The European Skeptics Podcast - The ESP

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 adviceHUNGARY: University of Pécs course on gene therapies lists mRNA COVID vaccines as such – that’s wrong!UK: Hot-reading Psychic Medium DeanSusanne 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.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:49 Greetings0:10:19 TWISH0:23:14 News0:39:14 Really Right0:44:38 Word of the Week0:47:08 Quote0:48:44 Outro0:50:06 Outtakes

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 2025ITALY: Lega only party refusing to agree not to use deepfake to attack political opponentsSWEDEN: Fact check: How Sweden uses imported trash to produce electricity and heat homesINTERNATIONAL: Review of Autism Therapies finds they don’t hold upUK: Robin Ince quits The Infinite Monkey CageUK: Use of AI for emotional support alarmingly widespreadThe 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.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:51 Greetings0:22:32 TWISH0:27:56 News0:59:16 Really Wrong1:02:39 Quote1:05:02 Outro1:06:25 Outtakes

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 INTRO0:00:50 GREETINGS0:05:11 FACT CHECKERS0:08:39 REASON TELLS0:12:11 FAREWELL0:14:11 OUTRO

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 teensHUNGARY: GP about to leave practice due to harassment from antivaxxersSWEDEN: Breast cancer patients turn away from conventional treatment despite 93% survival ratesINTERNATIONAL: Liam Neeson narrates anti-vaccination pseudo-documentaryA 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.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:51 Greetings0:05:33 TWISH0:17:29 News0:52:12 Really Wrong1:07:40 Quote1:09:17 Outro1:10:40 Outtakes

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 CRISPRHUNGARY: Government campaigns against opposition party with fake election programINTERNATIONAL: Influencers promote bogus health adviceUK: Persuasion through chatbots leads to inaccurate assessmentsThis 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.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:52 Greetings0:11:45 TWISH0:24:03 News0:53:12 Really Right0:59:37 Quote1:01:56 Outro1:03:18 Outtakes

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 levelsUK: ChatGPT’s dangerous mental health guidance raises skeptical red flagsSWEDEN: So-called ‘virginity checks’ now finally illegalTÜRKIYE: Case study shows risks with chiropracticThe 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; Outtakeshttps://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-508.html