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

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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

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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

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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.

In this week’s TWISH we take a look at the most skeptical saint, Doubting Thomas – not that we feel that he got everything right. In the news today we take a look at the following:

• INTERNATIONAL / SWEDEN: Rising nicotine addiction in teens
• HUNGARY: GP about to leave practice due to harassment from antivaxxers
• SWEDEN: Breast cancer patients turn away from conventional treatment despite 93% survival rates
• INTERNATIONAL: Liam Neeson narrates anti-vaccination pseudo-documentary

A bunch of contrarians that call themselves BMTIG insists that there must be a conspiracy behind the sinking of the MS Estonia – no matter how much the facts say otherwise and for that they ar Really Wrong.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-510.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:51 Greetings

0:05:33 TWISH

0:17:29 News

0:52:12 Really Wrong

1:07:40 Quote

1:09:17 Outro

1:10:40 Outtakes

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

Rage bait is the Oxford Word of the Year and that cannot be a a good sign of the times we live in. In TWISH we acknowledge the genius of Ada Lovelace while recognizing that she had some flaws as well, especially when it came to phrenology and mesmerism… Then we take a look at the news:

• EU: Proposal to allow plants modified using CRISPR
• HUNGARY: Government campaigns against opposition party with fake election program
• INTERNATIONAL: Influencers promote bogus health advice
• UK: Persuasion through chatbots leads to inaccurate assessments

This week’s Really Right Award goes to researcher Rebecca Sear for her commitment in tracking down all studies based on the infamous National IQ database.

Enjoy!

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-509.html

Segments:

0:00:27 Intro

0:00:52 Greetings

0:11:45 TWISH

0:24:03 News

0:53:12 Really Right

0:59:37 Quote

1:01:56 Outro

1:03:18 Outtakes

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

We discuss science communication by the ECDC re vaccinations and have some listener feedback about Dr Who, before with dive into TWISH which this week is about a pioneer of modern chemistry, Martin Heinrich Klaproth. Then of course, there’s the news:

• INTERNATIONAL: E-trade via dropshipping – the scam has many levels
• UK: ChatGPT’s dangerous mental health guidance raises skeptical red flags
• SWEDEN: So-called ‘virginity checks’ now finally illegal
• TÜRKIYE: Case study shows risks with chiropractic

The Green alliance in Germany reverses their stance on homeopathy thanks to the work by Cedrik Schamberger and for that, he deserves the Really Right Award. Well done!

Enjoy!

Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; News; Really Right; Quote; Outro; Outtakes

https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-508.html

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