TheESP – Ep. #521 – RFK jr. Does not Call the Shots

Even in a world on fire with yet another big war there are glimmers of light such as the upcoming Festival of Humanism in Bournemouth in June. In TWISH we hear about some of the most common myths about Michelangelo, and then we take a look at the news:

• EU: Vaccine update: EMA recommends approval of Moderna’s combined flu/covid vaccine and more good news regarding HPV vaccination
• GERMANY: Fake vaccinations currently under investigation
• UK / WALES: Follow-up: Assisted dying in the UK and Wales
• INTERNATIONAL: Lessons from the latest Freedom of Thought Report

The Really Wrong Award goes to unnecessary supplements for middle-aged men (they don’t do much for other people either…)

Enjoy!

Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; News; Really Wrong; Who’s Quacking?; Quote; Outro; Outtakes
 
0:00:27 INTRO

0:00:50 GREETINGS

• Festival of Humanism 2026 – Book your tickets!
  • Humanists UK: https://humanists.uk/2026/03/02/over-20-speakers-announced-for-festival-of-humanism-2026/

0:05:51 TWISH – THIS WEEK IN SKEPTICAL HISTORY

• 6 March 1475: Birth of Michelangelo
  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo

0:19:51 NEWS

• EU: Vaccine update: EMA recommends approval of Moderna’s combined flu/covid vaccine and more good news regarding HPV vaccination
  • Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moderna-gets-eu-regulator-nod-combined-covid-flu-vaccine-2026-02-27/
  • Dagens Medicin: https://www.dagensmedicin.se/specialistomraden/cancer/positiva-beskedet-hpv-vaccin-ger-langvarigt-skydd/
• GERMANY: Fake vaccinations currently under investigation
  • TagesSchau: https://www.tagesschau.de/investigativ/ndr-wdr/masern-impfungen-betrugsversuch-100.html
  • Skeptix: https://skeptix.org/2026/02/28/panorama-wie-impfgegner-die-masern-impfpflicht-unterlaufen/
• UK / WALES: Follow-up: Assisted dying in the UK and Wales
  • Humanists UK: https://humanists.uk/2026/02/24/success-welsh-parliament-votes-in-favour-of-assisted-dying/
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/feb/26/why-have-efforts-to-bring-in-assisted-dying-law-been-thwarted
• INTERNATIONAL: Lessons from the latest Freedom of Thought Report
  • Humanists International: https://fot.humanists.international/about-the-report/
  • Humanists International: https://humanists.international/what-we-do/freedom-of-thought-report/

0:45:46 REALLY WRONG

• Really Wrong: Supplements for middle-aged men is not a good idea
  • DN: https://www.dn.se/sverige/professor-kosttillskott-till-medelalders-man-dalig-ide/

0:50:03 WHO’S QUACKING?

• Germany: Xavier Naidoo is a German singer-songwriter and producer, who repeatedly has expressed support for various conspiracy theories like the 911 attacks, the role of the Rothschild family and the Reichbürgerbewegung (Reich Citizens’ Movement).
  • Skeptix: https://skeptix.org/2026/02/26/bei-xavier-naidoo-entschuldigen-warum-das-denn/

0:53:44 QUOTE AND FAREWELL

“We celebrate the fact that science is an endeavour built upon past knowledge with the maxim that ‘we see further by standing on the shoulders of giants’. We must also be aware of the centuries of pseudoscience perpetrated by men of power on whose shoulders we also stand, because their ideas have percolated through time, and persist within science and society to this day, no matter how offensive, out of date or absurd they might be.”
/ Adam Rutherford (January 1975 – ), English geneticist and science communicatior. The quote is from his 2020 book, ‘How to Argue with a Racist’. /

0:55:11 OUTRO

0:56:34 OUT-TAKES