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FAQs about The Thought Show:How many episodes does The Thought Show have?The podcast currently has 105 episodes available.
May 25, 2017Uganda’s refugeesHas Uganda been accepting more refugees on a daily basis than some European countries manage in an entire year? That is the claim from the Norwegian Refugee Council – and it is a claim we put to the test. Civil war and famine in South Sudan have forced millions to leave their homes, and this has had a colossal impact on neighbouring Uganda. We speak to Gopolang Makou, a researcher at Africa Check who has some startling figures to share.Kony2012 was a social media campaign which led to a US-backed manhunt for an African warlord. 5 years on the hunt’s been called off and Joseph Kony is still on the run. We look back at a turning point in online activism. Also, the Buddhist priest mixing traditional chants with techno beats in an effort to attract younger people to his temple in Japan. Some people are numbers people – and some are not. One meltdown moment in the classroom is often all it takes to put people off maths for life. But, when you lose the ability to interrogate numbers, it makes it easier to be fooled by fancy figures. Timandra Harkness asks why people are intimidated by numbers.Image: Bidi Bidi Refugee Camp...more50minPlay
May 11, 2017An Urban MazeSome parts of towns are hard to navigate and seem like an urban maze. Navigation expert Dr Ruth Dalton explains to Jordan Dunbar that it’s to do with “intelligibility”, as they go on a tour of the Barbican Estate in London, a famous example of Brutalist architecture, which people struggle to find their way around. The technique for finding your way out of a maze is also revealed. The so-called Islamic State group is using a new tactic to market itself. Typically associated with videos showing killings and destruction, supporters of the terrorist group are now using cartoons aimed at children and adults in order to recruit followers.And why are we creatures of habit? Doing everyday tasks without thinking frees our brains for more complicated decision making, but what happens when we form habits beyond our control, and how do we form good habits rather than bad ones? Shiulie Ghosh investigates.(Photo: 'Floating' gardens in the Barbican Estate, Credit: Roger Jackson/Getty Images)...more50minPlay
May 04, 2017The UK’s Foreign Secretary Gets a Fact CheckThe UK‘s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn get a fact check for claims they’ve made since the General Election was called. How much does the UK pay to belong to the EU, how many French people are there in Britain and what’s happening to living standards? Tim Harford checks the statistics.Why are some global companies and fashion brands now using the Muslim headscarf to promote their products and what impact is that having on female Muslims?Does society discriminate against short people and if so, why? Is it worse for men than for women? Felicity Evans, who at 5 foot (152 cm) tall is shorter than average, investigates.(Photo: Foreign secretary Boris Johnson arrives for a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street. Credit: Getty Images)...more50minPlay
April 27, 2017The Death Rate of White AmericansThroughout the 20th Century the developed world saw mortality rates fall but one group who may no longer be benefitting are middle-aged white Americans. This is according to research from the eminent economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton. But the work has been criticised for statistical problems and for not focusing enough on black Americans. Tim Harford attempts to explain what is really going on.We examine the disturbing rise of fake celebrity social media accounts targeting children. This comes in the wake of a case currently going through the courts in Australia, where a man who allegedly impersonated Justin Bieber online has more than 900 charges of child sex offences against him. We talk to parents of children who have been targeted, and to law enforcement professionals concerned by this growing trend. The average English-speaker knows about 25,000 words which can be combined into an infinite number of sentences. Many people believe that, whatever language you speak, the words you know have a profound influence on the way you think, though this is a controversial theory among linguists, as Lane Greene explains.(Photo: Harmonica playing steel workers perched on a girder on the 22nd storey of the Murray Hill building, New York. Credit: General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)...more50minPlay
April 24, 2017Could North Korea Wipe out 90% of Americans?A single nuclear weapon could destroy America’s entire electrical grid, claims a former head of the CIA. The explosion would send out an electromagnetic pulse – resulting in famine, societal collapse and what one newspaper has called a “Dark Apocalypse”. But are hungry squirrels a greater threat to the electrical grid than North Korean weapons? A group of anonymous keyboard warriors who claim they helped Donald Trump win his presidency in the “Great Meme War” have moved their fight to Europe and are trying to help elect a right wing leader for France. Conversations in secret online messaging forums reveal a systematic effort to sway opinion but is it working?Also, the power of applause and why we humans like to clap.(Photo: The launch of a surface-to-surface medium long-range ballistic missile Pukguksong-2 Credit: Getty Images)...more50minPlay
