TheESP – Ep. #552 – Haunted by the Number Curse

The number curse is getting worse! The Dutch Meester Kakadoris Award has been awarded, Patreon is changing its rules (but please still subscribe!) and next week sees two big Skeptical events: Global Skeptics in the Pub and ESC Liverpool. Join one of them or both! In TWISH we hear about Henry Cavendish (no relation to bananas) and then we get to the news:

• ISRAEL / INTERNATIONAL: Conspiracy theories about Flydubai attack spread across social media
• RUSSIA / UKRAINE / GERMANY: Russian disinformation campaigns are getting more sophisticated
• SWEDEN: Reports of election fraud – are they real?

The Really Wrong Award goes to Barbara O’Neill, the Australian quack who is currently touring Europe (and the world).

Enjoy!

Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; News; Really Wrong; Quote; Outro; Outtakes
 
0:00:27 INTRO

0:00:51 GREETINGS

• The number curse re-visited
• Meester Kakadoris award
  • VtdK: https://www.kwakzalverij.nl/nieuws/ajax-wint-meester-kackadorisprijs-2026/
• Patreon will change from per episode to subscription basis
• Global Skeptics in the Pub – 13-14 October
  • Global Skeptics in the Pub: https://www.globalskepticsinthepub.net/2026

0:12:04 TWISH – THIS WEEK IN SKEPTICAL HISTORY

• 10 October 1731: Birth of Henry Cavendish
  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Cavendish

0:23:57 NEWS

• ISRAEL / INTERNATIONAL: Conspiracy theories about Flydubai attack spread across social media
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/flydubai-plane-incident
  • Times of Israel: https://www.timesofisrael.com/conspiracy-theories-about-flydubai-attack-spread-across-social-media-reports-find/
• RUSSIA / UKRAINE / GERMANY: Russian disinformation campaigns are getting more sophisticated
  • AFP: https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.C9YL4NQ
  • DW: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-faces-a-triple-threat-from-russia-china-and-domestic-far-right-extremists/a-79560490
• SWEDEN: Reports of election fraud – are they real?
  • Sveriges Radio: https://www.sverigesradio.se/artikel/9312350?audio=9312350
  • SVT: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/tre-fragor-om-valfusk-experten-svarar
  • SVD: https://www.svd.se/a/1okgLW/misstankt-valfusk-i-jarva-arbetsledare-tog-stallning-mot-vansterpartiet
  • Sydsvenskan: https://www.sydsvenskan.se/sverige/ingen-omfattande-kampanj-om-valfusk-mot-sverige/

0:41:11 REALLY WRONG

• Really Wrong: ‘Self-healing’ coach Barbara O’Neill on UK / Irish tour
  • Streamline Feed: https://streamlinefeed.co.ke/news/venues-warned-as-banned-self-healing-coach-barbara-oneill-announces-uk-tour

0:45:19 QUOTE AND FAREWELL

“In science, the burden of proof falls upon the claimant; and the more extraordinary a claim, the heavier is the burden of proof demanded. The true skeptic takes an agnostic position, one that says the claim is not proved rather than disproved. He asserts that the claimant has not borne the burden of proof and that science must continue to build its cognitive map of reality without incorporating the extraordinary claim as a new ‘fact.’”
/ Marcello Truzzi (6 September 1935 – 5 February 2003), American sociologist and academic who was professor of sociology at New College of Florida and later at Eastern Michigan University, founding co-chairman of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), a founder of the Society for Scientific Exploration,[1] and director for the Center for Scientific Anomalies Research. /

0:47:28 OUTRO

0:48:51 OUT-TAKES