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.

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.