TheESP – Ep. #245 – Lust for Blood

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This week we notice the new I am Greta movie strangely so far is only in theaters and not online. Covid number are going up, especially in Germany where conspiracy theories are growing, but the German speaking community can celebrate that former GWUP Science Council member Dr. Krista Federspiel has been awarded the Österreichisches Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst or the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art. A special call goes out for everyone who can support to SKEPP who needs to defend two of their members who have been sued by a multimillionaire (see Ep #243).

We’re happy to hear that Pontus is making progress with his sci-fi novel and then we dive into the news:

  • World Doctors’ Alliance – WTF
  • Guy claims he can cure COVID with homeopathy
  • Is banning content the way to go? Facebook and Youtube
  • Fitness influencer dies after having denied COVID existed
  • Orban wants to raise children as ‘Homo christianus’
  • Editors refuse to retract intelligent design paper
  • The Debunking Handbook 2020 edition

Enjoy!

Segments:
Intro; Greetings; This Week; News; Really Right; Quote and Farewell; Outro; Out-takes

Events Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

0:01:20 INTRO

0:01:46 GREETINGS

0:09:48 THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

0:19:48 NEWS

0:45:04 REALLY RIGHT

0:55:08 QUOTE AND FAREWELL
“The great tragedy of Science — the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact.”
/ Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895), English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. Also known as “Darwin’s Bulldog” /

0:56:41 OUTRO
0:57:56 OUT-TAKES

TheESP – Ep. #244 – Go Women in Science!

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This week we start by celebrating that several women received the Nobel Prize this year. Well deserved and a good trend! We also look at the latest Global warming news delivered by Copernicus. We may need to find another planet to live on… In this week in history we get nostalgic about QED which was supposed to happen this week, but hey, we have many fond memories from previous years to look back on!

Then we dive into the news:

  • New pre-bunking online game GoViral to be used to counter COVID-misinformation
  • Surveys in different countries reveal many young people lack basic knowledge about the Holocaust
  • Homeopathy no longer exclusive to pharmacies in Norway
  • Latest attempts to legitimize homeopathy in Austria
  • 46% of Hungarians would not get vaccinated against COVID
  • The most compelling evidence for the existence of Nessie yet?
  • Most ambitious climate law voted on by European Parliament
  • EarthShot Prize for solutions to global climate issues

Enjoy!

Segments:
Intro; Greetings; This Week; News; Really Wrong; Quote and Farewell; Outro; Out-takes

Events Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

0:00:27 INTRO

0:00:52 GREETINGS

0:11:14 THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

0:15:01 NEWS

0:53:02 REALLY WRONG

0:59:41 RADIO SPOTS

1:02:00 QUOTE AND FAREWELL
“Those who fall in love with practice without science are like a sailor who enters a ship without a helm or a compass, and who never can be certain whither he is going.”
/ Leonardo da Vinci (14/15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519), Italian polymath of the High Renaissance /

1:03:22 OUTRO
1:04:37 OUT-TAKES

TheESP – Ep. #243 – Belgian Skeptics Sued!

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This week we start by urging you to register nominations for the Ockham Awards, handled by The Skeptic. The deadline is 31 October. That’s the same date that Skepsis in the Netherlands will hold their full day ‘Skepsis Congress 2020’, check it out!

Then we chat to Patrick Vermeren, who together with fellow skeptic Bart Van de Ven, is sued for defamation(!) by Carl Van de Velde, the multimillionaire behind the ‘Opleidingsinstituut’. Despite losing in the first instance Van de Velde has appealed and there is a fundraiser in support of our friends. No on Poking of Francis this week in Pontus’ absence, instead move directly to the news:

  • Extinction denial is the new thing. UN Summit on biodiversity addressed that, too
  • German Order of Merit goes to…
  • New prosecution in Macchiarini case
  • Landmark study of 1.7 million women – HPV vaccine better at preventing cervical cancer than previously thought
  • Is the EU cheating in net-zero emissions plans?
  • Dutch Cancer Society gets Master Kackadoris Prize

Enjoy!

Segments:
Intro; Greetings; Interview; This Week; News; Quote and Farewell; Outro; Out-takes

Events Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

0:00:26 INTRO

0:00:51 GREETINGS

0:07:45 INTERVIEW, PATRICK VERMEREN

0:23:05 THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

0:32:18 NEWS

1:02:34 QUOTE AND FAREWELL
“Physics is to be regarded not so much as the study of something a priori given, but rather as the development of methods of ordering and surveying human experience. In this respect our task must be to account for such experience in a manner independent of individual subjective judgement and therefore objective in the sense that it can be unambiguously communicated in ordinary human language.”

