It’s time for the great recap episode! We’ve done so much this year that we’ve been proud of. We've celebrated days special to us and the world; we had guests on; we discussed everything under the sun – and the moon ! From the fascinating to the bizarre, from cults to dictatorships, from the gruesome (Krampus) to the ludicrous (Moonies cult). We’ve done our best to keep things interesting – which wasn’t very hard to do considering the world and indeed humanity’s ability to be downright weird. He...
Jan 07, 2023•9 min
Getting you right into the holiday spirit, this episode we’ve chosen the word “Holidays”. Ragini jumps right into that holiday spirit with the legend of Krampus, a horned beastly figure from central and eastern Alpine folklore - scaring the poop out of misbehaving kids everywhere since time immemorial. We widen the net and go hunting for the history of holidays, the weekend and how the “Day of Rest” has evolved on the Indian subcontinent and for its many inhabitants. It's a holiday fact-packed e...
Dec 16, 2022•28 min•Season 2Ep. 11
This episode, we’ve chosen the word “Number”. Somehow, we’re back on the topic of cults - wait to find out how we’ve managed this. All we'll say is it has something to do with a right triangle, some misattributed discoveries (if you guessed Tesla, you’re wrong) and vegetarians who weren’t really vegetarians, which is a tale as old as time! We also obviously talk about the Fibonacci sequence, what it is, how it came to be and why the golden ratio might not be the all pervasive standard code for a...
Nov 26, 2022•37 min•Season 2Ep. 10
This episode, we’ve chosen the word “Chill”. If there’s anything that we or indeed everyone in the world needs right now, it’s a chill pill. And we’ll give you a precise recipe for one - straight from the most medically reliable century in human history - the 1800s! While you’re digesting that recipe, you might experience a hint of piloerection - a common occurrence when listening to any of our episodes - worry not, we’ll explain what that means in the episode. And lastly, we go deeper into why ...
Nov 12, 2022•28 min•Season 2Ep. 9
We continue our audio drama special episodes with our second short story. 'Hunger' is also a short story written by Shar and narrated by Vidyuth Gargi, an actor and writer from Mumbai. Today's story is... interesting. Struggling to say more without revealing too much, so that's all we'll say. But take a listen. Barely Researched Facts is a facts-based show (barely) brought to you by ArtNowThus, a media start-up based in India. Born out of the infamous lockdown of 2020, the show is a trip down di...
Oct 29, 2022•9 min
Today's episode is an experiment - we're celebrating World Audio Drama Day, with our own little tribute through storytelling. 'Homecoming' is a short story written by Shar and narrated by Yuki Ellias, a theatre director and actor from Mumbai. We don't want to ruin the story by telling you too much in the blurb, so take a listen and enjoy the tale. Barely Researched Facts is a facts-based show (barely) brought to you by ArtNowThus, a media start-up based in India. Born out of the infamous lockdow...
Oct 28, 2022•7 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Welcome to the seventh episode! This time we’re going the opposite direction to our fifth episode “Moon”. We discuss the importance, or lack thereof of perineum sunning - which is the scientific term for sun’s out, bums out folks! We also talk about that time North Korea landed the first man on the sun in a mere 21 hour long round trip. That happened, obviously. And then there's our newest space investigation superhero - the James Webb Telescope, and its superhero cape. Enjoy the show! Barely Re...
Oct 14, 2022•25 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Part of our collaboration with the amazing Kobo Fermentary, Ragini and Shar kick things off by discussing some very interesting fermented foods and Ragini makes the best pun of her life! Barely Researched Facts is a facts-based show (barely) brought to you by ArtNowThus, a content and events company based in India. Born out of the infamous lockdown of 2020, the show is a trip down dissection lane – of words. Every episode, the hosts Ragini and Shar choose one word and deep dive into it. Every in...
Oct 12, 2022•17 min•Season 2Ep. 6
The moon’s gravitational pull is at its strongest during the New Moon and Full Moon. Today is a new moon - so you’ve guessed it - the simple creatures at Barely Researched Facts have chosen Moon as the word for today’s episode! In this episode we discuss the scientific implications of plonking a werewolf on the moon before we spend some time deciding what exactly qualifies an organisation as a cult that ruins lives, breaks up families, and causes havoc in people’s lives. And then we chat about M...
Aug 27, 2022•32 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Our word this episode is an Independence Day special. We’re going with revolution - expect all things revolutionary and all things revolving. 15th August is the Indian Independence Day. Which got us thinking - why isn’t the Indian independence movement referred to as a revolution? There’s a little bit about the famous White Revolution in India though, and a very famous ad mascot associated with it. Also, it turns out Pluto’s done with our solar system and does not want to sit with the rest of th...
