This week we first learn about how the 1854 cholera outbreak led to advances in the knowledge about diseases and outbreaks thanks to the clever and rigorous work by the physician John Snow, now regarded as one of the founders of modern epidemiology. Pope Francis is getting closer to his vision of “a poor church for the poor”, perhaps just a little bit faster than he bargained for as the pandemic is hitting the Catholic finances. Then Andras delves into how we can begin to measure the success of covid-19 related restrictions.In the news this week:– Swedish Snake Oil advertisement is struck down– Archaeologist sentenced for faking Basque finds– Climate more sensitive to CO2 emissions than thought?– Who killed the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme?– Szekesfehervar budget cuts – nonessential vaccines are first to go– The Aspen Institute’s ‘Good10 – The Pandemic Issue’ discussing many aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic– The return of the Mayan calendar – some myths refuse to die– University of Vienna found a way to inoculate medical students about SCAMThe prize for being Really Wrong goes to doctors in Northern Ireland that continue to obstruct abortions even after the recent legalization!Enjoy!Segments:Intro; Greetings; 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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A bit less COVID-19-heavy episode this week with the news that May 2020 saw the highest concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere ever recorded and it was also the hottest May ever.6 years ago, creationism as science in schools was banned in the UK and hallelujah, the Vatican is launching their new channel 'VatiVision' and a documentary series 'The Great Popes'.In the news this week:- Nicotine replacement therapy is the new craze among possible COVID-19 treatments lacking evidence of efficacy- The bad science story of Hydroxychloroquine that shook the world- Millions seem to believe the Treaty of Trianon expires after 100 years- People fall for the story of dozens of give-away TVs by Curry's- The German Medical Student Association issues a declaration against homeopathy- Let's see behind the curtain regarding the 'Swedish Model' once again- Massimo Polidoro launches his Patreon page - with a twist.This week's Really Right price goes to Dutch anaesthesiologist Gerald Woerlee for publishing a free book 'Anesthesia and the Soul' that helps us understand out-of-body-experiences (OBE).Enjoy!

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On this week's episode we celebrate the new era of commercial space flight brought about by SpaceX, then a bit of skeptical history, talking about Gérard Sède and the Priory of Sion hoax.After poking the Pope we bring you an update on the latest issues with COVID-19, including vaccine hesitancy on the rise, the fear from the second wave versus those who deny the existence of the pandemic, survaillence making people suspicious, how the development of a vaccine is doing and France banning the use of Hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment.In the news this week:- A new craze lacking any evidence and called "Lightning Process"- The truth revealed about the 5GBioShield USB key- "What Doctors Don't Tell You" off the shelves in the UK- New study to show how confidence drives confirmation bias- Austrian homeopaths trying to build distrust in GWUP- A low quality study into the role of alternative medicine in the advance of vaccine hesitancyItalian doctor Alberto Zangrillo gets this week's Really Wrong price for claiming that the SARS-CoV-2 virus no longer existsEnjoy!

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This week Pontus and Andras try their best to keep your spirit up while talking about the saddening advent of conspiracy theories and an ever growing antivaccination sentiment.We talk about the great and controversial scientist, the father of glaciology, Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz, try to make sense of the Pope's latest actions as part of the Vatican's financial reform, bring you a bit of the latest analyses of the COVID-19 situation and lots of news:- A church congregation in Frankfurt becomes a virus hotspot- Sweden's approach looks very different when under the microscope- Are we loosing against the antivaccination movement?- Homeopathy International sneakily advises people to take homeopathic products- Italian MP calls for the arrest of Bill Gates- Nearlf half of tweets about COVID-19 likely come from bots- "5GBioShield" hits the market- WHO report says 80 million children not vaccinated because of COVID-19- Hungarian snake oil salesman under scrutiny by Competition AuthorityThe Romanian Ministry of Health gets this week's Really Wrong Price for failing to provide the necessary vaccination information and immunize the public against measles.

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On this week's episode we start by the funny PA of Deutsche Bahn then turn towards the story of psychic Peter Hurkos who was born on this day.The latest from the Catholic Church reveals conspiracy theories and Pope Benedict XVI. trying to influence current affairs.We talk about how grounded aeroplanes mean less reliable weather forecasts, the Czech government trying to outrun COVID-19 by themselves under the leadership of a homeopath and how Stephen Lewandowsky's team helps all of us identify and fight conspiracy theories.In the news:- Russia fails to provide measles vaccines during the COVID-19 crisis- Sweden's health minister admits failure to keep elderly citizens safe- Hungarian government subsidises a TCM unit at Semmelweis University- Multiple legal cases shaking European countries amid 5G concerns- Good Magic Awards winners announced- Germany bans conversion therapies for minors- Homeopathy not found to be effective for psychiatric disordersThe Swedish company marketing the bogus product 'Mendi' gets this week's Really Wrong prize.Enjoy!

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This week our team welcomes Susan Gerbic back to the show to talk about her and Mark Edward's sting operations to reveal psychics and their techniques in conning people and why Wikipedia is probably the most important asset in the hands of skeptics in the never-ending fight against pseudoscienc and quackery. And this is also a call for new editors from around the world to join the international team she leads, Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia.Enjoy!

