vaccine and an mRNA vaccine?

Conventional vaccine procedures see patients injected with either a weakened or destroyed virus. As a result, the organism learns to recognise it and produce its own defences. The difference with an mRNA vaccine is that the person receives genetic material that encodes the viral protein. After this is injected, the person’s own cells are able to produce antigens and generate an immune response.

On average, conventional viruses take between 10 and 15 years to develop. On the other hand, mRNA vaccines can be produced far more quickly, and at less cost, as they are constructed using only the pathogen’s genetic code. Given the gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was essential to come up with a new vaccine to deploy on a large scale as soon as possible.

That all sounds great, but aren’t we at risk of becoming genetically modified humans? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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What is Fast Fashion?
What is microwork?
What is retrospec…

Fast fashion is to fashion what fast food is to dining. That is to say a poor-quality imitation, which everybody criticises but still nevertheless consumes!

Adopted by many clothing brands, this strategy consists of regularly bringing out new collections and offering low-price items. Customers are therefore encouraged to buy new clothes almost constantly.

These practices haven’t just come about by magic. They meet an increasing level of demand caused by expanding middle classes across the world, especially in developing countries. These consumers want more clothes and in particular cheaper clothes. The MacArthur Foundation estimates that by 2050, clothes sales will have at least tripled worldwide.

The fashion industry has no reason to sell less, as explained by Ryan Gellert, managing director for brand Patagonia

The apparel industry has become one of the most polluting in the world. As an industry we're creating product that people don't need by stimulating demand, and creating this sense that if you don't buy it now it's not gonna be available. There's this race to the bottom on price and quality that is an unsustainable model.

This all seems rather bleak, so what can we do? Stop wearing clothes and turn to naturism? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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What is retrospective contact tracing?
What is the Iranian nuclear program?
What is cultured meat?

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