Despite the bleak outlook we see in the news, science and critical thinking is still a thing. In the UK, Sense about Science is recruiting and in Toulouse, France, there is a great festival coming up in April. In TWISH we revisit the legacy of Erik Weisz, aka Harry Houdini, and then we have a look at the news:

• INTERNATIONAL: Funeral rights for non-believers
• NETHERLANDS: Senior journalist’s fall over falling for AI hallucinations
• EUROPE / USA: Europe actively recruits researchers struggling under Trump / Ig Nobel prizes moving to Switzerland
• GERMANY: Old tricks back on the rise as gas prices soar

Reform UK and the UK Conservative party are fueling disinformation regarding the general public's view on net zero emissions, and for that they are Really Wrong.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-524.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:52 Greetings

0:10:55 TWISH

0:20:59 News

0:43:58 Really Wrong

0:47:18 Quote

0:48:40 Outro

0:50:02 Outtakes

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

General elections in Hungary are coming up and it’s going to be nasty. We get some listener feedback and we were on an video interview for Skeptical Inquirer. TWISH looks to Tesla’s famous “free energy” patent which was filed 126 years ago, and finds that in doesn’t promise free energy at all (chocker!). Then we look to the news:

• UK: Survivors of Ireland’s mother and baby homes face benefit cuts in UK after accepting compensation
• GERMANY: Campaign against fluoride in toothpaste seems to be a marketing strategy rather than citizen initiative
• INTERNATIONAL: AIDS denialism on the rise
• GERMANY: Germanic New Medicine seems dangerously popular

Who’s Quacking? this week looks to Norway and finds Anders Haakenstad, a clinical exercise physiologist and health expert who spreads unproven doubts about chemo therapy for cancer and vaccines.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-523.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:13:49 TWISH

0:25:06 News

0:50:10 Who's Quacking?

0:55:11 Quote

0:56:56 Outro

0:58:19 Outtakes

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

This week we have an interview with author and nuclear advocate Zion Lights.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-522.html

Segments:

0:00:33 Intro

0:00:56 Greetings

0:07:05 Interview

0:47:09 Farewell

0:51:34 Outro

0:52:57 Outtakes

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

Even in a world on fire with yet another big war there are glimmers of light such as the upcoming Festival of Humanism in Bournemouth in June. In TWISH we hear about some of the most common myths about Michelangelo, and then we take a look at the news:

• EU: Vaccine update: EMA recommends approval of Moderna’s combined flu/covid vaccine and more good news regarding HPV vaccination
• GERMANY: Fake vaccinations currently under investigation
• UK / WALES: Follow-up: Assisted dying in the UK and Wales
• INTERNATIONAL: Lessons from the latest Freedom of Thought Report

The Really Wrong Award goes to unnecessary supplements for middle-aged men (they don’t do much for other people either…)

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-521.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:50 Greetings

0:05:51 TWISH

0:19:51 News

0:45:46 Really Wrong

0:50:03 Who's Quacking?

0:53:44 Quote

0:55:11 Outro

0:56:34 Outtakes

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

In a very special skeptical Canadian extravaganza, we are joined by the fabulous Adrienne Hill as guest host for the show. A very special treat! In TWISH we look into the fourth anniversary of Putins’ invasion of Ukraine, and how disinformation has been used as weapon in the war. Then, we dig into the news:

• UK: Racial Slurs shouted at the Bafta Awards by a guest who has Tourette Syndrome
• NORTHERN IRELEND: Getting closer to repeal blasphemy law
• HUNGARY: Pediatrician in custody after faking vaccination certificates
• ITALY: Crotchgate at the Olympics. Can injecting Hyaluronic Acid into genitals help ski jumpers’ distance?
• NETHERLANDS / SWEDEN: Dutch seller of bogus medicine uses AI deep fakes and Swedish bank for legitimacy
• INTERNATIONAL: Safe spaces or innovation killers? Macron’s AI showdown in Delhi

The Really Wrong Award goes to circumcision for non-medical reasons on children who cannot consent, after a baby dies of sepsis for no good reason.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-520.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:53 Greetings

