…plus Nicola Throp tells all about QED!This week we’re saved once again by Brian Eggo, as we suddenly find ourselves very short on staff. What a guy!Some initial info is followed by an interview with Nicola Throp, one of the brilliant members of the QED organizing team. In TWISH we hear about Carl Vogt, the German scientist, philosopher and, not least, politician who was born this week in 1817. In Pontus absence, Brian Bashes the Bishop (luckily, not exactly what it sounds like), after which we turn to the news:SWITZERLAND: Alternative medicine on the decline?INTERNATIONAL / UK: June is hottest month on record, in the UK and globallyINTERNATIONAL: Aspartame to be feared and avoided?Yet another Heilpraktiker, this one known only as Torben K., receives a well deserved Really Wrong Award as well as penal consequences due to his penile and lethal mistreatment of a customer. We end by a quote by Jane Marcet, a feminist and a science advocate who were at least a century before her time.Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; Interview; TWISH; Brian Bashes The Bishop; News; Really Wrong; Quote And Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes

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…and someone is quacking in LatviaThis week we start by commenting on the strange developments in Russia and the Titan submersible. We call for speaker at QED SkeptiCamp recommend the work of Skeptical Science. And if anyone wants to meet up with András in the Baltic states, get in touch! In TWISH we hear about the Tunguska event and then as usual Pontus has some news about the Catholic Church. After that, we dig into the news:UK: House of Commons to debate presence of bishops in House of LordsSWITZERLAND: New cases of conspiracy theories as part of treatmentsGERMANY: Investigations ongoing against Heilpraktikers who helped issued false covid vaccination certificates (and more)LATVIA: Plagiarism scandal blows up in domestic science circlesEU: EU’s new ways of securing the online space from disinformation – starting with TwitterINTERNATIONAL: Deforestation is also worsening (not only carbon dioxide emissions)SWEDEN: Macchiarini jail sentence increased to 2.5 yearsThe European Commission get a Really Right Award and then Jānis Pļaviņš from Latvia is the topic for this week’s “Who’s Quacking?”Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; Pontus Pokes The Pope; News; Really Right; Who’S Quacking?; Quote And Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes

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…be mindful of MāņticībaWe see signs of climate change all over the place and it’s worrying. Taking bus 666 to ‘Hel’ is not even an option anymore, but thankfully going to QED is still possible! Check out the link for the QED attendance fund if you cannot afford your ticket… In TWISH we hear about how it really went down when Galileo Galilei was forced to denounce that the Earth in not the center of the universe. A short update of Pope Frankie’s latest adventures and then it’s time for the news:FRANCE / SERBIA: ‘Novaxx’ Djokovic is at it again…!UK: New study shows less than half of Britons believe in God.NETHERLANDS: Dutch university can revoke PhD for fake data after court rulingSPAIN: Homeopathy on the decline in Spain?EU: Laws regulating AI activities to be passedGERMANY: Heilpraktiker sent to jail for fraudWe are happy to hand out a Really Right to Estonia that just legalized same-sex marriages and then we get to know this week’s Word of the Week which is from Latvia: ‘Māņticība’ literally means ‘false-faith’ and could be translated as ‘superstition’.Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; Pontus Pokes The Pope; News; Really Right; Word Of The Week; Quote And Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes

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…anthroposophy on fire?Full episode this week folks, with the premier of a new segment to boot (see below). We talk about Hvaldimir the Russian spy whale and remind you of Annika’s SITPO talk on 5 July and comment on feedback from last week’s interview. In TWISH we hear about the recent passing of Silvio Berlusconi and then demonstrate that the Catholic Church has not change one bit when it comes to how they handle sex abuse scandals. After that it’s time for the news:GERMANY: New poster about Bach flower remediesRUSSIA / UKRAINE: Ukrainian children abducted by RussiaGERMANY / AUSTRIA: The Heinz Oberhummer Award goes to The Show With the MouseSWEDEN: Tongue web cut procedures has drastically fallenEU / UK: Sense About Science teams up with the European Commission and comes up with new guidelines for assessing policiesUK / UKRAINE: Ukraine built more onshore wind turbines in past year than EnglandGERMANY: Pharmacy students also distancing themselves from homeopathyThis week’s Really Wrong Award goes to a teacher in a French Steiner school who “smoked” their students and still seemes to think that was a good thing. Then we have our first installment of Who’s Quacking, Romanian member of parliament Diana Iovanovici Șoșoacă – anti-vaxxer and Russian apologist.Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; Pontus Pokes The Pope; News; Really Wrong; Who’S Quacking; Quote And Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes

