The European Skeptics Podcast

31/07/2024

EP. #437 OUT – Just One Black Swan
👇 Link in the comments 👇

Thirty-two years ago this week the tried to explain why discrimination against gay people is not really . That’s basically still their position today, which we hear about in this week’s . Then we look at what has been going on lately:

SWEDEN: Swedish companies have blocked more than 50 million scam calls in 2024
INTERNATIONAL: Global markets on the rise
INTERNATIONAL: index apps used to get MORE sunburns
DENMARK: Widespread practice among athletes might be truly harmful
INTERNATIONAL: can be harmful
INTERNATIONAL: Snopes launches AI-based fact-checking tool

The UK ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) shows a bit of teeth and bans ads for supplements that claim to treat autism and other conditions. For that, they receive this week’s award for being Really Right.

From the Netherlands we get a Who’s Quacking? segment about George van Houts, actor and comedian turned conspiracy nut.

Enjoy!

20/07/2024

EP. #436 NOW OUT - PIAZZI, THE SKEPTICAL PRIEST

Just the boys this week and we have a lot to talk about – change (and why András needs a new job), Türkiye vs. Turkey, Dutch vacations, , Skeptical Science, and even some politics. In we hear about the skeptical priest Giuseppe Piazzi who discovered , the first asteroid ever detected. Then we have the news:

UK: Are UK adolescents eating too much ultra processed foods?
EU: Two major corn crops approved for import as food and animal feed
Not that we know how it will all end, but the new UK Labour government is off to a good start from a skeptical point of view and therefore receives this week’s award for being Really Right.

Enjoy!

13/07/2024

Episode 435 is out! https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-435.html

12/07/2024

New episode! No 435 is out now! https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-435.html

Some listeners have started to join our Discord – why don’t you do that do! In the news today: TURKEY: Turkey revokes radio station’s license for discussing Armenian genocide UK: Ultra-processed food fear – simply the next big nutritional moral panic? SPAIN: HIV patients often take other SCA...

05/07/2024

Episode 434 is out! https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-434.html

05/07/2024

Episode 434 is out! https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-434.html

To start out we nerd out a bit about how to say ‘hello’ in Hungarian, launch the new ESP Discord thread and give a shout-out to Malmö Pride where people can team up with Pontus to fight against prejudices at Malmö Pride. In TWISH we for once hop across the pond to explain the origin ... Read m...

01/07/2024

It’s summer and you’re reading your favourite skeptical or scicomm book at the beach, but - oh no! - you can’t remember the page you’re on.
We got you!
This is your very own ESP bookmark.
How to use:
Take a piece of cardboard.
Print the bookmark in colours.
Glue the bookmark on the cardboard.
If you want, you can still laminate it to be waterproof.

Have fun and stay skeptical!

28/06/2024

Episode 433 is out! Check it out: https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-433.html

27/06/2024

More about this disclaimer, training AI, King Charles and Brexit in the upcoming episode!

25/06/2024

As a podcast with over 400 episodes we do have a plethora of quotes to choose from. We don’t want anyone to forget the brilliant fragments of wisdom from people smarter than us, so we decided to share older quotes.
This one is by Marie Curie, Polish- French physicist and chemist who is mostly know for her research in radioactivity.
What do you think about this quote?

22/06/2024

Episode 432 is out! Give it a listen: https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-432.html

15/06/2024

EP. #431 – SCAM UNDER (ACU)PRESSURE
👇Link in the comments 👇

In Pontus’ absence we talk a bit about European Parliament and in TWISH we commemorate the Italian heroine of and & former science guarantor of CICAP Margherita Hack. Then it is time to check out the news:

UK: Zero hour for climate action in The Skeptic
NORTHERN IRELAND: Northern Ireland Assembly passes motion to ban conversion therapies - and we join Humanists UK in welcoming this step
INTERNATIONAL: Edzard Ernst finds research to be in decline, based on his searches
INTERNATIONAL: Intervention against might increase … against reliable sources, too

The German Jury of RIMOWA Design Price, who awarded a product that is based on acupressure nonsense, gets this week’s award for being Really Wrong.

Enjoy!

14/06/2024

Guys, you have probably noticed: our episode will be a bit late! Stay tuned - it will come out soon, but maybe not today.

12/06/2024

It’s not yet, but here’s still a blast from the past. couldn’t ignore her - training and recorded for ! All with the help of and his microphone 😄 This was during our „ESP & travel Australia“ - tour 2022. Thank you so much for that, 🦘
.g.pinter

12/06/2024

Did you know you can buy our merch? https://theesp.eu/the-esp-shop Check it out 🙂

PLEASE NOTE: Ordering from US, Canada or Australia? Please click here! theESP

10/06/2024

Here’s more information about the news of our latest episode:

FacebookTweetLinkedIn The European Council of Skeptical Organisations (ECSO) is an umbrella of skeptical organisations in Europe. Founded on 25 September 1994, the ECSO aims to co-ordinate activities of European organisations and individuals that aim at critically investigating pseudoscientific stat...

