The European Skeptics Podcast - The ESP

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 teach researchers how to communicate.Enjoy!https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-471.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:51 Greetings0:14:14 TWISH0:22:35 News0:49:53 Really Wrong / Really Right0:56:55 Quote0:58:57 Outro1:00:19 Outtakes

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 discovery of Uranus by a German immigrant to the UK, William Herschel. And then we turn to the news:UK: Plan to make phone use safer for teens watered downINTERNATIONAL: Phone bans in school not really helpingRUSSIA: The country seems to be flooded with esoteric nonsenseThe Really Wrong Award this week goes to the Royal Society for still holding on to Elon Musk’s fellowship. On the opposite side, the owner of a soft-play centre for gets this week’s Really Right award for fending off an attempted chickenpox party.Enjoy!https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-470-html.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:52 Greetings0:19:03 TWISH0:28:14 News0:45:37 Really Wrong / Really Right0:53:44 Quote0:55:04 Outro0:56:21 Outtakes

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 News0:40:07 Really Wrong / Really Right0:46:02 Quote0:49:01 Outro0:50:23 Outtakes

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:0:00:27 Intro0:00:52 Greetings0:09:04 TWISH0:19:29 News0:42:02 Really Wrong0:47:43 Quote0:49:44 Outro0:51:06 Outtakes

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://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-467.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:51 Greetings0:09:28 TWISH0:17:35 News0:38:12 Really Right0:41:13 Word of the Week0:47:25 Quote0:49:05 Outro0:50:27 Outtakes

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

This week we interview Marcel-Jan Krijgsman, Dutch amateur astronomer, data engineer and science communicator.Enjoy!https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-465.htmlSegments:0:00:33 Intro0:00:56 Greetings0:11:04 Interview0:45:58 Farewell0:50:08 Outro0:51:30 Outtakes

After discussing Nazi salutes, placebo surgery, scientology follow-up, Massimo Polidoro’s new book and several recommendations for other podcasts, we eventually get down to the meat of the show. In TWISH we hear about Delta, the science TV program that aired 61 years ago on 31 of January. Then, we look to the news:SWEDEN: Swedish Skeptics AwardsCENTRAL EUROPE: Disinformation and conspiracy beliefs in East-Central Europe show significant differencesBALTIC SEA: Follow-up on the alleged cable sabotage in the Baltic SeaUK: Is Google actually gonna crack down on fake reviews?SWEDEN: Against scientific consensus, the age of criminal responsibility could be lowered to 14Putin and Russia collect a yet another Really Wrong Award, this time for disinformation in schools.Enjoy! (if that’s the word)https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-464.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:52 Greetings0:20:46 TWISH0:27:57 News0:54:17 Really Wrong0:58:59 Quote1:00:50 Outro1:02:05 Outtakes

The ECDC has declared January cervical cancer awareness month which we support 100%. We also want encourage local skeptical actions such as speaking up when companies promote nonsense and Pontus gives us an example of how easy it can be, if you just take a few minutes and speak up. We also mention that the planets are lined up in a cool way at the moment, so turn your eyes to the skies! In TWISH we hear about Vladimir Bekhterev who was at least as significant in psychology as Pavlov was, but made the mistake to talk badly about Stalin and as a result was almost entirely written out of history. Then, we look at the news:INTERNATIONAL: It’s confirmed: 2024 was the first year with an average temperature 1.5°C above pre-industrial levelsINTERNATIONAL: Pro-Russia disinformation pops up on BlueSkyBALTIC SEA: Damaged cables in Baltic Sea not Russian sabotage?EU: X asked to disclose internal documents about algorithms over fears that far right gets boostUK: Meta and the scrapping of fact-checkingThe Croatian deputy prime minister Josip Dabro confirms all our preconceived ideas regarding stupid populist politicians and gets the week’s award for being Really Wrong.Enjoy!https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-463.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:50 Greetings0:15:50 TWISH0:25:46 News0:45:49 Really Wrong0:49:16 Quote0:53:17 Outro0:54:32 Outtakes