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The three of us are back to bring you the latest from Europe. We're saddened by the (not so surprising) news that QED 2020 is now postponed to 2021, but whenever it is, we are looking forward to it. In the meantime check out Christian Lehmann's series of guest posts on Edzard Ernst's blog about the hydroxychloroquine controversy.Jelena tells us the story of an alleged alien abduction in Poland more than 40 years ago, now commemorated with a stone memorial.Pontus delves into the question of whether Pope Pius XII was indeed "Hitler's Pope" and then a selection of news from Europe:- A scientist in the UK allegedly dies in a COVID-19 trial- Follow-up on David Icke's YouTube channel - now suspended- Countries faced with challenges in immunization programs while in lockdown- Spanish beach sprayed with bleach to prevent coronavirus infections- A patent from the Pasteur Institute that does NOT prove the alleged artificial origin of SARS-CoV-2- The Heinz Oberhummer Award goes to German science populariser Mai Thai Nguyen-Kim- German High Court rules that doctors can not selectively get rid of bad ratings- Logical fallacies in easy-to-share format on ARP-SAPC's websiteThis week's Really Right Prize is given to the NHS UK for an excellent information page about homeopathy.Enjoy!

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This week, in the absence of Jelena, Annika Harrison joins us to bring you news and curiousities from all over Europe.We start by mentioning Pontus guest-hosting The Skeptic Zone with Richard Saunders, then move on to discuss what an idiot Trump is and how Satanic Ritual Abuse is on the rise in Germany.Annika then investigates whether women are indeed better leaders with special regards to how they cope in the time of the pandemic.Then the Vatican's Rosary App is looked into as a tool to engage catholic believers while the church has really nothing to offer in this crisis.In the news:- Some businesses to reopen in Germany, including churches while schools remain closed- The European Medicines Agency (EMA) warns people not to self-medicate with chloroquine and its derivatives to avoid serious side effects- YouTube seems incapable of keeping 5G-Corona conspiracy theory videos at bay- A new survey suggests UK public supports a long lockdown- Yet another crucial WHO action as experts assess the situation in Belarus- ARP-SAPC in Spain offers Sergio Lopez Borgonoz Research Grant for paranormal investigators- Destorted reports of a survey commissioned by the German Association of Homeopathic Doctors- 5G tower burnings and halts to rollout of new systems all over Europe- Wind turbine noise shown not to cause any adverse health effects in Finland- New book by Spanish author Ramon Nogueras 'Why We Believe in Shit' out (in Spanish)- Edzard Ernst shares a story of a homeopathy-induced rib fracture.The UK Ministry of Defence gets this week's prize for being Really Wrong for buying lemon eucalyptus oil insect repellant as COVID-19 protection.Enjoy!

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This week Deborah Hyde joins us to bring you news and interesting topics to cover with us. We start by mentioning how VoF (Sweden), the GWUP (Germany), ComCept (Portugal) and ARP-SAPC (Spain) make efforts to provide their readers with accurate and reliable information in the times of COVID-19.Then Deborah gives us a brief overview of the history of quarantines, before we turn into discussing Cardinal Pell's Right-Wing conspiracy coockoo and the Pope being useless.A separate segment of COVID-19 update is followed by the news that include a UK holistic doctor recommending homeopathy against the novel coronavirus, a somewhat questionable study that claims to show the prevalence of TCM in different countries in the fight against the pandemic, how the Spanish Science Network Programme 2020 goes completely online, Danish researchers finding no benefit from treating asthma patients with homeopathy and reflexology alongside conventional treatments, how Facebook aims to warn users about coronavirus hoaxes, Swedish doctors and scientists selling stuff after preliminary results and naming it 'Anoroc', John Ioannidis comparing 100 best selling books on nutritional health with no surprising results, Natalie Grams going back to practiting medicine and doing less of educational work in the future, the Spanish prize offered for theatrical works criticising pseudotherapies and CICAP Live being launched on YouTube bringing Italian audiences a whole lot of science and critical thinking.Nobel laureate Luc Montagnier gets this week's Really Wrong prize for claiming that SARS-CoV-2 was manufactured from HIV and thus feeding conspiracy theories.Enjoy!

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This week we bring you news and topics from all over Europe again.We start by talking about the unfortunate death (probably of Covid-19) of a board member of VoF.After that we're looking back at the history of LSD and how 19 April marks a special day in it, before we discuss how Cardinal Pell walks freely after the High Court of Australia overturns the previous verdict on his child abuse case.In the news: Covid-19 update followed by details of some other stuff related to the pandemic, including: OfCom, the British media authority helping confused media consumers, a Policy Paper of the NHS release a few days after the publication of Sense About Science's call for transparency over testing. Colloidal Silver seems to be a big sell in Finland these days, while Hungary's response to the pandamic can only be described as chaotic, something that a petition might not be able to change. Religious liberty restrictions across Europe are also in focus as countries are trying to fight the disease, while British homeopaths "happily promote bogus treatments". A new Chernobyl scare makes its rounds on social media over a wildfire in the area, but the best news is that Edzard Ernst's new book 'Don't Believe What You Think' is now available.President Macron gets this week's Really Wrong Prize for adding weight to an unproven 'cure' for the Novel-Coronavirus.Also, please don't forget that nominations for the John Maddox Prize are open until 11th May.

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