07/06/2024

EP. #430 - PATRON SAINT OF THE INTERNET
👇Link in the comments👇

Pontus comes back from the European Skeptics Congress with a new title (he’s chair of ECSO | European Skeptics now 🥳🍻👍). Applications to talk at the pre- QED: Question. Explore. Discover. event are now accepted and Sense about Science's is postponed due to the upcoming . In we hear about James Hutton, the father of modern , and then it is time to check out the news:

INTERNATIONAL: The Catholic church’s first ‘millennial saint’
INTERNATIONAL: Edzard Ernst did it again - his new book is out now!
INTERNATIONAL: ‘Foolproof’ gives us without needles
INTERNATIONAL: Fact Brief by Skeptical Science – Have climate models overestimated warming?

The country of Georgia is going full with the new law targeting the community and for that they receive this week’s award for being Really Wrong.

Enjoy!

31/05/2024

TheESP – EP. #429 – THINK AWAY THE LONG COVID
👇Link in the comments! 👇

We start with some listener feedback and also worry if Neil deGrasse Tyson and the StarTalk show are falling for some within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). On the good side Skeptical Science, led by John Cook is continuing their quest for literacy and has a new online quiz you can take to check your “bullsh*t detector”. In we hear about the trial against Joan of Arc in 1431. Then we turn to the news:

SWEDEN: How the Karolinska Institutet protected Paolo Macchiarini — and whistleblowers paid the price
UK: People with scammed by fake therapy
INTERNATIONAL: Misleading claims on well-known rare risk of AstraZeneca -19 vaccine
GERMANY: Michael Schumacher’s family wins law case against publisher running interview

The Telegraph and The Independent spout and for that get this week’s award for being Really Wrong.

Enjoy!

31/05/2024

Wanna be a speaker at SkeptiCamp Manchester 2024?
It’s a free pre-QED event with lightning talks on a Friday.
Do apply if you have something interesting to share with your fellow skeptics!

Call for speakers!
As you probably know we're hosting Skepticamp at QED again this year, and we're looking for people like YOU to fill the roster.
Can you make it to Manchester on Fri 18th October?
Can you speak about something interesting for ten minutes?
Then apply here: https://sitp.online/skepticamp

24/05/2024

TheESP - EP. #428 - MESMERISED BY NONSENSE
👇Link in the comments 👇

In Pontus’ absence Annika is back for a quick visit before her planned return next month. We mention the terrible assassination attempt against Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico and how it’s a new source of . On you can hear about Franz Anton Mesmer, who was the foremost proponent of “animal magnetism”. Then, we look at the news:

GERMANY: gwup has a new leadership - Congratulations!
VATICAN CITY: The introducing new rules for the assessment of potentially “Supernatural Phenomena”
SCOTLAND: According to 2022 census released recently, majority of people not affiliated with any religions.
Enjoy!

Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; News; Quote and Farewell; Outro

21/05/2024

EP*SODE #427 - BEWARE THE TROLLS
👇Link in the comments👇

Meeting up with fellow skeptics is always a blast. We recommend reading the recent article in The Skeptic about the history of European and ECSO | European Skeptics – the (European Skeptics Congress) is only two weeks away! Pontus reports from last week’s annual meeting with Vetenskap och Folkbildning (the Swedish Skeptics) and in we hear about Pierre Curie who, apart from being a brilliant scientist also was intrigued by . Then, it’s time for the news:

SWEDEN: Fake news during Eurovision Song Contest
GERMANY: German Medical Association wants to ban
SWEDEN: SD and the troll factory
UK: Whooping cough surging

Tadusz Wojda is the head of the Catholic Church in Poland, and he proves again that the has no morals. For that, he receives this week’s award for being .

Enjoy!

05/05/2024

EP. #425 – MILLIONS OF LIVES SAVED

Every Swede has celebrated (Walpurgis / Walpurga) this week although no one really knows why, and András reports from on volcanic activities. In we hear about Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a theologian so controversial that popes nowadays still cannot agree on what to think of him. Then it’s time for this week’s news:

INTERNATIONAL: How local communities shaped the 'Cranky Uncle Vaccine’ game
SWEDEN / UK: Computer game in school made students better at detecting fake news
UK: The role of religion in COVID-19 vaccine uptake
UK: diet almost killed a former model
EU: Investigations of on Meta platforms ahead of June European Parliament elections
efforts have saved over 150 million lives over the last 50 years, and therefore Maurice Hilleman gets a Award as a representative of those who dedicate their lives to the cause.

