The European Skeptics Podcast

Is the virus metaphor for spreading misinformation really as good as we have been led to think? Some psychologists disagree. We again ask everyone to show support their support for the Naked Scientists podcast and then in TWISH we hear about George Orwell whose dark visions of society seems ever relevant. Then, we go to the news:ENGLAND / WALES: Assisted dying set to become law in England and Wales after MPs pass billISRAEL / IRAN: Disinformation to look out forINTERNATIONAL: Climate misinformation turning crisis into catastrophe, report saysSWITZERLAND: Government tries to hide expert report on the carbon footprint of electric vehiclesAUSTRALIA / EUROPE / USA: Australian SCAM promoter Barbara O’Neill is planning a European tourStatins is the subject for both the Really Wrong and Really Right Awards this week. One goes to Aseem Malhotra and the other to Full Fact. Can you guess who gets which?Enjoy!https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-485

URGENT! The great podcast the Naked Scientists is in great danger of being cancelled by Cambridge University and we urge everyone to protest this! Information about how to do that is here: https://www.thenakedscientists.com/sos. In other news Pontus will be in Lithuania 29-30 August to participate in the Būtent festival. If you happen to be there too, let us know! In TWISH we hear about a mysterious moon observation from 1178, and then it’s time for the news:SWEDEN / FINLAND / NORWAY: ‘Life’ files for bankruptcyINTERNATIONAL: New toolkit makes post-publication peer-review available for everyoneUSA / SWEDEN: RFK jr. appoints Swedish vaccine advisorUK: Levels of cheating using AI in academic programs on the riseInstead of a Really Wrong Award this week we have a Who’s Quacking? segment about Swedish ‘psychic’, Benny Rosenqvist.Enjoy!https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-484.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:53 Greetings

As Eggman sits in for András, we look forward to SkeptiCamp at QED and Mike Hall’s Skeptics in the Pub Online talk and are happy to note that not only do we follow the ECDC, but they follow us back. In TWISH we hear about one of the forgotten(?) super villains of the Theosophy movement, Alice Bailey, and then we take a look at this week’s news:SWEDEN: Crystals sold to help fertilityISRAEL: Uri Geller says he used his psychic powers to break the navigation tools on Greta Thunberg’s Gaza flotilla ship, the Madleen, and warned that he would stop her if she comes to harm Israel.INTERNATIONAL: Teenage girls’ TikTok skincare regimes offer little to no benefit, research showsINTERNATIONAL: Are CO2 measurements reliable?UK: Is positive thinking a factor for heart patients?INTERNATIONAL: ‘After seeing the chiropractor, I was seeing things and blacking out’A Swedish politician flat-out denies anthropogenic climate change and is handed this week’

We have some listener feedback about the name of ‘Grok’ and a tip to sign a very important petition regarding NASA. In TWISH we hear how a timely letter kicked Darwin into action and made him finally publish ‘that book’. We then dig into the news:UK: ‘Notable increase’ in scammers tricking people into sending money abroadINTERNATIONAL: Retraction Watch’s ‘Sleuths in Residence’INTERNATIONAL: More than half of top 100 mental health TikToks contain misinformationEU: Gene editing should be allowed in the EU for sustainabilityDENMARK: Paper on ‘wokeness’ and mental health retractedGERMANY: Google’s wrong information reeks havoc on the AutobahnsThe NHS will make a new gonorrhoea vaccine available in England and Wales and for that they are Really Right.Enjoy!https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-482.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:51 Greetings0:07:47 TWISH0:17:53 News0:52:05 Really Right0:54:23 Quote0:58:38 Outro1:00:01 Outtakes Hosted on Acast. S

Deborah Hyde joins us this week, it’s been far too long. We recommend her Youtube series ‘The Green Children of Woolpit‘! The Romanian presidential election is still contentious, and we congratulate Ian Dunt to his position as editor for the New Humanist. In TWISH we learn about the first observational evidences for Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity and then it’s time for the news:INTERNATIONAL: Is it OK to use AI in scientific papers?UK: Are prosecutions for blasphemy coming back to England and Wales?UK: Humanists UK Convention 2025 – Deborah among the speakersFRANCE / INTERNATIONAL: June 16: World EHS Day – World Day of Intolerance to Electromagnetic PollutionEU: ECDC 20 years onEUROPE: Measles updateEUROPE: Research: how did SCAM use change between 2014 and 2023?Edzard Ernst uses Grok to help us find out who to appoint as the worst proponents of homeopathy. They receive this week’s award for being Really Wrong and they are: Joette