April 21, 2017The Ignorance TestFollowing the death of Professor Hans Rosling - perhaps best described as a kind of international development myth buster – we rebroadcast one of his interviews for More Or Less. He asked presenter Ruth Alexander three questions from his Ignorance Test, part of his project to investigate what people know and don’t know about key-aspects of global development. Most people do badly. How do you fare? Has there been a rise in anti-Donald Trump fake news since he became President of the United States? We’re familiar with accusations that right-wing fake news is being shared online, but what about fake news from the left? Also, what lures people to delve beneath the earth, peering into the dark recesses that exist underground? Simon Cox hears from the urban explorers trying to find the hidden layers of cities that exist deep beneath our feet, and from a caver who sees his pastime as “mountaineering underground”.(Photo: Hans Rosling, Statistician, Founder of Gapminder speaks about the impact of growing global population on resources at the ReSource 2012 conference Credit: Matthew Lloyd)...more50minPlay
April 06, 2017Will One in Four People Develop a Mental Health Problem?The claim that “one in four” of us will suffer from a mental health problem is popular amongst campaigners, politicians and the media. But where is this figure from and what’s the evidence for it? A paranoid conspiracy theory questioning the reality of the shooting dead of 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 has acquired a new, disturbing power in America. Rumours that the killings were staged by actors have been pushed by alternative media mogul Alex Jones. His online news site Infowars has millions of listeners and viewers. One grieving father, Lenny Pozner, tells how he has led the online fightback. Also, from ancient Greece to Instagram – has the six-pack become the ultimate sign of success for today’s young man?(Photo: Commuters pass through Grand Central Terminal during morning rush hour Credit: Getty Images)...more49minPlay
March 30, 2017Baby Boxes – are they really saving infant’s lives?Since Finland started giving families simple cardboard boxes for their new born babies to sleep in 75 years ago, cot death has fallen and child health has improved. Governments and individuals across the world have adopted them and companies have sprung up selling them. But can a cardboard box on its own really have such a huge effect? Elizabeth Cassin and Charlotte McDonald have been finding out.Thousands of videos aimed at children are posted on YouTube that initially look like some of their favourite cartoon series, but closer inspection reveals weird and often disturbing content that is potentially unsuitable for young children. Who is making this content and Is the onus on parents to take responsibility for their children’s viewing or should the host platform, YouTube, be doing more?And why do millions of people round the world practice yoga and how has it become so popular over time? Valley Fontaine hears from the director of a 98-year-old yoga institute in India, an instructor who teaches yoga for you and your dog, the founders of a yoga festival in the UK, and the 2016 women’s yoga champion.(Photo: A Box of baby essentials. Credit: Getty Images)...more50minPlay
March 23, 2017The Concrete Facts About Trump’s Wall and ChinaIf the US is going to build a wall on its border with Mexico, it’s going to take a lot of concrete - millions of tonnes, in fact. But this is a tiny amount compared with China’s concrete use. It’s often said that China used more concrete between 2008-2011 than the US did in the whole of the 20th Century. It sounds astonishing - and is it true? Wesley Stephenson finds out.After comments by author Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche divided opinion over transgender women, we speak to members of some of Nigeria’s secret gay and transgender groups who rely on each other on social media for support. Also, Joey Daley from Ohio has documented his mother Molly’s dementia. One film in which she failed to recognise him for the first time was viewed nearly 2 million times. Joey speaks to BBC Trending about how it feels to care for someone with dementia.And Lee Kumutat examines why blindness comes to define the identity of people who have little or no sight. She talks to people in Jamaica, Ghana, Scotland and California about how they navigate a world which seems to see them as either inspirational or deserving pity. Or both.Image: Getty/Credit: David McNew / Stringer...more50minPlay
March 16, 2017The Attention Span of a GoldfishIs it really true our attention spans are getting shorter in the always-connected world of social media, smartphones and hyperlinks? The statistics say that the average attention span is down from 12 seconds in the year 2000 to eight seconds now. That's less than the nine-second attention span of the average goldfish. But the statistics are not all that they seem - and neither is the received wisdom about goldfish.Twitch is a live video streaming platform used widely in the gaming community. The death of a well-known gamer has opened a huge debate about player safety.And, there is something satisfying about working with our hands, whether it is making something, fixing something or caring for someone. Maria Margaronis asks what it is about our tactile skills that make us so fundamentally human.(Image: Shutterstock/Goldfish)...more50minPlay
FAQs about The Thought Show:How many episodes does The Thought Show have?The podcast currently has 105 episodes available.