Aug 12, 2022•37 min•Season 2Ep. 4
This episode had us punning on the fly, talking about a poltergeist from our (and your) collective childhoods, morbid humour in a dictatorship, our favourite redhead Rick Astley along with activist of vegetarianism and little known mathematician Pythagorus and his prank cup! Barely Researched Facts is a facts-based show (barely) brought to you by ArtNowThus, a content and events company based in India. Born out of the infamous lockdown of 2020, the show is a trip down dissection lane – of words....
Jul 30, 2022•25 min•Season 2Ep. 3
It's the anniversary of the last telegram sent, so we did an entire episode on telegrams. We talk about the last telegram ever sent (obvio), communicating telepathically and telegraphically with big-eared Martians, and why in the world the unstoppable telegram had stops in it. Answers to all your burning telegram questions in the episode right here. Listen in! Barely Researched Facts is a facts-based show (barely) brought to you by ArtNowThus , a Mumbai-based experiential arts company. Born out ...
Jul 15, 2022•30 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Welcome back to Season 2 - and we're starting things off with this power packed episode! We talk about a gun toting shrimp (not making it up), a broken circle and a vertical stroke, the tapestry of 80s, 90s pop culture that is the Powerpuff Girls and how Iceland heats …. literally everything!
Jul 01, 2022•21 min•Season 2Ep. 1
One full year since we started BRF! And as we step away for a bit to take some time to reflect and renew, we leave you with the final word for this season - 'Season' (bit on the nose, this one). What's a silly season? Hint: it's not the period in the following months without the weekly BRF fix in your life, we promise. And the poetic beauty behind the names of our seasons! Barely Researched Facts is a facts-based show (barely) brought to you by ArtNowThus , a Mumbai-based experiential arts compa...
Jan 01, 2022•15 min
Speeding towards the new year, this episode sets the tone by starting off with a great segment on speed limits! There's some pretty cute history on this one. Making things racy - Shar has a little girl crush we explore this episode. Yes, we went there! Also, if you think men today aren't manly enough (not our words), you must hear this segment about Peter McAllister and his study into the deeply inadequate modern man (again, not our words and truly a legitimate study) And finally: - Why do Kenya...
Dec 17, 2021•34 min
It's the end of the year and it's our favourite time and we're jumping right on to that festive wagon with our last short of the year - Confetti! Turns out human beings have always liked chucking stuff at each other - so we take you through all the not so pleasant, ever so gruesome tales about how this played out in the years gone by. Also, a great tradition around confetti and examinations and words of cautions about confetti canons and the havoc they can wreak. It truly is a celebration! BRF S...
Dec 10, 2021•19 min
For something that's meant to facilitate dryness, this word turned out to be anything but! We start off with one of the most famous roofs in the world - the iconic domed roofs of the Taj Mahal. Architecture aside, we managed to uncover a juicy little archeological conspiracy theory - fun! Moving west, Shar takes us to the cute little thatched roofs in England. After which we swiftly ran out of regular roof things to talk about, so we come back east to the Roof of the World. This segment is aces ...
Dec 03, 2021•44 min
Hopefully, it's lucky number 13 for us and this episode isn't just "okay". We cover the origins and the sauciness of the word OK, or is it Okay? Find out in the episode! BRF Shorts On Us are mini episodes much more home grown in production than our full length episodes, and therefore slightly varying in quality. Content is aces like always though - so take a listen and enjoy! Barely Researched Facts is a facts-based show (barely) brought to you by ArtNowThus , a Mumbai-based experiential arts co...
Nov 28, 2021•23 min
In this episode we discuss all things Mummy - the scary ones and the scarier ones :D Ever heard about mummy unwrapping parties btw? Quite the banger back in early 20th century with the European genteel. And yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. In this very cheery episode, we discuss the most famous of modern mummies - Vladimir Lenin; and the stomach churning process of self mummification. For archeology nuts, there's a segment on the mummies of the children of llullaillaco - it's tragic, but ...
Nov 19, 2021•38 min
Our episode on 'Bling' talks about all things bling - rappers, Nizams and burglars! Obviously. Listen to the episode for a fascinating bunch of topics! BRF Shorts On Us are mini episodes much more home grown in production than our full length episodes, and therefore slightly varying in quality. Content is aces like always though - so take a listen and enjoy! Barely Researched Facts is a facts-based show (barely) brought to you by ArtNowThus , a Mumbai-based experiential arts company. Born out of...
