Understand anything, in an instant.
Thirty seconds for the gist, ten minutes to make it yours: every Recap has key points, a mind map, a quiz and flashcards, always in the same order. Sources at the bottom, every time.
- In 30 seconds
- Key points
- Deep dive
- Quiz
- Flashcards
- FAQ
Latest Recaps
- Technology The algorithm: what it really is (and why it's not a dirty word) An algorithm is a finite, precise sequence of steps to achieve a result: the definition covers a cooking recipe as much as Google's code. The word comes from the Persian mathematician al-Khwarizmi, who lived more than a thousand years ago. Today "the algorithm" has become the popular name for the systems that rank content on social media — which are algorithms, of a particular kind. Read the Recap →
- Science The cell: what it's made of and how it works The cell is the smallest unit capable of living: every living thing is made of cells, from just one (bacteria) to tens of trillions (us). It works like a tiny factory: the membrane controls what comes in and out, the nucleus stores the instructions (DNA), the mitochondria produce energy, and the other organelles build, package and recycle the molecules of life. Read the Recap →
- Science DNA: what it is, how it's built and what it does DNA is life's instruction manual: a very long molecule shaped like a double helix, written in an alphabet of just four "letters" (A, T, C, G). Stored in the nucleus of every cell, it holds the recipes — the genes — for building all the organism's proteins. Every time a cell divides, the DNA is copied and passed on: that's how traits travel from one generation to the next. Read the Recap →
- Economics GDP: what it is, how it's calculated and what it really tells us GDP (gross domestic product) is the value of all final goods and services produced in a country over a period. It's the economy's odometer: when it grows, the country is producing and earning more; when it falls for long enough, that's a recession. It doesn't measure everything that matters, though: housework, the environment and wellbeing stay out of the count. Read the Recap →
- Technology Machine learning: what it is and how a machine learns Machine learning is the branch of artificial intelligence in which a piece of software, called a model, learns from data instead of following hand-written rules. Show it thousands of examples and it finds the patterns linking question and answer on its own: that's how it spots spam, recommends films, estimates prices. It's the technology behind almost all the AI you use daily. Read the Recap →
- Economics Interest rates: what they are and how they move the economy The interest rate is the price of money: what it costs to borrow it, or what you earn for lending it. Benchmark rates are set by central banks (the ECB in the euro area) and ripple out to mortgages, loans and savings accounts. High rates cool spending and inflation; low rates fuel consumption and investment. As of mid-2026 the ECB deposit rate stands at 2.25%. Read the Recap →
- Technology Neural networks: how they really work A neural network is a system of thousands of simple computing units connected in layers by millions (or billions) of weighted connections, loosely inspired by the brain's neurons. Every connection has an adjustable weight: during training the network tweaks the weights until the examples produce the right answers. With many layers it becomes deep learning, the technology behind image recognition, speech and large language models. Read the Recap →
- Science Mitosis vs meiosis: the differences explained simply Mitosis and meiosis are the two ways cells divide. Mitosis produces two cells identical to the parent: it's for growing, repairing tissues and replacing old cells. Meiosis produces four cells with half the chromosomes, each one different: it creates the gametes (eggs and sperm) for reproduction. In short: mitosis copies, meiosis shuffles and halves. Read the Recap →
- Economics Stocks and the stock market: how they actually work A share is a small slice of ownership in a company: whoever buys one becomes a part-owner, with the right to vote at shareholder meetings and to receive dividends if any are paid. The stock market is the regulated marketplace where shares are bought and sold, with prices moving constantly as supply meets demand. Returns are possible, guarantees are zero: prices can rise and fall alike. Read the Recap →
- Economics Recession: what it is, how to spot one and what it means for you A recession is a phase in which a country's economic activity contracts: less gets produced, less gets spent, jobs decline. The quick definition is "GDP falling for two consecutive quarters" (a technical recession); the serious one looks at how deep, widespread and lasting the decline is. Recessions are part of the business cycle: they hurt, but they end — and governments and central banks have levers to shorten them. Read the Recap →
- History The French Revolution: causes, phases and consequences, explained simply The French Revolution is the sequence of events that between 1789 and 1799 swept away absolute monarchy in France and rewrote the rules of political life. It grew out of a public finance crisis and a society divided by birth into three estates, in which the nobility was exempt from the main taxes. Within months the Third Estate turned itself into a National Assembly, the Bastille fell and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was adopted. Then came the Republic, the king's execution, the Terror and finally the coup that brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power. Read the Recap →
- History World War 1: Causes, Fronts and Consequences, Explained Simply World War 1 was the conflict that between 1914 and 1918 drew in the major European powers and their empires, mobilising roughly 65 million men. The trigger was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914; in a little over five weeks, a system of opposing alliances turned a quarrel between Austria-Hungary and Serbia into a continental war. The German plan for a quick victory stalled on the Marne, and the western front settled for years into a line of trenches running from Belgium to Switzerland. The balance shifted in 1917: the United States came in, Russia pulled out. It ended with the armistice of 11 November 1918 and with peace treaties that redrew the map of Europe while leaving plenty of questions unanswered. Read the Recap →
- History World War 2: Causes, Turning Points and Consequences, Explained Simply World War 2 was the conflict that between 1939 and 1945 set the Allies — Britain, France, the United States and the Soviet Union — against the Axis powers of Germany, Italy and Japan. It opened on 1 September 1939 with the German invasion of Poland, but its roots lie in the previous two decades: the terms imposed on Germany after World War 1, the economic collapse of the early 1930s, the Nazi seizure of power and a run of territorial expansions the other powers accepted without resisting. In 1941 the war became truly global, with the German attack on the Soviet Union and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It ended with the German surrender in May 1945 and the Japanese surrender signed on 2 September 1945. Estimates of the dead run past 50 million, most of them civilians. Read the Recap →
- Science Muscle hypertrophy: how muscle grows and what the research says Muscle hypertrophy is the enlargement of the fibres you already have, not the appearance of new ones. It happens when resistance training puts muscles under more tension than they are used to: the tissue responds by building more contractile protein than it breaks down, and repeating that cycle for months thickens the fibre. The most recent research syntheses link hypertrophy above all to the total amount of work done each week, while load is free to vary across a wide range. Read the Recap →
- Technology Generative AI: what it is and how it works Generative AI is a technology that can create new content — text, images, audio, video, code — from a request written in natural language. It doesn't "copy" from an archive: it learned the patterns and rules of language by analyzing enormous amounts of data, and uses them to generate original answers, one word at a time. Read the Recap →
- Economics Inflation: what it is, how it works and why prices rise Inflation is the general, sustained increase in the prices of goods and services. When there is inflation, the same money buys you less than before: money loses purchasing power. Moderate inflation (around 2% a year) is considered normal and even useful; when it runs too hot, it eats away at savings and wages. Read the Recap →
- Science Photosynthesis: what it is and how it works, explained simply Photosynthesis is the process by which plants turn sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into glucose (their food) and oxygen. It happens in the leaves thanks to chlorophyll, the green pigment that captures the energy of light. It is the process that feeds almost all life on Earth and produces the oxygen we breathe. Read the Recap →