James Watson died, and brilliant as his contribution to science was, he also had some very problematic views on race and women. The Church of Scientology seems to be in decline even if they try their best to deny it, claiming huge (but questionable) numbers on their recent big conference. We are happily surprised to see a very nice article about ourselves in the Skeptical Inquirer (thanks Susan!) and in TWISH we hear about the founding of the Pasteur Institute and what an impact it has had on science. Then, let’s look at the news:

• UK: TikTok trend makes men seek unnecessary testosterone treatments
• UK: The BBC crisis
• INTERNATIONAL: Paracetamol revisited – still not linked to autism
• FRANCE: Climate disinformation goes mainstream
• INTERNATIONAL: Trolls and narcissism

Watch out for ‘Black Fraud Day’ whose many scammers get this week’s prize for being Really Wrong.

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-505.html

Enjoy!

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:52 Greetings

0:15:16 TWISH

0:23:11 News

0:52:10 Really Wrong

0:57:37 Quote

1:01:11 Outro

1:02:33 Outtakes

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

We’re back home after QED and boy was it great! Last one, we know, but next year will see the European Skeptics Congress in Liverpool and it will largely be following the template of QED. Save the dates, 16-18 October 2026!

We note the lessons learned from hurricane Melissa and in TWISH we hear about two milestones of European history, the ECDC and the European Convention om Human Rights. Then, we catch up on the news:

• UK: The Ockham awards for 2025
• AUSTRIA: The Golden Board for 2025
• SWEDEN: Populistic repatriation support meets local pushback
• ITALY: Senate hosts presentation of bogus device
• GERMANY: Student at the Free University of Berlin develops useful tool for spotting fake references
• HUNGARY: Over a hundred political ads financed by Orbán’s Digital Citizen Circles slip through Facebooks filters

In Finland the nonsense of DISC personality tests are inexplicably popular and the company MLP gets the Really Wrong Award for promoting it, while philosopher of science Inkeri Koskinen gets the Really Right Award for speaking up about it.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-504.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:15:12 TWISH

0:24:02 News

0:56:51 Really Wrong / Really Right

1:01:48 Quote

1:03:20 Outro

1:04:43 Outtakes

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

Note! You can find the video of this live recording here on our Youtube channel! (special thanks to the fantastic SitPO team for the video!)

We were live from QED! Best time ever! Joining us for the recording were the fabulous Claire Klingenberg, Deborah Hyde and Brian Eggo, as well as huge crowd of happy QED attendees. We had a TWISH about phrenology and also a line of positive(!) news:

• INTERNATIONAL: UN demands asylum protection for the non religious
• SWEDEN: The Great Pill-Scandal
• UK: ULEZ is improving people’s health
• CZECHIA: Beaver engineered dam saves lots of money for government

Special thanks to friend of the show Rob McDermott for the great photos!

Enjoy!

Show notes: https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-503.html

Segments:

0:00:50 Intro

0:01:43 Greetings

0:05:44 TWISH

0:18:21 News

0:47:17 Quote

0:49:29 Outro

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

Warming up for QED, we dive directly in to TWISH and talk about – QED(!) and how this weekend will be an historic event as the last one of them all. We’re going to make the most of it!

But before we pack our bags, we have some news to talk about:

• UK: The Conversation seems to endorse spiritual psychic meetings
• AUSTRIA: Finalists of the Golden Board in Front of the Head announced
• CZECHIA: Another European country goes populist
• EUROPE: Plug-in hybrids seems to be much worse polluters than previously thought

Not all influencers are bad, so this week’s Really Right Award goes to the Instagram account Kvinnokliniken that keeps fighting for good and science-based information regarding women’s health issues.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-502.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:04:03 TWISH

0:14:38 News

0:36:53 Really Right

0:41:37 Quote

0:43:42 Outro

0:45:05 Outtakes

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

To begin with with remember Jane Goodall and we mark that the Dutch Master Kackadoris Award has been awarded to the VU University of Amsterdam – serves them right! In TWISH we hear about the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1582 (in some places much later!) and then, we dig into the news:

• INTERNATIONAL: Shingles vaccination associated with lower risk of dementia
• VATICAN: Pope Leo stands up for science and humanity
• GERMANY / DENMARK / SWEDEN / EU: Drones, drones, drones
• UK: Nigel F Farage spreads nonsense as hardcore as his American counterpart
• UK: Cut your energy bills by a third with a gadget?
• INTERNATIONAL: Here’s the Snopes app!