/ Niels Bohr (7 October 1885 – 18 November 1962). Danish physicist, Nobel Laureate/

1:03:44 OUTRO

TheESP – Ep. #242 – Stefanie Handl, the Skeptic Vet

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This week we interview veterinarian Dr. Stefanie Handl from Vienna, Austria. Her special fields are nutrition and diets for pets. She is a member of the “Gesellschaft für kritisches Denken” (“Society for Critical Thinking”) which is the local chapter of the German skeptical organization, GWUP. Stefanie is very actively working to inform the public about nutrition woo and so called alternative medicine, especially when it comes to veterinary medicine. She is the owner of a veterinarian nutrition consultation service called “food ambulance” and helps pet owners with their little friends’ diets.
Veterinary medicine, and the pseudomedicine we often encounter there, are important for pet owners which is why we were so happy to get Stefanie on the show.

Enjoy!

Segments:
Intro; Greetings; Interview; Farewell; Outro; Out-takes

Events Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

0:00:33 INTRO

0:01:00 GREETINGS

0:04:22 INTERVIEW WITH STEFANIE HANDL

0:48:34 FAREWELL

0:52:19 OUTRO

0:53:35 OUT-TAKES

TheESP – Ep. #241 – One Million Unanswered Prayers

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Pontus’ coming book

This week we first chat about András lending his voice acting skills to a sketch in the Skeptic Zone, Pontus teases the coming release of his sci-fi novel the Dooma and then we talk about the upcoming Italian CICAPFest. This year the conference takes place online for the three weeks(!) between 25 September and 18 October. There will be over 150 meetings and 185 speakers, and it will all be for free!
After that we get into the news:

  • No, dozens of countries didn’t order COVID-19 tests in 2018
  • Life on Venus?
  • Warmest summer ever for Northern hemisphere
  • The world’s troubling hotspots of vaccine hesitancy
  • NHS issued 2,000 homeopathic prescriptions in 2019 despite ban
  • A healthy diet more important than weight?
  • Ig Nobel Prizes 2020

The prize for being Really Wrong goes to Richard Gamble for “the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer” near Birmingham, England.

Enjoy!

Segments:
Intro; Greetings; This Week; Pontus Pokes the Pope; News; Really Wrong; Quote and Farewell; Outro; Out-takes

Events Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

0:00:26 INTRO

0:00:53 GREETINGS

0:11:12 THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

0:15:29 PONTUS POKES THE POPE

0:21:52 COVID-19 Update

0:33:23 NEWS

1:03:14 REALLY WRONG

1:07:36 QUOTE AND FAREWELL
“An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes that can be made in his subject, and how to avoid them.”

/ Werner Karl Heisenberg (5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976). German physicist, Nobel laureate, and one of the founders of the field of quantum mechanics /

1:08:37 OUTRO

1:09:52 OUT-TAKES

TheESP – Ep. #240 – SARS-CoV2 Virology w. Gábor Kemenesi

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This week we interview Hungarian researcher and virologist Gábor Kemenesi. He is a research fellow at the Virological Research Group within the Szentágothai Research Centre of the University of Pécs in Hungary, specializing in zoonoses, or viral diseases that spread from animals to humans. He’s also a member of Hungary’s COVID-19 Task Force for the research of the virus and in the last few months. He has become the number one go-to expert in the field for the country’s media, working hard to educate the public, debunking myths and fighting misunderstandings along the way.

Enjoy!

Segments:
Intro; Greetings; Interview; Farewell; Outro; Out-takes

Events Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

0:00:34 INTRO

0:00:59 GREETINGS

0:05:18 INTERVIEW WITH GÁBOR KEMENESI

0:52:46 FAREWELL

0:54:46 OUTRO

0:56:00 OUT-TAKES

TheESP – Ep. #239 – “Gossip is Worse than Covid”

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This week we start off with having a quick chat with our old buddy Michael (“Marsh”) Marshall regarding the relaunch of the UK magazine called the Skeptic.
In this week’s history segment we talk about the LHC that powered up 12 years ago this week without the world vanishing into a black hole, and then Pope Francis gets poked for several things, including his claim that gossip is worse than covid.
Speaking of covid-19, the pandemic gets a separate segment about the latest developments, before we get into the news:

  • The 1st randomised clinical trial of a Chinese herbal medicine for COVID-19
  • Medical Chamber issues statement condemning COVID-19 denier members
  • University of Kiel distances itself from infamous COVID-19 denier professor Sucharit Bhakdi
  • 30% of people in Spain have doubts about covid-19 vaccine
  • So, are women leaders really doing better in tackling COVID-19?
  • Survey – Young adults tend to take food supplements as replacement for drugs
  • Danish advocacy group against heart disease ends program involving healer
  • Grapefruit seed product that has everything in it but grapefruit seed extract
  • Latest book of Edzard Ernst ‘Chiropractic: Not All That It’s Cracked Up to Be’ published
  • New study shows difference in nerve cells before birth for autistic people

The prize for being Really Wrong goes to the bigoted Bishops in Poland who wants to start Church sanctioned conversion therapy clinics, fully aware that they do not work.

