– with special guests Alice and MarshThis week we have celebrity company in the form of Alice Howarth and Michael “Marsh” Marshall of Skeptics with a K fame! Before they tell all about QED in October, we chat a bit about the LHC firing up again, EU law suits against Hungary, homeopathy against the heath wave and the brand new interview with Claire Klingenberg on Skeptical Inquirer conducted by Annika. In TWISH we here about Sir Richard Owen and his role in in founding the Natural History Museum in London. Pope Frankie is going to Canada next week to make his apologies, but we suggest he bring a big bag of money as well. Then it’s time for the news:INTERNATIONAL: Record child vaccinations setback, due to covidINTERNATIONAL: Stronger democracies have seen fewer excess deathsSWEDEN: Anti-vaxxer site publishes names of 800 covid-vaccinated childrenGERMANY: The ‘Europol ploy’ that scammed thousands of GermansUK: Tory leadership contestant supporter of homeopathySPACE: More info on space collaboration between Russia and the USSome geniuses in Switzerland called “Safe Blood” have started a campaign for people that want access to “unvaccinated blood” and for that they are Really Wrong.Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; Interview; TWISH; Pontus Pokes The Pope; News; Really Wrong; Quote And Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes;

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– propaganda is for petty dictatorsThis week we celebrate the news of the return of QED Skepticamp, courtesy the lovely SITP online team. Space is fascinating as demonstrated by the new images from the James Webb telescope. In TWISH we also talk about space and the Apollo – Soyuz Test Project, which launched this week 47 years ago. It made us think that space was out-of-bounds for politics (ah, we were naïve…). Pope Frankie cannot help hinting that he may resign some day while still being busier than ever. Then we take a look at the news:GERMANY: Freilerner group are opening illegal schoolsSWEDEN / INTERNATIONAL: Conversion therapy promoted by religious global networkSPAIN: Research shows that gender identity is not something that you chooseUK: Nature’s true value is overlookedUK: Recycling plastic doesn’t workUK: BMJ article issues Vitamin D overdose warningGermanic New Medicine is both pseudoscientific and antisemitic and for that its practitioners get the week’s Really Wrong Award.Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; Pontus Pokes The Pope; News; Really Wrong; Quote And Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes;

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How was your day, fellow Skeptic?We’re half-way to hell (666), but not only is Pontus back, but we also have that lovely Queen of European Skeptics Claire Klingenberg with us, so what’s to complain about? Pontus explains why he has been absent lately and Claire talks about a very disconcerting incidence at a recent science fair. In TWISH we celebrate Newton’s ‘Principia’ which lay the ground for much of modern science, over three hundred years ago. The Pope gets a poking for not knowing his DNA from his ABC and then we have a look at the news:UK: One in six adults doubt human link to climate changeGERMANY: Thousands could have died because of heat waves in GermanyUK: Legislation aims to shield UK internet users from state-backed online disinformationNORWAY: Steep decline in the trust towards alternative medicineSWEDEN: Macchiarini gets off scot-free. Prosecution has appealedINTERNATIONAL: ECDC and WHO team up to tackle the public communication and engagement tasks related to monkeypox for health authoritiesThree cosmonauts get the Really Wrong Award for waving the Donetsk flag on the ISS, which should be about science and not about stupid and bloody human conflicts.Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; Pontus Pokes The Pope; News; Really Wrong; Quote And Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes;

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Nope. But he gets a Really Right!We have a rare third host today! Luna is part of this episode.Starting with sad news about the Oslo shooting, we then talk about Scotland's discussion about independence.This week's TWISH congratulates Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz to his birthday on the 1st of July 1646. They discuss what a Staffelwalze is (aptly named Leibniz wheel) and András mentions important facts about the mathematician's life.The news this week were the following:GERMANY: Could Sucharit Bakhdi's professorship be revoked?INTERNATIONAL: ECDC launches online course into how to address online vaccine misinformationUK: New study into why people hear voices of the deadToday's prize for being Really Wrong would go to the US Supreme Court if we were US-based, but instead we keep up the good mood and give out a Really Right- award! Pope Francis ordered for Pope Pius XII.'s archive to be made accessible online. Pius is often referred to as the "War Era Pope" and was reluctant to interfere on behalf of persecuted people. So, for doing the right thing for once, Frankie receives this week's prize for being Really Right.Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; News; Really Wrong; Quote And Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes