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This week we have a real treat for you – an interview with Brian Deer, the journalist who more than anyone showed the world how fraudulent Andrew Wakefield was when he claimed that there could be a link between the MMR vaccine and autism (spoiler – there isn’t).Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; Interview; Outro; Out-Takes

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We start by commenting on the sad passing of Tina Turner – even sadder since she at one point turned to homeopathy. That was a choice that she later regretted and it most likely made her condition much worse than it had to be. On a brighter note we have good news about QED in Manchester 23-24 September: first of all there is a QED Attendance Fund that you can either apply or contribute to, all depending on your financial situation. Secondly, it is now confirmed that QED Skepticamp will take place on the day before so you should arrive a day early and possibly apply to speak yourself – link is in the show notes.Then it is interview time – we had an interesting talk with the fantastic Susan Gerbic who always has so many interesting skeptical projects going on. Listen and be inspired!Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; Interview; Quote And Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes

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…plus interviews from SkepKonPlease support Oliver Rautenberg in his defence against a SLAPP-suit! What’s up with the Turkish presidential elections? Annika delivers short interviews from SkepKon with Maximilian Doeckel and Rebecca Wismeg-Kammerlander and then we look into Pope Frankie‘s obsession with negotiating peace in Ukraine. After that, it’s time for the news:BELGIUM: Prizes from SKEPPINTERNATIONAL: Is WHO right about artificial sweeteners? We are not convincedINTERNATIONAL: Almost 50% of all animal species in declineSWEDEN: School grades inflated in private schoolsGERMANY: Video about SkepKon by Dr. Janos HegedüsEnjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; Interviews; Pontus Pokes The Pope; News; Quote And Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes

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…FYI, that’s not James Randi talkingThis week we reflect a bit on the Eurovision Song Contest and how people misunderstand the news about a baby “with three parents”. In TWISH we wish Ben Goldacre a happy birthday and then Pontus brings us up to date with Pope Frankie. And then, of course, the news:GERMANY: The Golden Board Award is back!IRELAND: AI is here to stay: Fake article about fake tanning in the Irish TimesUK: Retractions should not take longer than two months, says UK Parliament committeeGERMANY: The schools that train ‘Heilpraktiker’ in Germany: no standards and no controlUK: Lost in the mall: Are the results of the classic false memory study not valid?“Voices from the Void” maybe hearing things, but the voices in their head do not include James Randi. Hear this instead: you are Really Wrong!Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; Pontus Pokes The Pope; News; Really Wrong; Quote And Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes

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…or “SCAM”, if you willThis week we have lots of catching up to do, with sad news from Hungarian Skeptics, but also good news regarding skeptical meetings and activism in Germany, Hungary and Sweden. In TWISH we remember the founding of the Jagiellonian University over six hundred years ago this week. Then we dig into the news:INTERNATIONAL: WHO declares pandemic to be no longer a threatGERMANY: Homeopathic cold medicine Meditonsin no longer allowed to advertise with certain statementsEUROPE: Russia behind anti-Ukraine and anti-Erdogan demonstrations all over EUUK: Propagator of SCAM now heads the Royal Medical HouseholdGERMANY: Association of Midwifery distances themselves from HomeopathyUK: Measles on the riseSWEDEN: Paranormal beliefs remarkably highA very sad Really Wrong this week as a 14 year-old girl dies in Austria due to alternative practitioners.We trust you still enjoy the episode!Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; News; Really Wrong; Quote And Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes

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…BTW, there was not a single monkey at the Scopes Monkey trialBrian Eggo is back to save the day once again! as András and Annika couldn’t make it. But we hope that just like them and us, you will all make it to QED in Manchester on 23-24 of September. We will certainly be there! Tickets are now out and they’re selling like, well, QED-tickets after a pandemic. Get yours now!In TWISH we hear about the arrest of John Scopes of the Scopes Monkey trial fame. (No monkeys were hurt in the making of this episode). Then, it’s time for the news:GERMANY: Homeopathy company Heel reported to authorities for false advertising of productUK: On the power of objects, as the country is preparing for the coronation of The Alternative PrinceINTERNATIONAL: WHO pseudoscienceINTERNATIONAL: How medical decisions are really made?The Charité school in Berlin gets this weeks prize for being Really Wrong as they for no apparent reason pay for a professorship in anthroposophy.Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; News; Really Wrong; Quote And Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes

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