Enjoy!

Segments:
Intro; Greetings; Short Interview; This Week; Pontus Pokes the Pope; News; Really Wrong; Quote and Farewell; Outro; Out-takes

Events Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

0:00:34 INTRO

0:01:01 GREETINGS

0:09:19 INTERVIEW with MICHAEL MARSHALL
The Merseyside Skeptics has taken over management of the UK magazine, “The Skeptic”.

0:24:30 THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
At CERN in Switzerland the Large Hadron Collider (LCH) was powered up on 10 September 2008.

0:29:54 PONTUS POKES THE POPE
“Gossip is worse than covid”!

0:37:24 COVID-19 Update

0:43:21 NEWS

1:11:48 REALLY WRONG
Bishops in Poland Calling for Conversion Therapy Clinics

1:15:32 QUOTE AND FAREWELL
“Even the fact that competent experts must serve under politicians of mediocre intelligence and little foresight is a problem that we are stuck with, because the experts themselves cannot agree on any major world issue. A logocracy of quarreling experts might be no better than the rule of the mediocrities to which we are subject. The declining intellectual quality of political leadership is the result of the growing complexity of the world. Since no one, be he endowed with the highest wisdom, can grasp it in its entirety, it is those who are least bothered by this who strive for power.”

/ Stanisław Lem, 12 or 13 September 1921 – 27 March 2006 was a Polish writer known for his satirical, philosophical and science-fiction works /

1:17:21 OUTRO

1:18:37 OUT-TAKES

TheESP – Ep. #238 – Brian Deer and The Doctor Who Fooled the World

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This week we interview none other than Brian Deer, the investigative journalist that spent years digging up how the discredited ex-doctor Andrew Wakefield misled the public about the safety of vaccines. We dig deep into how Wakefield through dishonesty and deceit became the poster boy of the anti-vaxx movement and how his misinformation made it as big as it is today.

Deer’s new book “The Doctor Who Fooled the World: Andrew Wakefield’s war on vaccines” is out this week! Make sure to check it out!

Enjoy!

Segments:
Intro; Greetings; Interview; Farewell; Outro; Out-takes

Events Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

0:00:33 INTRO

0:01:01 GREETINGS

0:02:21 INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN DEER

1:01:47 FAREWELL

1:04:49 OUTRO

1:06:05 OUT-TAKES

TheESP – Ep. #237 – Plandemic II – worst movie ever

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This week András returns to the mothership to hear us discuss the UFO sighting in Cussac in France. Francis gets a pass this week and then we dive into the news:

– Covid-19 update
– Children in Germany are falling behind their vaccination schedules
– Does flu claim more deaths the covid-19?
– People who react negatively to rules and recommendations use more SCAM (so-called alternative medicine)
– Does homeopathy “also” work for women (spoiler: it does not work, period)
– Why is there a priest in the Swedish Corona commission?
– Unprecedented levels of CO2 rise caused by humans
– European Commission’s educational page tackling conspiracy theories

The prize for being Really Wrong goes to the producers and distributers of the dangerous and misleading (and idiotically named!) film “Plandemic: inDOCTORnation”.

Enjoy!

Segments:
Intro; Greetings; This Week; Pontus Pokes the Pope; News; Really Wrong; Quote and Farewell; Outro; Out-takes

Events Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

0:00:27 INTRO

0:00:55 GREETINGS

0:12:50 THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
The famous UFO Sighting at Cussac in France took place on 29 August 1967.

0:18:08 PONTUS POKES THE POPE
We give Francis a rest this week…

0:18:44 NEWS

0:53:07 REALLY WRONG
Plandemic full feature film released

1:00:26 QUOTE AND FAREWELL
“What is a scientist after all? It is a curious man looking through a keyhole, the keyhole of nature, trying to know what’s going on.”

/ Jacques-Yves Cousteau, French naval officer, explorer of all things related to water, a pioneering conservationist, filmmaker, photographer, author and co-developer of the “Aqua-Lung” /

1:04:06 OUTRO

1:05:22 OUT-TAKES

TheESP – Ep. #236 – Martin Moder of the Austrian Science Busters

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This week we interview molecular biologist, science communicator and overall cool guy Martin Moder, who is one of the Austrian Science Busters and who is also active in the Austrian Society for Critical Thinking. We found ourselves discussing everything from the dangers of farting Coronavirus to GMO, philosophy, designer babies, how to make booze out of toilet paper and the optimal way of cutting a birthday cake. There were unexpected turns at every corner of this interview…
Enjoy!

Segments:
Intro; Greetings; Interview; Farewell; Outro; Out-takes

Events Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe

0:00:34 INTRO

0:01:00 GREETINGS

0:05:26 INTERVIEW WITH MARTIN MODER

0:51:59 FAREWELL

0:54:44 OUTRO

0:55:59 OUT-TAKES