ESC Liverpool 2026 tickets are now available! Get yours now! Chris French wrote a eulogy for Nick Pope, UFO profile who passed away, and in TWISH we hear about Gustave Le Bon who identified the mass psychology of crowds over 150 years ago. Then we head for the news:

• UK: Humanists UK celebrates 130th anniversary
• INTERNATIONAL: Haunted houses explained?
• INTERNATIONAL: Skeptical Science experiment results and lessons learned
• NETHERLANDS / SWEDEN: To meat or not to meat?
• SWITZERLAND: The endless loop of homeopathy finally broken?

Jehovah’s Witnesses’ ‘clarification’ regarding blood transfusions is still harmful and stupid, and for that they get this week’s award for being Really Wrong.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-530.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:52 Greetings

0:07:29 TWISH

0:15:30 News

0:37:54 Really Wrong

0:44:35 Quote

0:45:39 Outro

0:47:02 Outtakes

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

Next week on 6th May the tickets are released for ESC Liverpool. They may sell out fast, so be quick! In other news we note the demise of Desmond Morris and if you liked are interview with Kat Ford, a preprint of her Glastonbury article is now available online! In TWISH we learn about the Scottish polymath John Arbuthnot, and then, it’s time for the news:

• UK: GP struck off register for garlic oil cancer cure claims
• ROMANIA: Romania leads EU measles cases as vaccination rates collapse
• AUSTRIA: Doctor using fake therapies and bogus diagnostics now in court
• UK: Food intolerance tests have become a multimillion-pound industry
• BELGIUM: SKEPP handed out their yearly awards

Illegal peptide sales promise you the world, but are unproven, costly, and possibly dangerous. For that, they are Really Wrong

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-529.html

Segments:

0:00:26 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:08:10 TWISH

0:15:04 News

0:37:21 Really Wrong

0:41:16 Quote

0:42:55 Outro

0:44:17 Outtakes

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

Lots going on this week! It’s European Immunization Week, Pontus went to a spa and got ‘cupped’, and we have news about two skeptical events: the launch of Skeptival 2026 in Berlin and tickets for the European Skeptics Congress 2026 in Liverpool (ESC 2026) will be released on 6 May!

In TWISH we take a look at the misinformation surrounding the Chernobyl disaster that happened 40 years ago this week. And then of course, we have the news:

• IRELAND: 12-year-old sex abuse victim locked up and punished for four years in a nunnery
• IRELAND / UK: UK survivor of Irish mother and baby home can’t afford to accept compensation
• GERMANY: Will homeopathy finally get what it deserves: nothing?
• SWEDEN: Tough-on-crime sentiments are polarizing Swedes

The Swedish government ignores science and all experts and has decided to push through sending children to prison and for that they are Really Wrong.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-528.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:18:13 TWISH

0:30:34 News

0:47:46 Really Wrong

0:50:13 Quote

0:51:44 Outro

0:53:07 Outtakes

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

This week we have a great interview with the fabulous Dr Kat Ford!

Enjoy!

Segments:

0:00:34 Intro

0:00:58 Greetings

0:07:47 Interview

0:55:33 Farewell

0:57:19 Outro

0:58:41 Outtakes

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

Pontus is back and Brian steps in for András, as we discuss myths and disinformation. In TWISH we hear about three common myths regarding the sinking of Titanic, and then we get into the news:

• UK: Non-religion is the new normal: six in ten under-35s have no religion, new analysis finds
• INTERNATIONAL: ‘Stand with Science’ – World Health Day: People live longer today than ever before, even after cancer: here are the latest WHO data.
• UK: Eat tapeworm eggs, lose weight: The terrifying Victorian practice whose myth refuses to die

The Really Wrong Award goes to the Finnish MP and former Minister of the Interior Päivi Räsänen, who was convicted of hate speech against gay people.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-526.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:56 Greetings

0:03:15 TWISH

0:16:09 News

0:38:24 Really Wrong

0:44:04 Quote

0:47:02 Outro

0:48:24 Outtakes

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

In Pontus’ absence, András carries the torch this week and tells about Italian electoral abstentions and in TWISH we here about Robert Bunsen, who knew how to burn things with scientific rigor. Then, it’s time for the news:

• UK: Polls shows public wants religion out of schools
• AUSTRIA / GERMANY: Florian Aigner’s new book out – ‘Die Wirklichkeit ist auch nicht wahr’
• INTERNATIONAL: Academic Freedom Index on decline worldwide
• INTERNATIONAL: Wikipedia bans AI-generated content

The Really Right Award goes to the Ministry of the Interior in Hesse, Germany, for helping its citizens to fight conspiracy theories.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-525.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:03:25 TWISH

0:07:15 News

0:16:48 Really Right

0:18:52 Quote

0:20:25 Outro

0:21:47 Outtakes

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

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.