English may not be our first language but we are willing to learn! Hungarian nuts with a nationalist agenda would like you to believe in made up history, including that Jesus spoke Hungarian, and other nonsense. And they are getting a foot in at schools… In TWISH we hear about Joseph Justus Scaliger who took on historical chronology in a revolutionary way back in the 16th century. Then, it’s time for the news:

• SWEDEN: Religious teacher used exorcism against special needs students
• UK: Fake AI doctors endorse weight loss patches on social media
• GERMANY: Changes in German beliefs in pseudoscience
• TÜRKIYE: Technobabble papers by professor and editor under scrutiny

The Faculty of Law in Lund gets a Really Right Award for speaking up against an unscientific and fact resistant new legal reform.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-515.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:08:58 TWISH

0:21:47 News

0:46:48 Really Right

0:53:02 Quote

0:54:20 Outro

0:55:42 Outtakes

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2025 was the third hottest year on record, but that hardly even makes the news. In TWISH we hear about the science communicator Jacob Bronowski, and then it’s time for the news:

• VATICAN / RUSSIA / USA: The Vatican offered Maduro safe way to Russia
• SWITZERLAND: Erich von Däniken dead at 90
• AI: Followup from last week: Google removes some AI overviews
• EU: Authorities do not even open international alerts about medical misconduct
• SWEDEN: Linda Karlström, Confounderer of the year 2020, loses court appeal
• SWEDEN: Enlightener and Confounderer of the year 2025
• UK: Vaccination schedule changed for the better

The Really Wrong Award goes to WHO for continuously promoting the idea that traditional “medicine” should be integrated in modern health care.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-514.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:50 Greetings

0:02:43 TWISH

0:11:11 News

0:44:30 Really Wrong

0:49:49 Quote

0:50:58 Outro

0:52:20 Outtakes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have to rant about Trump and Venezuela for a bit, but to take our minds off that, we turn to TWISH and hear about the discovery of the Galilean moons, found by (who could have guessed?) Galileo.

Then it’s time for the news:

• UK: Google AI Overviews put people at risk of harm with misleading health advice
• HUNGARY: University of Pécs course on gene therapies lists mRNA COVID vaccines as such – that’s wrong!
• UK: Hot-reading Psychic Medium Dean

Susanne Bügel of Copenhagen University gets the Award for being Really Right for her work to inform the public about the issues with multi-vitamin pills. Then we get two different Words of the Week – Besserwisser and Lagom.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-513.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:49 Greetings

0:10:19 TWISH

0:23:14 News

0:39:14 Really Right

0:44:38 Word of the Week

0:47:08 Quote

0:48:44 Outro

0:50:06 Outtakes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the new year! Obviously we start with some reflections on 2025 and we also give a shout-out to Haley Stevens and her article about Wikipedia in the Skeptic UK. In TWISH we learn that the practice of New Year’s resolutions is ancient although each resolution seldom lasts longer than a week or two. Then we look into the news for this week:

• INTERNATIONAL: Five lessons from fact checking in 2025
• ITALY: Lega only party refusing to agree not to use deepfake to attack political opponents
• SWEDEN: Fact check: How Sweden uses imported trash to produce electricity and heat homes
• INTERNATIONAL: Review of Autism Therapies finds they don’t hold up
• UK: Robin Ince quits The Infinite Monkey Cage
• UK: Use of AI for emotional support alarmingly widespread

The EU Chat Control 2.0 regulation is meant to prevent the spread of child abuse material but gets the Really Wrong Award for being ineffective and because it would have very serious effects on integrity. It’s a well meaning by bad idea.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-512.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:22:32 TWISH

0:27:56 News

0:59:16 Really Wrong

1:02:39 Quote

1:05:02 Outro

1:06:25 Outtakes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Merry Christmas everyone! This is an episode unlike any other in the ESP history, hope you will enjoy it!

See you again in 2026!