Viktor Orbán is coming down hard on free speech and Romania seems to (maybe) avoid chaos after their second attempt on presidential elections. In TWISH we get into classical skepticism and have a look at the Plauen UFO incident. Then it’s time for the news, with a little bit of Word of the Week:INTERNATIONAL: Overshooting 1.5°C: even temporary warming above globally agreed temperature limit could have permanent consequencesEU: Petition against conversion therapy meets threshold!INTERNATIONAL: Retraction Watch inquiry results in Elsevier removing a whole journal from ScopusGERMANY: Research identifying subgroups of homeopathy users based on their attitudes towards scienceNORWAY: Putin’s billionaire funds new political partyEU: TikTok in trouble with the European Commission for not adhering to Digital Services ActIRELAND: Psychics are repeatedly insisting on ‘helping’ the policeUK / INTERNATIONAL: The largest ever profiling effort of susceptibility to misin

So, the conclave elected ‘Papa Bob’ a.k.a. Leo XIV – who is he, and will that bring back the ‘Pontus Pokes the Pope’ segment? Time will tell! In other news, If you catch this episode in time, please consider signing the European petition to ban conversion therapy, last day is May 17th.Inge Lehmann is one of forgotten heroes of science, hear more about her in TWISH. Then we go for the news:INTERNATIONAL: Aspartame – risk vs. hazardAUSTRIA: Michael Frass’ controversial study just lost all validity – and yet, it’s still not retractedBELGIUM: Special report from Josef! The winners of the awards from the Belgian skeptics (SKEPP)FRANCE: An open letter by healthcare professionals to stop the funding of SCAM therapies that lack scientific evidenceGERMANY: King of the Reichsbürger movement arrestedEUROPE: Fact-checking chatbot The Check has passed experimental development phasehttps://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-479.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:51 Greetings0:

QED tickets are available everyone, so we start our count-down to October in Manchester! The papal conclave is currently on-going and we bring you the latest news. In TWISH we hear about John Strachey, the almost forgotten pioneer in the field of basic geology. Then of course, we have the news:INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE: Measles updateEU: Press freedom under threat by foreign disinformationSWEDEN: Swedish climate study stopped due to Trump policiesNETHERLANDS: A PhD position to research paper millsROMANIA: First round of presidential election goes to leader of pro-Putin conspiracy theoristUK: Reform UK wins election, if by six votes onlyThe American war on science is starting to reach Europe and for that Donald Trump receives this week’s award for being Really Wrong.Enjoy!https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-478.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:52 Greetings0:08:24 TWISH0:16:18 News0:46:49 Really Wrong0:51:34 Quote0:52:40 Outro0:54:02 Outtakes Hosted

We start out with a few things from the world of skepticism – in Belgium, SKEPP turns 35 next week with special appearance by Chris French (don’t miss it!), and we link to an article about skeptic history in Hungary. Speaking of Hungary, in TWISH we talk about the prominent Hungarian skeptic and science communicator Aurél Ponori Thewrewk, who was born this week in 1921. Then we head for the news:VATICAN: The conclave begins on 7 MayGERMANY: Prominent antivaxxer admits that covid vaccines had few side-effects, but he’s still completely wrongEU: European Commission launching new initiatives to tackle vaccine related mis- and disinformationSWEDEN: HPV vaccinations close to eliminate virus in SwedenUK: Unproven mushroom supplement – a report by MarshWe then hand out no less than 1047 Really Right Awards to the Swedish scientists who fights back against politicians who keep dismissing their research as “opinion”.Enjoy!Segments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:

