Mixed messages from QED – new dates announced but we hear this is the last one(!) and we have a hard time accepting it. At least we’ll do our best to be there and meet (among others) Chris French whose audiobook is currently on sale. In TWISH we hear about Leonardo da Vinci and specifically about some of the myths surrounding him. Then, it’s time for the news:

• UK: Christian missionary group YWAM accused of public shaming and rituals to ‘cure’ sexual sin
• POLAND: Sanal Edamaruku’s case: what do we know?
• INTERNATIONAL: Shadowy market for weight-loss drugs has emerged online
• SERBIA: A wave of disinformation surrounding the demonstrations
• SWEDEN: Debunked personality test (DISC) refuses to die
• INTERNATIONAL: The Global Listening Project on how attitudes towards vaccines have changed since Covid

Norwegian-Swedish fundamental Christian zealot Runar Søgaard announces Trump to be God’s gift to the US and himself as God’s gift to Sweden, and for that receives this week’s Really Wrong Award.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-475.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:50 Greetings

0:05:32 TWISH

0:17:43 News

0:54:22 Really Wrong

0:58:55 Quote

1:00:09 Outro

1:01:32 Outtakes

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

We first rant a bit about Viktor Orbán and examine some psychic horsing around at the Grand National. In TWISH we hear about the Dead Sea Scrolls and then we dive into the news:

• UKRAINE / USA: Zelenskyy and Trump look for leaks using lie detectors
• INTERNATIONAL: Snopes’ toolkit to guard against online misinformation
• ITALY: AI beats lottery?
• SWEDEN: Test of phishing attack goes awfully wrong

Endometriosis is a serious condition and the topic deserves so much better than this recently published so-called study. Therefore Edinburgh University receives this week’s award for being Really Wrong as they are only raising false hope while wasting valuable time and resources.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-474.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:11:08 TWISH

0:19:04 News

0:38:35 Really Wrong

0:46:58 Quote

0:48:33 Outro

0:49:55 Outtakes

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

We explore the source of April Fool's day in this week’s TWISH, before we get into the news:

• UK: Three-quarters of UK fertility patients using unproven add-on treatments
• GERMANY / INTERNATIONAL: Rudolf Steiner’s legacy on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his death
• INTERNATIONAL: More people leave religion than join
• UK: Tory’s U-turn on climate policies attributed to ties with major climate denier
• FRANCE / RUSSIA: French anti-vaxxer feeds Russian disinformation

Another Nordic princess, Madeleine of Sweden, goes of the rails and announces that she will market Anthroposophic beauty products and that naturally earns her this week’s Really Wrong Award.

Enjoy!

Show notes: https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-473.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:08:33 TWISH

0:14:41 News

0:39:16 Really Wrong

0:43:34 Quote

0:48:32 Outro

0:49:54 Outtakes

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

Science takes an interest in Pontus’ body (who would’ve thought?) and in TWISH we hear about Comenius who got a whole lot of things right already on the 16th century. Of course there are also more current news to take a look at:

• INTERNATIONAL: Tretinoin, the holy grail in skin care, is dangerous
• INTERNATIONAL: Are there any nations taking commitments to tackling climate change seriously?
• UK: Supplements and garlic won’t cure the common cold, despite what the BBC say
• INTERNATIONAL: Why do we miss autocratic red flags?
• UK: Faithful? Tax loophole turns old pubs into places of worship
• INTERNATIONAL: New trends in vaccine skepticism

Scientology is involved in both the Really Wrong and Really Right Awards this week. Guess which one they got?

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-472.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:52 Greetings

0:04:56 TWISH

0:10:55 News

0:45:29 Really Wrong / Really Right

0:51:36 Quote

0:54:29 Outro

0:55:52 Outtakes

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

Pontus is back from skiing, Orbán is worse than ever, and an astronaut will photograph the turtle that carries the Earth on its back – just a normal week in skepticism. In TWISH we hear about the successful ban on CFCs to save the ozone layer, and then it’s time for the news:

• EUROPE: Measles in Europe highest in 25 years
• ITALY: Higher levels of spirituality and CAM use increases likelyhood of vaccine skepticism
• UK: Psychological ‘booster shots’ can strengthen resistance to misinformation over time
• UK: Poor sleep could fuel belief in conspiracy theories
• INTERNATIONAL: Press freedom watchdog says Russia ‘stealing’ its identity
• RUSSIA: Russian network changes tactics to ‘groom’ AI bots with disinformation
• PORTUGAL: ComCept’s Flying Unicorn Awards are here again, voting is on!

The Really Wrong Award goes to Dutch minister for Asylum and Migration, Marjolein Faber, for ignoring expertise, and we send a Really Right to Sense About Science for their work to teach researchers how to communicate.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-471.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:14:14 TWISH

0:22:35 News

0:49:53 Really Wrong / Really Right

0:56:55 Quote

0:58:57 Outro

1:00:19 Outtakes

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

With Brian sitting in for Pontus while he’s doing some skiing, we talk events to start with. The Hungarian Skeptic Society just handed out two awards for those enlightening the public by either speaking up directly against pseudosciences and disinformation or choosing to provide detailed analysis on controversial topics. So, we congratulate Professor of molecular biology Zsolt Boldogkői on getting the first ever László Orosz Lifetime Achievement Award, and biologist, PhD candidate Zsófia Tauber who received the first László Orosz Award from the Hungarian skeptics at and all-day event of talks and panel discussions in Budapest.

