Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

ELI5 Explain Like I'm 5: Bite sized answers to stuff you should know about - in a mini podcast

Jun 30, 2023

How realistic are the Hollywood movie portrayals of amnesia compared to real-life amnesia? Why is it that when people get amnesia, they don't forget everything? Why do people with amnesia not forget their primary language for example? What’s the difference between retrograde and anterograde amnesia? Is there anything...


Jun 23, 2023

How do French words like “cul-de-sac” and “hors d'oeuvres“ end up part of the English language without being translated to English words? Why did a language as widely spoken as Latin completely die? Why does this 'dead' language still have such a powerful presence in modern English? What is a calque? Why do some...


Jun 16, 2023

Did you know that some of today's deserts were once seas, lakes, or lush forests? How do oases exist in such arid regions? Why does the US have huge cities in the desert? Why did people settle there? How is the Sahara linked to the thriving of the Amazon rainforest?

... we explain like I'm five

Thank you to the...


Jun 9, 2023

Why do some countries have Presidents, some have Prime Ministers, and some countries have both? What is the difference? What about France, where there’s both a president and a prime minister. Why is it that in some places the President is more powerful but in others like Germany the Prime Minister is...


Jun 2, 2023

How can just a few hundred cables under the ocean provide the internet to the entire world? Who actually owns and manages these cables? Who lays these undersea cables in the first place? What do these cables look like? Was it a shark or boat anchor that nearly took down the internet in several countries in 2008? 

... we...