This week we talk to Stephan Lewandowsky,professor of cognitive psychology and one of the drivers behind the Debunking Handbook 2020, the recently published follow-up to the previous debunking handbook from 2011. A great resource for anyone, it summarises the current state of the science of misinformation and its debunking. It was written by a team of 22 prominent scholars of misinformation and its debunking, and it represents the current consensus on the science of debunking for engaged citizens, policymakers, journalists, and other practitioners.Enjoy!Segments:Intro; Greetings; Interview; Farewell; Outro; Out-takesEvents Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

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This week we remember James “the Amazing” Randi, a great skeptic and generous person who like no one else influenced the skeptic movement. His legacy lives on.We also reflect a bit on daylight saving before we go further back in time than usual in this week in history and look into the importance of Emperor Constantine and the Battle of the Milvian Bridge for early Christianity. Then Pontus looks into if Pope Francis really has changed his and the Church’s position on gay rights, before we get into the news:COVID-19 updateNo evidence contact tracing helps tackle COVIDWHO and Wikipedia team up to combat pandemic misinformationUnited Nations turns 75Iris Hundertmark and her pharmacy – updateARP-SAPC newsPatents on homeopathic productsIPSOS – Trust in news sources by countryEnjoy!Segments:Intro; Greetings; Pontus Pokes the Pope; This Week; News; Really Wrong; Quote and Farewell; Outro; Out-takesEvents Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

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This week we notice the new I am Greta movie strangely so far is only in theaters and not online. Covid number are going up, especially in Germany where conspiracy theories are growing, but the German speaking community can celebrate that former GWUP Science Council member Dr. Krista Federspiel has been awarded the Österreichisches Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst or the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art. A special call goes out for everyone who can support to SKEPP who needs to defend two of their members who have been sued by a multimillionaire (see Ep #243).We’re happy to hear that Pontus is making progress with his sci-fi novel and then we dive into the news:World Doctors’ Alliance – WTFGuy claims he can cure COVID with homeopathyIs banning content the way to go? Facebook and YoutubeFitness influencer dies after having denied COVID existedOrban wants to raise children as ‘Homo christianus’Editors refuse to retract intelligent design paperThe Debunking Handbook 2020 editionEnjoy!Segments:Intro; Greetings; This Week; News; Really Right; Quote and Farewell; Outro; Out-takesEvents Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

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This week we start by celebrating that several women received the Nobel Prize this year. Well deserved and a good trend! We also look at the latest Global warming news delivered by Copernicus. We may need to find another planet to live on… In this week in history we get nostalgic about QED which was supposed to happen this week, but hey, we have many fond memories from previous years to look back on!Then we dive into the news:New pre-bunking online game GoViral to be used to counter COVID-misinformationSurveys in different countries reveal many young people lack basic knowledge about the HolocaustHomeopathy no longer exclusive to pharmacies in NorwayLatest attempts to legitimize homeopathy in Austria46% of Hungarians would not get vaccinated against COVIDThe most compelling evidence for the existence of Nessie yet?Most ambitious climate law voted on by European ParliamentEarthShot Prize for solutions to global climate issuesEnjoy!Segments:Intro; Greetings; This Week; News; Really Wrong; Quote and Farewell; Outro; Out-takesEvents Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

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This week we start by urging you to register nominations for the Ockham Awards, handled by The Skeptic. The deadline is 31 October. That’s the same date that Skepsis in the Netherlands will hold their full day ‘Skepsis Congress 2020’, check it out!Then we chat to Patrick Vermeren, who together with fellow skeptic Bart Van de Ven, is sued for defamation(!) by Carl Van de Velde, the multimillionaire behind the ‘Opleidingsinstituut’. Despite losing in the first instance Van de Velde has appealed and there is a fundraiser in support of our friends. No on Poking of Francis this week in Pontus’ absence, instead move directly to the news:Extinction denial is the new thing. UN Summit on biodiversity addressed that, tooGerman Order of Merit goes to…New prosecution in Macchiarini caseLandmark study of 1.7 million women – HPV vaccine better at preventing cervical cancer than previously thoughtIs the EU cheating in net-zero emissions plans?Dutch Cancer Society gets Master Kackadoris PrizeEnjoy!Segments:Intro; Greetings; Interview; This Week; News; Quote and Farewell; Outro