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What is humour allowed to do?Despite us still missing a cheery Hejsan Hejsan, we are back with a new episode! We talk about Nikil Mukerji (interviewed in Episode 252), who wrote a paper about Bullshit with his colleague Adriano Mannino. If you want to meet skeptics like Nikil Mukerji, then European Skeptics Congress in Vienna is the right place for you. Early bird prices still apply until the 30th of June! Another ESC we talk about is the Eurovision Song Contest, which will not take place in Ukraine in 2023 after all.This week's TWISH celebrates Ricky Gervais' birthday on the 25th of June 1961. András and Annika discuss what jokes and humour can do to not discriminate against minorities without being censored and hence talk about the comedian's jokes in particular. (Picture credit: Wikimedia Commons; Raph_PH 2019).The news this week were the following:INTERNATIONAL: European researchers are critical about UN sustainable development goalsINTERNATIONAL: Only 1 in 20 medical treatments have clear benefits supported by evidenceITALY: Weird consequence of climate change: stuff emerging from the depth of Po RiverHUNGARY: Former performer, who sells food supplements gets investigated by Competition AuthorityWe have criticized Prince Charles before. For his blatant promotion of So Called Alternative Medicine, he receives this week's prize for being  Really Wrong.Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; News; Really Wrong; Quote And Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes

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András and Annika are back and tell us all about upcoming events! The European Skeptics Congress in September in Vienna is sure exciting to go to, as is QED in October in Manchester! To round our number of conferences up, we have also been invited to go to Australia! Check your drop bears!To celebrate this momentous chain of events, we issue a competition: If you can meet us at all three conferences, we will give you a beer (or beverage of your choice)! Come see us!In TWISH András tells us all about Padre Pio (Picture credit: Manfrediona // After Elia Stelluto), who got canonised on 16th of June 2002.Then, we hop over to the news:UKRAINE: A polio outbreak further threatens the war-stricken countryINTERNATIONAL: EP fails to pass key climate proposalINTERNATIONAL: Covid-19 conspiracy theories associated with depressionINTERNATIONAL: Documenting and responding to climate dis- and misinformation at COP26UNITED KINGDOM: Scotland and UK government split over GM foodAUSTRIA: The real dangers of homeopathy - a case study!To talk more about So Called Alternative Medicine we talk about lobbying for quackery and hand out a Really Wrong Award to EUROCAM.Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; News; Really Wrong; Quote And Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes

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An unusually short episode this week brought to you by Annika and András, featuring the first record of a ball-lightning observation in the English speaking world from 1195 AD, then we talk about a prison sentence over a fake diagnostic tool in Germany. And of course, we finish on a fitting quote from Plato.

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Frankie appoints a carnival of CardinalsAndrás is back and tells us not how to stand on a volcano, we have some listener feedback about YouTube banning videos and the QED conference release their tickets on 13 June. Mark you calendars for 28-30 October! We then interview Jelena Lenka Příplatová from the Czech Skeptics (Český klub skeptiků Sisyfos) about their Erratic Boulders Awards the was announced on 27 May. In TWISH we celebrate the founding of the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences way back in 1739(!). Pope Frankie breaks the rules and elevates 21 of his closest cronies to be cardinals. Then, we look into the news:INTERNATIONAL: Is monkeypox a Covid vaccine side effect?POLAND: Country offers free vaccinations to Ukrainian refugees, but uptake is lowGERMANY: More bad news for homeopathsINTERNATIONAL: Humanity faces a new era of risksGERMANY: Fake doctor sentenced to life in prisonINTERNATIONAL: New tool: Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal CheckerUK: Edzard Ernst appointed member of the Academy of EuropeWe feel all positive for once and hand out a Really Right Award to the plans of reducing Sweden’s CO2 emissions by 3% by 2030.Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; Interview; TWISH; Pontus Pokes The Pope; News; Really Right; Quote And Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes;

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We need to fight for abortion rights – againMonkeypox is coming – is that the new pandemic? Our favourite ESC is the European Skeptics Congress in Vienna in September and we’re counting on seeing you there. The DA! Awards are coming and if you live in Germany you should register your nominations. Then we have an error correction from last week regarding horses and snails… No TWISH today so we jump right into Pope Francis meeting with Bono (of U2 fame) and a pretty remarkable exchange between the two. Then it’s time for the news:SWITZERLAND: Climate DoomSPAIN: Facebook fails to stop Spanish language anti-abortion disinformationEU: Lobby group for ‘integrative medicine’ in the EUUKRAINE: YouTube removes more than 9,000 channels relating to Ukraine warUK: Gene edited tomatoes could soon be sold in EnglandAnthroposophic quack doctor Harald Matthes gets his second Really Wrong Award this month, tune in to find out what he has been up to this time!Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; Pontus Pokes The Pope; News; Really Wrong; Quote And Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes;

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Nessie is back – unless the camera is onUkraine wins the Eurovision Song Contest and Putin is not happy about it. On the other hand the other ESC – the European Skeptics Congress – should make everybody happy! Register now! Guerilla Skepticism on Wikipedia, GSOW, is a great thing and Annika celebrates five years on the team. In TWISH we learn about Heinz Oberhummer who was born this week in 1941 and the Pope has a bunch of cardinals in trouble so he has replaced the communion wine with tequila. We instead stay sober and check out the news:UK: Wanna expose liars? Get them distractedSCOTLAND: Daily Mail report on the latest ‘sighting’ of Nessie?GERMANY: Hygiene Museum in Dresden dedicates exhibition to Fake NewsSL, the Stockholm local train service, is in cahoots with Scientology and for that they 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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