Segments:

0:00:27 INTRO

0:00:50 GREETINGS

0:05:11 FACT CHECKERS

0:08:39 REASON TELLS

0:12:11 FAREWELL

0:14:11 OUTRO

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s TWISH we take a look at the most skeptical saint, Doubting Thomas – not that we feel that he got everything right. In the news today we take a look at the following:

• INTERNATIONAL / SWEDEN: Rising nicotine addiction in teens
• HUNGARY: GP about to leave practice due to harassment from antivaxxers
• SWEDEN: Breast cancer patients turn away from conventional treatment despite 93% survival rates
• INTERNATIONAL: Liam Neeson narrates anti-vaccination pseudo-documentary

A bunch of contrarians that call themselves BMTIG insists that there must be a conspiracy behind the sinking of the MS Estonia – no matter how much the facts say otherwise and for that they ar Really Wrong.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-510.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:05:33 TWISH

0:17:29 News

0:52:12 Really Wrong

1:07:40 Quote

1:09:17 Outro

1:10:40 Outtakes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rage bait is the Oxford Word of the Year and that cannot be a a good sign of the times we live in. In TWISH we acknowledge the genius of Ada Lovelace while recognizing that she had some flaws as well, especially when it came to phrenology and mesmerism… Then we take a look at the news:

• EU: Proposal to allow plants modified using CRISPR
• HUNGARY: Government campaigns against opposition party with fake election program
• INTERNATIONAL: Influencers promote bogus health advice
• UK: Persuasion through chatbots leads to inaccurate assessments

This week’s Really Right Award goes to researcher Rebecca Sear for her commitment in tracking down all studies based on the infamous National IQ database.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-509.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:52 Greetings

0:11:45 TWISH

0:24:03 News

0:53:12 Really Right

0:59:37 Quote

1:01:56 Outro

1:03:18 Outtakes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss science communication by the ECDC re vaccinations and have some listener feedback about Dr Who, before with dive into TWISH which this week is about a pioneer of modern chemistry, Martin Heinrich Klaproth. Then of course, there’s the news:

• INTERNATIONAL: E-trade via dropshipping – the scam has many levels
• UK: ChatGPT’s dangerous mental health guidance raises skeptical red flags
• SWEDEN: So-called ‘virginity checks’ now finally illegal
• TÜRKIYE: Case study shows risks with chiropractic

The Green alliance in Germany reverses their stance on homeopathy thanks to the work by Cedrik Schamberger and for that, he deserves the Really Right Award. Well done!

Enjoy!

Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; News; Really Right; Quote; Outro; Outtakes

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-508.html

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We start by noting that COP30 was pretty disappointing although we are not too surprised. On another, more positive side, Michael Frass‘ terrible study claiming that homeopathy can help in cancer treatment finally has been retracted! Also, get your flu vaccines, everyone.

In TWISH we hear how António Egas Moniz invented lobotomy and was awarded one of the most controversial Nobel prizes for it, but also why it cannot be retracted. Then, we go to the news:

• SWEDEN: People die of breast cancer after choosing alternative treatments
• EUROPE: Eurobarometer Survey 2025: science, skepticism, and the battle against misinformation
• INTERNATIONAL: Freebirthing is a deadly scam and a grift
• HUNGARY: Political ads on Google and Facebook are over – or are they?

The Really Wrong Award goes to Steiner schools, that thankfully are in decline. A Really Right Award goes to the EU Court of Justice for affirming that also same-sex marriages have to be recognized throughout the union.

Enjoy!

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:12:40 TWISH

0:22:27 News

0:59:46 Really Wrong / Really Right

1:03:33 Quote

1:05:06 Outro

1:06:28 Outtakes

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This week celebrates the launch of Dr Who way back in 1963, the longest running TV-show in history, and a special favourite for many skeptics. For the news we look into the following:

• INTERNATIONAL: Updated evidence for Covid-19, RSV, and influenza vaccines
• HUNGARY: Parliament votes to issue general ban on artificial meat products
• RUSSIA / UKRAINE: Every fifth Russian believes the sun revolves around the earth
• NETHERLANDS: Vaccine skepticism linked to trust in institutions and susceptibility to misinformation

We hand out a Really Right Award to the Swedish Government for removing state support for Jehovah’s Witnesses and in Who’s Quacking? we examine the pseudoscience of Spanish neuroscientist Álex Gómez Marín.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-506.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:07:11 TWISH

0:22:28 News

0:44:01 Really Right

0:47:55 Who's Quacking?

0:55:37 Quote

0:57:05 Outro

0:58:28 Outtakes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.