Enjoy!

27/04/2024

Meet the speakers of the 20th European Skeptics Congress!

MEET THE SPEAKERS OF THE 20th EUROPEAN SKEPTICS CONGRESS - 2024

JEAN-LUC BERNET

Jean-Luc Bernet has qualified mainly in political science, foreign languages, economics and sociology, and finally in social work by acquiring a professional diploma in this field. He ran a training centre for social workers and provided training in these professions for twenty years.
Since retiring, he has been involved with the Cercle Zététique du Languedoc-Roussillon, a skeptical organisation founded in 1996, and has been its secretary since 2005.

27/04/2024

EP. #424 – FLAT EARTH HOMEOPATHY
(Link in the comments)

It is European Week! Get your boosters and jabs folks, and make sure you and the people around you are safe! In this week we hear about John Oliver, the British comedian who (whether you like him or not) understands and the need for healthy . Then we of course take a look at the news:

ITALY: Italy passes measures to allow anti-abortion activists to enter clinics
HUNGARY: The goes to the Hungarian Association of Homeopathic Doctors. Congrats, Magyar Homeopata Orvosi Egyesület!
EUROPE: ‘Extreme heat stress’ pushing temperatures to record highs and numbers of death
AUSTRIA / GERMANY: The for Best Science Communicator goes to Methodically Incorrect! Our heartfelt congratulations!
EUROPE: elections in times of propaganda, and spies
UK: Creating sexually explicit images to be made illegal in UK

The Award this week goes to with their silly “Red Light Therapy”

Enjoy!

27/04/2024

Well said!

19/04/2024

EP*SODE #423 - Public Reiki
(Link to the show in the comments)

The report on analysis and Thomas Erikson from last week generated some good feedback, it’s time for the John Maddox prize again, plus Susan Gerbic has a new YouTube channel about (About Time Project) that you should definitely check out. Don’t forget to book your ticket for the European Skeptics Congress in Lyon! In we hear about Norbert (Norbi) Schobert, the Hungarian guru that seems to keep asking for a Flat Earth award. Then, we look at the news:

SCOTLAND: NASA asked to help find Loch Ness monster
UK: Sense about Science asks people to show they care about
Back to Hungary for the Really Wrong Award, where a public Hungarian hospital in Orosháza is offering treatment to patients.

Enjoy!

15/04/2024

Apropos last week's Really Wrong, the Swedish Skeptics, VoF, posted this yesterday (it's in English):

Thomas Erikson 2014. Creative Commons CA 3.0 How Swedes were fooled by one of the biggest scientific bluffs of our time Dan Katz, licensed psychologist and psycho­therapist, explains why Thomas Erikson’s success with his book Surrounded by Idiots is one of the biggest pseudoscience scandals in re...

12/04/2024

EP. #422 - SURROUNDED BY LIES
(Link in the comments)

A bit of a correction first, regarding . Then we get some news with speculation about a Swedish ‘papabile’, plus idiotic statements about genders. In we hear about Paolo Frisi, an Italian seminary dropout who in the 18th century went on to become a polymath. Then we have a look at the news:

EUROPE: Whooping cough on the rise – due to covid?
BELGIUM: Alternative medicine and god hindering willingness to ?
FRANCE: Didier Raoult and his unethical research
Long time charlatan Thomas Erikson finally gets his dues when he receives a Really Wrong Award as his latest book on nonsense personality types is published.

Enjoy!

05/04/2024

TheESP – Ep. #421 – Wishful Thinking
https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-421.html

There are two great European skeptical events to sign up for this year – European Skeptics Congress in Lyon (30 May- 2 June) and QED: Question. Explore. Discover. in Manchester (18 – 20 October) – there is still time to catch the Early Bird discounts for both! In we hear about the earthquake in L’Aquila in Italy in 2009, that not only shook the ground but also the trust in . Of course, we also give our take on the news:

UK: Rumours about King Charles III’s illness on the rise
RUSSIA: Russia linked to ’Havana Syndrome’. We’re not convinced…
NETHERLANDS: New study may help us understand wishful thinking
This week we hopefully hand out our last P*S related Really Wrong Award. More specifically it goes to Polish president Andrzej Duda who did a doo-doo and vetoed access to women’s health care.

Enjoy!

There are two great European skeptical events to sign up for this year – European Skeptics Congress in Lyon (30 May- 2 June) and QED in Manchester (18 – 20 October) – there is still time to catch the Early Bird discounts for both! In TWISH we hear about the earthquake in L’Aquila in Italy .....