Nov 12, 2021•20 min
What would happen if human beings could really fly? Can they ever really fly? Also, how did we ever come to think of angels as humans with wings? Is it an angel or is it an alien? So many questions and one episode to answer them all! We also cover a fun segment on drunk angels - it happens, and not just according to us. True crime must always be covered where it can - angels of mercy could not not be mentioned in this episode. And a truly lovely sculpture that we may all be familiar with but whe...
Nov 05, 2021•30 min
Our episode on 'Signal' left us with a lot of to want for. So we decided to do this little short on the 'Traffic Signal'! It's really a fascinating history - they've been around longer than we thought btw (think traffic signals for horses - cute!). Also, dyk traffic signals in Japan are (an absolutely lovely) shade of blue? Find out why in this episode - the answer is pretty cool! Signal turns green... Go! BRF Shorts On Us are mini episodes much more home grown in production than our full length...
Oct 29, 2021•11 min
It's our 20th episode! And to celebrate this milestone, we have an equally celebratory word - Pop! Can't go an episode on Pop without talking about pop culture. We take you through a surprising study that details out the evolution of pop music - turns out it's not actually getting unbearable as the next generation takes over, that's just us. Also, we pay tribute to one of the biggest contributors to pop culture - Shakespeare. Ever wondered why soda is called pop? We've got you covered. There's a...
Oct 22, 2021•40 min
We've all heard of trial by combat, and in this episode we tell you about the fascinating legal role played by the humble cake back in the day - introducing trial by cake! (we didn't make this up). Also, taking you through an extremely important day of international political significance - International Cake Day! (also not making any of that up). And while we're at it, there's a little bit of cake wars in the present and some royal facts. Quite a tasty little short we must say! BRF Shorts On Us...
Oct 15, 2021•9 min
This episode is anything but quiet - in fact, it's quite a riot! Ragini and Shar talk about whispering in every form - from whispering to ghosts to whispering to the Gods! Humans are strange, aren't they? Barely Researched Facts is a facts-based show (barely) brought to you by ArtNowThus , a Mumbai-based experiential arts company. Born out of the infamous lockdown of 2020, the show is a trip down dissection lane – of words. Every episode, the hosts Ragini and Shar choose one word and deep dive i...
Oct 09, 2021•33 min
On Gandhi Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, we also celebrate another auspicious day - Mean Girls Day! This episode smooshes two very interesting, very different topics together making a super-quirky short! Enjoy! BRF Shorts On Us are mini episodes much more home grown in production than our full length episodes, and therefore slightly varying in quality. Content is aces like always though - so take a listen and enjoy! Barely Researched Facts is a facts-based show (barely) brough...
Oct 02, 2021•22 min
What do Geeks have in common with carnivals? The answer is a fascinating insight into the origins of this seemingly innocuous, commonplace word. Listen on! BRF Shorts On Us are mini episodes much more home grown in production than our full length episodes, and therefore slightly varying in quality. Content is aces like always though - so take a listen and enjoy! Barely Researched Facts is a facts-based show (barely) brought to you by ArtNowThus , a Mumbai-based experiential arts company. Born ou...
Sep 24, 2021•7 min
Take a trip down many lanes of great historical significance all the way into outer space with this banger of an episode! There's a lot in here about ancient systems of signaling in times of war and peace - super fascinating! And to keep things contemporary we also take you through the history of the (truly cathartic to execute) signal of the middle finger! Also, what does the Columbian army and pop music have in common - listen in for one of our most heartwarming segments ever! Barely Researche...
Sep 17, 2021•40 min
The origin of dude, the coolest dude, all things dude! From religions to leather boots, this short will make you have a long think about what dude actually means to YOU. To us? - Fermented Quail Eggs. Listen to find out more! BRF Shorts On Us are mini episodes much more home grown in production than our full length episodes, and therefore slightly varying in quality. Content is aces like always though - so take a listen and enjoy! Barely Researched Facts is a facts-based show (barely) brought to...
Sep 11, 2021•18 min
Today is World Beard Day! And we celebrated by putting together this episode! Listen in to find out all the wonderful traditions you can now begin annually to celebrate the togetherness of person and beard. As always we have lots of history - stories we never really imagined we'd be talking about, but there you have it. The many medical marvels and perils of that fabulous mop of hair and we unravel the mystery of why the King of Hearts is the only one in the deck without facial hair and why he s...
Sep 03, 2021•39 min