0:12:20 TWISH

0:22:56 News

1:08:41 Really Wrong

1:14:57 Quote

1:16:05 Outro

1:17:27 Outtakes

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

Just like his uncle, even the Prince of Wales (William, that is!) cannot entirely stay out of the Epstein-files, as his charity gets tangled up in it. In TWISH we take a look at famed Giordano Bruno to see if he was truly a skeptic or more of a trouble make (admittedly, you can be both). Then we have the news:

• UK: More than 60 children infected in north London measles outbreak
• AUSTRIA: Group of scientists on how difficult it is to try to uphold scientific standards
• INTERNATIONAL: Climate change confusion?
• INTERNATIONAL: Study finds deepfake to be alarmingly prevalent

On the same topic as two weeks ago, the Really Wrong Award goes to the UK education system for their very questionable religious education syllabus, while the Humanists UK get the Really Right Award for fighting back.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-519.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:52 Greetings

0:09:46 TWISH

0:19:07 News

0:41:30 Really Wrong / Really Right

0:45:54 Quote

0:47:43 Outro

0:49:06 Outtakes

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

We start by wishing for fast trains and maglev transportation in Europe – much better for the environment than air travel. Because even if we have had a rather cold January here in Europe, Copernicus tells us that we are still warming the globe in a reckless pace. In TWISH we remember István Vágó on what would have been his 77th birthday. Vágó was the first president of the Hungarian Skeptics and also a TV personality specializing in quiz shows and a famous promoter of the virtue of facts. Then, we turn to the news:

• UK: Only 4 of 66 ‘statin side effects’ are actually from the drug itself
• HUNGARY: Meta fails to filter political ads, Tisza fails to use statistics correctly
• SWEDEN: Exorcism in Sweden
• UK: Young people fearful of false claims and AI misleading voters
• SWEDEN: Murder of Olof Palme: Attorney General has some explaining to do

Russia is now so short of labor and soldiers due to their invasion of Ukraine that they use any means to lure foreigners to sign up as cannon fodder. For that, and for ruining not just Ukraine but also Russia itself, Vladimir Putin (again) gets the Award for being Really Wrong.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-518.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:07:46 TWISH

0:18:34 News

0:52:11 Really Wrong

0:54:53 Quote

0:57:05 Outro

0:58:27 Outtakes

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

This is an oddly positive episode with a lot of good news, who could foresee that? But do us a favor and help Skeptical Science with your translation skills (link in the show notes)! In TWISH we dig into the cannibalism that is Christianity with a look into the legend of St Agatha.

Then, it’s time for the news:

• SWEDEN: Gaming addiction risk greatly exaggerated
• EUROPE: Council of Europe calls for ban on conversion therapies
• UK: Gen Z churchgoing is actually still declining
• POLAND: MMS use strongly discouraged by scientist based on latest research
• SWEDEN: COVID-19 vaccination carries no association with childbirth rates in Sweden
• INTERNATIONAL: AI safety report indicates we’re not doing enough

Javed Love is a teacher in Northern Ireland who is exercising his right not to spread religious beliefs in the classroom. For that he is Really Right!

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-517.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:06:22 TWISH

0:17:40 News

0:54:17 Really Right

0:57:32 Quote

0:59:21 Outro

1:00:44 Outtakes

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

Canada’s Mark Carney could possibly be a role model for our European leaders, and the Swedish Bar Association agrees with our criticism of putting children in prison. In TWISH we hear of Emanuel Swedenborg, a great polymath of the Enlightenment who somehow turned into a religious mystic. Then it’s time for the news:

• RUSSIA: The Ukraine war has given rise to an ‘exorcism economy’ in Russia
• UK: The current status and concerns of the proposed ban on social media for under 16s
• SPAIN / SWEDEN: More immigrants, please!
• Spain to regularise 500,000 undocumented migrants
• Swedish Communes say they want more immigrants – for the community and added workforce
• INTERNATIONAL: So, where do we actually stand on microplastics?
• UK: Bigfoot has crossed the pond

The Really Wrong Award goes to the UK House of Lords, where a few unelected persons are somehow allowed to filibuster the Assisted Dying Bill.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-516.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:53 Greetings

0:10:45 TWISH

0:28:07 News

1:00:57 Really Wrong

1:05:35 Word of the Week

1:06:54 Quote

1:08:18 Outro

1:09:40 Outtakes

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

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

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