In the UK, Christmas is synonymous with festive meals, Yule logs, and the classic roast turkey. We adorn our homes with red, gold, and green decorations, and the Christmas tree takes center stage – a topic we've previously explored on this podcast. These traditions have become so ingrained in our lives that we rarely question their origins. Take, for instance, the tradition of exchanging Christmas gifts.

Is the act of gift-giving tied to Christianity? How did New Year's gifts evolve into Christmas gifts then? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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

Why do we kiss under the mistletoe?

Where did the story of the Grinch come from?

Why do the Japanese eat KFC at Christmas?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

24/12/2023

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christmas need not be a frenzy of shopping and unwanted gifts; more and more of us want to be mindful, minimal-waste consumers so here are some tips on how to have an eco-friendly Christmas. 

Real trees are more sustainable than artificial, but there is still a lot of waste, once Christmas is over go to recyclenow.com to find out about drop-off points in your area, where old trees get turned into chippings for local parks and woodland areas. Alternatively, consider renting a real tree that is replanted once you are done. The same goes for wreaths, real and if you are on a budget you can make your own from foliage, red berries, or mistletoe that you can pick up in a park or wood.  

How to have an eco-friendly tree and decorations? What about gifts? What about the meal? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To listen to the latest episodes, click here:

Why do Christmas decorations make me feel happier?

How can I choose the perfect gift, according to science?

Why is the latest wave of Covid-19 destabilising the Chinese regime?

A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Amber Minogue.

First Broadcast: 19/12/2022

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to Chinese media outlet The Sixth Tone, butler cafés are enjoying impressive success. They’ve been springing up all over big cities since 2021.

In China, an interesting trend has been catching on. An increasing number of women are paying for male companionship in establishments known as butler cafés. Review sites list dozens of outlets offering butler services.

And how do they work? Is it a new concept? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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

What is attachment theory?

What is the best time of year to find work?

How can I beat a hangover?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

First broadcast: 23/9/2021

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christmas is seen as a season of joy, but it can also be a testing time for many people, whether it’s mentally, emotionally, physically or financially. And 2022 may be worse than most years in that respect.

Most of the population are feeling additional pressure due to the cost-of-living crisis, and Christmas tends to be an expensive time. Furthermore, upsetting news stories have been dominating headlines throughout the year, like the ongoing war in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion, the global climate crisis and new waves of Covid 19.

What’s the best way to deal with difficult family situations? What strategies can I adopt? What should I do if it all just gets too much? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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

At which time of day do we burn the most calories?

Why does the cold make us need to pee?

How can I meditate without meditating?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

First broadcast: 22/12/2022

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Muscle pain generally occurs after an intense sports session. "They are due either to unusual muscular work, or to an increase in the intensity of a workout, or to the resumption of a sporting activity after a break". According to Sports coach William Chanconie. In fact, muscle soreness results from micro-lesions in the muscle fibres and signals that the muscle has been damaged. 

When you feel pain going up the stairs after a long session at the gym, it's simply a sign that you've worked muscles that were weak to begin with, under-used, or that you've done a poor job. According to William Chanconie, the absence of pain is a sign of a good training session.

What can you do to avoid them? What if you still feel sore? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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

How can I stop being a people pleaser?

Does our personality change when we speak in another language?

How can I best preserve food in my freezer ?

A podcast written and realised by Amber Minogue.

First Broadcast: 8/2/2024

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sleep is often seen as a waste of time. Many businessmen, politicians, and celebrities boast about sleeping only 5 hours per night or even being insomniacs. However, despite its sometimes bad reputation, sleep is essential for maintaining good health and aging well.

Bear in mind that no one has ever gone longer than 11 and a half days without sleeping. As a point of comparison, Scottish man Angus Barbieri went 382 days without eating any solid food in the 1960s, and in 1979 an Austrian man survived 18 days without any food or water. So you can understand just how essential sleep is for human life.

What does our body do during sleep ? What happens during REM sleep ? Does sleep also help us assimilate experiences we've had during the daytime ? Are there any other theories out there? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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

What is Rufus the Hawks job at Wimbledon?

What is an eco-friendly beach ?

Why do we get grumpy when we're hungry?

A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance.

First Broadcast: 5/7/2023

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all yawn regularly, without giving it much thought most of the time. Harvard Health Publishing says that people yawn between 5 and 20 times per day on average. Indeed, it’s a completely involuntary reflex which sets in very early on in our existence, as fetuses in our mother’s womb.

Yawning mobilizes the respiratory, face and neck muscles, and is often associated with a feeling of relaxation and well-being. Nevertheless, it’s often perceived as something we do when we’re bored or tired. As a result, it can be considered impolite to yawn when someone else is talking or without placing your hand over your mouth.

Does yawning serve a purpose? So why do I yawn when my partner does, even if I’m not tired? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions !

To listen to the latest episodes, click here:

Can I get health benefits from masturbation?

How have dating apps broken into the friendship market?

Does voluntourism do more harm than good?

A podcast written and realised by Amber Minogue.

First Broadcast: 29/8/2022

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 2010, Japanese writer Mari Kondo changed how we think about organisation and decluttering with her bestseller The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Behind the book’s grand title is a simple premise: anything that doesn’t bring you joy should be thrown away. 

Since then, a new and somewhat similar trend caught on in the late 2010s: death cleaning. It’s mainly designed for people entering the final stages of their life, and making sure they don’t overboard before passing away. People started talking about death cleaning in 2018, when Stockholm-based artist and widow Margareta Magnusson published a book called The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. Since then, the trend has started catching on. The name comes from the Swedish döstädning: a combination of the word “dö”, which means death, and “standing”, which means cleaning. 

How did Magnusson come up with the term? Where does death cleaning fit in alongside other minimalist trends? From what age do people start death cleaning? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions !

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

What is a faecal transplant?

What is BookTok?

What is the romance gap?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

First Broadcast: 12/8/2022

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 the last episodes, you can click here:

Can you eat eggs everyday?

What is Lucky Girl syndrome, this new method that is all the rage on Tik Tok?

Which type of wine is best for your health?

A podcast written and realised by Amber Minogue.

First broadcast: 19/1/2023

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The prostate is a male organ that's situated right above the bladder, in front of the rectum. It's a small gland the size of a chestnut that plays a fundamental role in the reproductive system. It produces the protastic fluids that ensure the maturation and survival of sperm.

The prostate is also an incredibly erogenous zone, though it's not often explored amongst heterosexual men. Psychoanalyst and sex therapist Alain Héril for Slate said that: "The simulation of this gland over the course of a prostatic massage provokes a very particular pleasure. This massage can be done using hands or specific sextoys. The prospate is also a very fragile organ, so it's important to get it check - especially as you get older.

Why is it important to get my prostate checked? How can I avoid prostate cancer? How can I take care of this organ on the daily? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To listen to the latest episodes, click here:

Should I take part in Buy Nothing Day?

How to buy second hand gifts?

How can I stay trendy buying only second hand clothes?

A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance.

First broadcast: 28/11/2022.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices