TheESP – Ep.#250 – United Federation of Skeptical Podcasts

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This week we celebrate 250 episodes and five years on the road with the ESP. We invited all guest hosts who ever have sat in for a show and they all joined us for our first ever live stream episode! With us we had Brian Eggo, Deborah Hyde, Claire Kroulik-Klingenberg, Jelena Levin, Jay Novella, Richard Saunders and of course our normal(?) hosts, András, Annika and Pontus.

There was also The Awesome Quiz of Europe, Skepticism and Everything Else, prepared by the one and only Annika Harrison!

Enjoy!

You can also enjoy the unedited live video version on our Youtube-channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJH065e1lnc

Segments:
Intro; Live stream; Outro

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

0:00:27 INTRO

0:00:58 LIVE STREAM

1:50:20 OUTRO

Live Stream of Ep. #250 – Tonight!

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UPDATE!

The video stream is available on our Youtube-channel!

Tonight 22 November 8:00 pm CET

Live on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/theespeu/
Last week marked the 5th anniversary of releasing the first episode of the European Skeptics Podcast. Since then, we’ve conducted more than a 100 interviews and have had several people appearing on the show as guest hosts. We invited these lovely skeptics back for a reunion of hosts to do the first ever live broadcast of our show.
This will be our 250th episode and we would really like you to join us on our Facebook Page where meeting will be broadcast through Facebook Live.
Our panel lists will be:
– Claire Kroulik-Klingenberg
– Deborah Hyde
– Jelena Levin
– Brian Eggo
– Jay Novella
… of course joined by András, Annika and Pontus!
We’ll tell interesting stories and there’ll be a Europe-themed #trivia #quiz as well!
Tune in, comment, ask questions and do enjoy!
The broadcast starts at 8 pm CET on our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/theespeu/

TheESP – Ep. #249 – Homophobic Orbán

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This week Pontus is a bit under the weather so András and Annika send him their “thoughts and prayers” (don’t worry, he is fine). Then we mention an interesting documentary about SCAM practitioners and give a heads up for next weeks jubilee episode 250. And five years ago this week the ESP made its debut! Then we give a Covid update before we get into the news:

  • The new Pre-Bunking game: Breaking Harmony Square
  • Another science communicator and journalist charged for speaking out against frauds
  • Edzard Ernst’s challenge to all homeopaths in the world
  • Thermographic imaging – a risk to cancer patients
  • Newly emerging issues with climate change actions
  • Measles cases in 2019 at a record high in 23 years

To round off the show, Victor Orbán gets a Really Wrong award for using the pandemic as an excuse for homophobic nonsense.

Enjoy!

Segments:
Intro; Greetings; COVID Update; News; Really Wrong; Quote and Farewell; Outro; Out-takes

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

0:00:27 INTRO

0:00:51 GREETINGS

0:09:57 COVID UPDATE

0:28:59 NEWS

0:46:00 REALLY WRONG

0:54:50 QUOTE AND FAREWELL
“Science may be weird and incomprehensible – more weird and less comprehensible than any theology – but science works. It gets results. It can fly you to Saturn, slingshotting you around Venus and Jupiter on the way. We may not understand quantum theory (heaven knows, I don’t), but a theory that predicts the real world to ten decimal places cannot in any straightforward sense be wrong.”
/ Richard Dawkins (26 March 1941 – ), British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and author. /

0:56:48 OUTRO

0:58:02 OUT-TAKES

TheESP – Ep. #248 – Skepti-baby Alert!

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This week we first chat a bit about Trump, having covid in your family and an opportunity to talk to Swedish MPs. We also mention the Vienna terror attacks and the Hay Winter Festival. Annika has an exciting announcement regarding increasing the number of skeptics in the world.

In history news we acknowledge the anniversary of the Night of Broken Glass and then Pontus Pokes the Pope for disciplining a Cardinal so old that he does not know what happened.

After a Covid-update we then get into the actual news:

  • Chiropractors don’t like informed consent
  • Does article 61 of Magna Charta allow citizens to disobey COVID-19 regulations?
  • Grandmothers sue government over climate challenge failure
  • How COVID-19 is reshaping the way people trust politicians
  • MedWatch wins federal Consumer Protection Award
  • Update on the last five years of RCTs about homeopathy

Enjoy!

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

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

0:00:27 INTRO

0:00:52 GREETINGS

0:25:09 THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

0:33:24 PONTUS POKES THE POPE

0:37:56 COVID UPDATE & NEWS

1:05:01 QUOTE AND FAREWELL
“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.”
/ Isaac Asimov (2 January 1920 – 6 April 1992), American writer and professor of biochemistry /

1:06:51 OUTRO
1:08:05 OUT-TAKES

TheESP – Ep. #247 – Stephan Lewandowsky

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This week we talk to Stephan Lewandowsky, professor of cognitive psychology and one of the drivers behind the Debunking Handbook 2020, the recently published follow-up to the previous debunking handbook from 2011. A great resource for anyone, it summarises the current state of the science of misinformation and its debunking. It was written by a team of 22 prominent scholars of misinformation and its debunking, and it represents the current consensus on the science of debunking for engaged citizens, policymakers, journalists, and other practitioners.

Enjoy!

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

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

0:00:35 INTRO

0:01:01 GREETINGS

0:03:40 INTERVIEW WITH STEPHAN LEWANDOWSKY

0:49:14 FAREWELL

0:51:44 OUTRO

0:52:59 OUT-TAKES

TheESP – Ep. #246 – RIP, James “the Amazing” Randi

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This week we remember James “the Amazing” Randi, a great skeptic and generous person who like no one else influenced the skeptic movement. His legacy lives on.

We also reflect a bit on daylight saving before we go further back in time than usual in this week in history and look into the importance of Emperor Constantine and the Battle of the Milvian Bridge for early Christianity. Then Pontus looks into if Pope Francis really has changed his and the Church’s position on gay rights, before we get into the news:

  • COVID-19 update
  • No evidence contact tracing helps tackle COVID
  • WHO and Wikipedia team up to combat pandemic misinformation
  • United Nations turns 75
  • Iris Hundertmark and her pharmacy – update
  • ARP-SAPC news
  • Patents on homeopathic products
  • IPSOS – Trust in news sources by country

Enjoy!

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

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

0:00:29 INTRO

0:00:54 GREETINGS

0:17:15 THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

0:22:50 PONTUS POKES THE POPE

0:28:31 NEWS

1:01:14 REALLY WRONG

1:05:41 QUOTE AND FAREWELL
“Science helps us before all things in this, that it somewhat lightens the feeling of wonder with which Nature fills us; then, however, as life becomes more and more complex, it creates new facilities for the avoidance of what would do us harm and the promotion of what will do us good.”
/ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832), German writer and statesman /

1:06:54 OUTRO
1:08:09 OUT-TAKES

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