The Really Wrong Award goes to Meta and the EU for their inability to handle political ads.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-501.html

Segments:

0:00:26 Intro

0:00:53 Greetings

0:11:23 TWISH

0:20:12 News

0:48:39 Really Wrong

0:53:26 Quote

0:54:31 Outro

0:55:53 Outtakes

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

It’s official boys and girls, we made it to Episode 500!

We celebrated this with a live recording and joining us from all over the world were a whole bunch of the best skeptics you can imagine: Michael Marshall, Chris French, Claire Klingenberg, Susan Gerbic, Deborah Hyde, Adrienne Hill and Richard Saunders. Good friends all! Annika Harrison and Brian Eggo unfortunately couldn’t make it, but went out of their way to record their greetings in advance. What a wonderful time!

Enjoy!

PS. The edited recording is available on our YouTube channel!

Show notes: https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-500.html

Segments:

0:00:29 INTRO

0:03:02 GUESTS

0:03:02: Michael Marshall

0:16:55: Chris French

0:33:02: Claire Klingenberg

0:48:26: Susan Gerbic

1:02:29: Deborah Hyde

1:19:11: Adrienne Hill

1:34:37: Richard Saunders

1:58:10: Annika Harrison

2:04:02: Brian Eggo

2:15:12 OUTRO

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

Next week we’ll livestream our 500th episode (but stick around for this one first!), and also we remind all non-UK QED participants to get their ETAs before they go to Manchester later this month. In TWISH we learn about Alice Stewart and her work for awareness of the risks with radiation. Then we go to the news:

• INTERNATIONAL: No longer any question: alcohol is bad for your body
• EU: EU transition to electromobility is better than many make it out to be
• MOLDOVA / RUSSIA: Moldova election results subject to Russian disinformation
• GERMANY: New podcast of GWUP launched
• DENMARK: Drones over Denmark – what are they?

Dick Erixon of the Sweden Democrats wants to investigate George Soros only because that’s what daddy Trump wants, and for that he is Really Wrong.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-499.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:50 Greetings

0:06:41 TWISH

0:16:16 News

0:45:26 Really Wrong

0:50:45 Quote

0:52:20 Outro

0:53:43 Outtakes

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

Swedish glaciers are disappearing and in TWISH we hear about the triumph for science when discovering Neptune. After that, it’s the news:

• INTERNATIONAL: This year’s Ig Nobel prizes
• FRANCE: Macrons finally push back on rumors regarding first lady’s gender
• UK / INTERNATIONAL: Does solving puzzles prevent dementia?
• EU: Meta and Google to block political ads under new regulations

RFK jr. (or little Bobby) claims that he has a ‘cure for autism’ and that’s such a face plant that he get’s a new Really Wrong Award, just two weeks after his previous.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-498.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:05:56 TWISH

0:14:42 News

0:46:07 Really Wrong

0:50:15 Quote

0:51:19 Outro

0:52:41 Outtakes

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

Make sure to check out András' Skeptics in the Pub Online talk next week on 25 September! In TWISH we meet Ötzi the Ice Man, and a mystery death from 5300 years ago and a invaluable source of archeological science. Then we look to the news:

• ALBANIA: Albania appoints AI-created ‘minister’
• ITALY: Arson attack in Sardinia linked to climate misinformation
• SWEDEN: Princess Madeleine launches her brand of Weleda based cosmetics
• AUSTRIA: Nominations now open for the Golden Board 2025
• SWITZERLAND: Switzerland didn’t ban mammograms

Viktor Orbán has done it again, and gets his sixth(!) Really Wrong Award, this time for doubling down on crime information.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-497.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:52 Greetings

0:07:29 TWISH

0:21:06 News

0:51:22 Really Wrong

0:56:33 Quote

0:57:55 Outro

0:59:18 Outtakes

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

In the Netherlands, trust in science is increasing which is unexpected good news. We have some thoughts on the election results in Norway, plus you can now hear us on YouTube! In TWISH we hear about a close encounter in France and then it’s time for the news:

• INTERNATIONAL: Microdosing on weight loss drugs neither proven safe nor effective
• GERMANY: Mysterious deaths among AfD candidates prior to election?
• ITALY: Bad news for the Shroud of Turin
• UKRAINE: Europe’s largest paper mill identified?

RFK jr. may be American but the dangerous nonsense that “His Wrongness” is spreading reach us world wide. This time he has decided that paracetamol (aka Tylenol) is causing autism and for that he is Really Wrong.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-496.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:50 Greetings

0:09:15 TWISH

0:19:05 News

0:38:42 Really Wrong

0:42:58 Quote

0:44:01 Outro

0:45:24 Outtakes

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