Brian promotes an evening of presentations about misinformation and conspiracy theories in Edinburgh and we finish off the opening segment by commemorating one of the most acclaimed skeptics, Joe Nickell, who passed away recently.

On TWISH, we talk about a milestone of modern science, the discovery of Uranus by a German immigrant to the UK, William Herschel. And then we turn to the news:

• UK: Plan to make phone use safer for teens watered down
• INTERNATIONAL: Phone bans in school not really helping
• RUSSIA: The country seems to be flooded with esoteric nonsense

The Really Wrong Award this week goes to the Royal Society for still holding on to Elon Musk’s fellowship. On the opposite side, the owner of a soft-play centre for gets this week’s Really Right award for fending off an attempted chickenpox party.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-470-html.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:52 Greetings

0:19:03 TWISH

0:28:14 News

0:45:37 Really Wrong / Really Right

0:53:44 Quote

0:55:04 Outro

0:56:21 Outtakes

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

Believe it or not, there are more skeptical podcasts out there than ours – check out the Skeptic podcast for example, the newest one out there from the Skeptic UK. Pierre -Simon Laplace is this week’s topic for TWISH, and then we get into the news:

• SWEDEN: New study confirms: Tens of thousands of lives in Sweden saved by covid vaccines
• HUNGARY: State TV keeps citing Russian Defense Ministry’s unreliable data
• ITALY / UK: Tuscany approves assisted dying
• GERMANY: SkepKon 2025 now open for ticket purchases
• UK: Conference on Research Integrity

The Really Wrong Award this week goes to Viktor Orbán as the Budapest Pride festival is coming and he cannot resist exploiting it for his populistic propaganda. On the opposite side, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony is man enough to stand up to Orbán and for that he is Really Right!

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-469.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:09:45 TWISH

0:18:49 News

0:40:07 Really Wrong / Really Right

0:46:02 Quote

0:49:01 Outro

0:50:23 Outtakes

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

We are still fascinated by the on-going planetary alignment and this week is an even better opportunity to watch it. And if it’s cloudy and a Thursday, go back inside and join the SITP Online virtual pub, it’s highly recommended!

In TWISH we hear about Émile Coué who popularized autosuggestion which in a way paved the way for all self-help books that we are still riddled with today. Then of course, we have the news:

• NORWAY: Heat record blown away in northern Norway
• GERMANY: Election results
• AUSTRIA / SWITZERLAND: Shaman on the run
• INTERNATIONAL / WALES: Trust in politics on the decline
• EU: The European economy needs immigration – that’s science!
• INTERNATIONAL: Nominations for the John Maddox Prize now open

The Really Wrong award goes to education in general in the EU – lots of people are still creationists and believe that early humans lived along dinosaurs…

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-468.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:52 Greetings

0:09:04 TWISH

0:19:29 News

0:42:02 Really Wrong

0:47:43 Quote

0:49:44 Outro

0:51:06 Outtakes

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

We talk a little bit of the upcoming Germany federal elections this weekend and in TWISH we hear about Carl von Rokitansky the Austrian physician, pathologist, humanist philosopher and liberal politician and founder of the Viennese School of Medicine of the 19th century. How he managed to dissect tens of thousands of bodies is baffling and just a little bit scary…

Then, we turn to the news:

• UK: Prof. Jim Al-Khalili gets Darwin Day Medal
• SWEDEN: Murder of Quran burner
• FRANCE: Didier Raoult can’t stop spreading bullshit
• ITALY: Italian ‘mystic’ may face trial after DNA match with blood on Virgin Mary statue
• INTERNATIONAL: Elisabeth Bik Science Integrity Fund launches

We hand out a Really Right Award (for once) and a little surprisingly it goes to the UK government for an ambitious project to spot climate change tipping points. We also have a Norwegian Word of the Week, tune in to find why Elon Musk may not be thrilled about it.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-467.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:09:28 TWISH

0:17:35 News

0:38:12 Really Right

0:41:13 Word of the Week

0:47:25 Quote

0:49:05 Outro

0:50:27 Outtakes

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

Lots about guns and politics this week, as well as science, homeopathy and a little bit about lost pants. In TWISH we hear about Descartes and his suspicious death in 1650. Was it murder?

Here is a list of the news:

• SWEDEN: Mass shooting in Örebro
• GERMANY: Is this the descent of Homeopathy?
• SWEDEN: Government wants stricter laws regarding guns – Sweden Democrats in uproar
• UK: Evidence week a big success
• SCOTLAND: Alien abductee trousers(?)

The Really Wrong Award goes the Swedish government for their misuse of science to legitimize killing half the wolves.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-466.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:50 Greetings

0:07:12 TWISH

0:16:14 News

0:44:42 Really Wrong

0:49:17 Quote

0:50:41 Outro

0:52:04 Outtakes

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