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This week we interview veterinarian Dr. Stefanie Handl from Vienna, Austria. Her special fields are nutrition and diets for pets. She is a member of the “Gesellschaft für kritisches Denken” (“Society for Critical Thinking”) which is the local chapter of the German skeptical organization, GWUP. Stefanie is very actively working to inform the public about nutrition woo and so called alternative medicine, especially when it comes to veterinary medicine. She is the owner of a veterinarian nutrition consultation service called “food ambulance” and helps pet owners with their little friends’ diets.Veterinary medicine, and the pseudomedicine we often encounter there, are important for pet owners which is why we were so happy to get Stefanie on the show.Enjoy!Segments:Intro; Greetings; Interview; Farewell; Outro; Out-takesEvents Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

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This week we first chat about András lending his voice acting skills to a sketch in the Skeptic Zone, Pontus teases the coming release of his sci-fi novel the Dooma and then we talk about the upcoming Italian CICAPFest. This year the conference takes place online for the three weeks(!) between 25 September and 18 October. There will be over 150 meetings and 185 speakers, and it will all be for free!After that we get into the news:No, dozens of countries didn’t order COVID-19 tests in 2018Life on Venus?Warmest summer ever for Northern hemisphereThe world’s troubling hotspots of vaccine hesitancyNHS issued 2,000 homeopathic prescriptions in 2019 despite banA healthy diet more important than weight?Ig Nobel Prizes 2020The prize for being Really Wrong goes to Richard Gamble for “the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer” near Birmingham, England.Enjoy!Segments:Intro; Greetings; This Week; Pontus Pokes the Pope; News; Really Wrong; Quote and Farewell; Outro; Out-takesEvents Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

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This week we interview Hungarian researcher and virologist Gábor Kemenesi. He is a research fellow at the Virological Research Group within the Szentágothai Research Centre of the University of Pécs in Hungary, specializing in zoonoses, or viral diseases that spread from animals to humans. He’s also a member of Hungary’s COVID-19 Task Force for the research of the virus and in the last few months. He has become the number one go-to expert in the field for the country’s media, working hard to educate the public, debunking myths and fighting misunderstandings along the way.Enjoy!Segments:Intro; Greetings; Interview; Farewell; Outro; Out-takesEvents Calendar: http://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

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This week we start off with having a quick chat with our old buddy Michael (“Marsh”) Marshall regarding the relaunch of the UK magazine called the Skeptic.In this week’s history segment we talk about the LHC that powered up 12 years ago this week without the world vanishing into a black hole, and then Pope Francis gets poked for several things, including his claim that gossip is worse than covid.Speaking of covid-19, the pandemic gets a separate segment about the latest developments, before we get into the news:The 1st randomised clinical trial of a Chinese herbal medicine for COVID-19Medical Chamber issues statement condemning COVID-19 denier membersUniversity of Kiel distances itself from infamous COVID-19 denier professor Sucharit Bhakdi30% of people in Spain have doubts about covid-19 vaccineSo, are women leaders really doing better in tackling COVID-19?Survey – Young adults tend to take food supplements as replacement for drugsDanish advocacy group against heart disease ends program involving healerGrapefruit seed product that has everything in it but grapefruit seed extractLatest book of Edzard Ernst ‘Chiropractic: Not All That It’s Cracked Up to Be’ publishedNew study shows difference in nerve cells before birth for autistic peopleThe prize for being Really Wrong goes to the bigoted Bishops in Poland who wants to start Church sanctioned conversion therapy clinics, fully aware that they do not work.Enjoy!Segments:Intro; Greetings; Short Interview; This Week; Pontus Pokes the Pope; News; Really Wrong; Quote and Farewell; Outro; Out-takesEvents Calendar: http://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

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This week we interview none other than Brian Deer, the investigative journalist that spent years digging up how the discredited ex-doctor Andrew Wakefield misled the public about the safety of vaccines. We dig deep into how Wakefield through dishonesty and deceit became the poster boy of the anti-vaxx movement and how his misinformation made it as big as it is today.Deer’s new book “The Doctor Who Fooled the World: Andrew Wakefield’s war on vaccines” is out this week! Make sure to check it out!Enjoy!Segments:Intro; Greetings; Interview; Farewell; Outro; Out-takesEvents Calendar: http://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

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