It’s time for the last Poking of Francis but before we get into that and the other news, we go to TWISH to hear about this week’s birthday boy, Guglielmo Marconi, the pioneer of radio transmissions and his wireless telegraph system.The news list contains the following:INTERNATIONAL: Medical cannabis shows potential to fight cancer, largest-ever study finds – or does it…?HUNGARY: Antivaxx nutjob gets Flat Earth AwardVATICAN: So Frankie died… one last chance to poke the pope (at least this one)EUROPE: RFK Jr having a devastating effect on Europe’s vaccine acceptanceThe Dutch ultra-Christian Civitas Christiania foundation gets this week’s Really Wrong Award for taking their bigoted anti-LGBTQ stance to unacceptable levels.Enjoy!https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-476.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:53 Greetings0:03:24 TWISH0:15:18 News0:48:19 Really Wrong0:54:48 Quote0:56:01 Outro0:57:23 Outtakes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy f

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 sinPOLAND: Sanal Edamaruku’s case: what do we know?INTERNATIONAL: Shadowy market for weight-loss drugs has emerged onlineSERBIA: A wave of disinformation surrounding the demonstrationsSWEDEN: Debunked personality test (DISC) refuses to dieINTERNATIONAL: The Global Listening Project on how attitudes towards vaccines have changed since CovidNorwegian-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 t

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 detectorsINTERNATIONAL: Snopes’ toolkit to guard against online misinformationITALY: AI beats lottery?SWEDEN: Test of phishing attack goes awfully wrongEndometriosis 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.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:51 Greetings0:11:08 TWISH0:19:04 News0:38:35 Really Wrong0:46:58 Quote0:48:33 Outro0:49:55 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 treatmentsGERMANY / INTERNATIONAL: Rudolf Steiner’s legacy on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his deathINTERNATIONAL: More people leave religion than joinUK: Tory’s U-turn on climate policies attributed to ties with major climate denierFRANCE / RUSSIA: French anti-vaxxer feeds Russian disinformationAnother 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.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:51 Greetings0:08:33 TWISH0:14:41 News0:39:16 Really Wrong0:43:34 Quote0:48:32 Outro0:49:54 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 dangerousINTERNATIONAL: 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 sayINTERNATIONAL: Why do we miss autocratic red flags?UK: Faithful? Tax loophole turns old pubs into places of worshipINTERNATIONAL: New trends in vaccine skepticismScientology 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.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:52 Greetings0:04:56 TWISH0:10:55 News0:45:29 Really Wrong / Really Right0:51:36 Quote0:54:29 Outro0:55:52 Outtakes Hosted on Acast. See acast

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 yearsITALY: Higher levels of spirituality and CAM use increases likelyhood of vaccine skepticismUK: Psychological ‘booster shots’ can strengthen resistance to misinformation over timeUK: Poor sleep could fuel belief in conspiracy theoriesINTERNATIONAL: Press freedom watchdog says Russia ‘stealing’ its identityRUSSIA: Russian network changes tactics to ‘groom’ AI bots with disinformationPORTUGAL: 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 te

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 d

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 vaccinesHUNGARY: State TV keeps citing Russian Defense Ministry’s unreliable dataITALY / UK: Tuscany approves assisted dyingGERMANY: SkepKon 2025 now open for ticket purchasesUK: Conference on Research IntegrityThe 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.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:51 Greetings0:09:45 TWISH0:18:49 News0:40:

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 NorwayGERMANY: Election resultsAUSTRIA / SWITZERLAND: Shaman on the runINTERNATIONAL / WALES: Trust in politics on the declineEU: The European economy needs immigration – that’s science!INTERNATIONAL: Nominations for the John Maddox Prize now openThe 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.htmlSegments:0:00:

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 MedalSWEDEN: Murder of Quran burnerFRANCE: Didier Raoult can’t stop spreading bullshitITALY: Italian ‘mystic’ may face trial after DNA match with blood on Virgin Mary statueINTERNATIONAL: Elisabeth Bik Science Integrity Fund launchesWe 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:/

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 ÖrebroGERMANY: Is this the descent of Homeopathy?SWEDEN: Government wants stricter laws regarding guns – Sweden Democrats in uproarUK: Evidence week a big successSCOTLAND: 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.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:50 Greetings0:07:12 TWISH0:16:14 News0:44:42 Really Wrong0:49:17 Quote0:50:41 Outro0:52:04 Outtakes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.