Archive

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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 - ...

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 ...

This week Brian is back(!) as András has gone missing(?) We chat again about the wonderful online events out there: you should definitely check out the Edinburgh Skeptics on the Fringe productions. We then talk ...

This week we first chat about some of the great current skeptical online events, like NECSS and Skeptics in the Pub. We also enjoy the good news that the worlds largest fusion reactor is now ...

This week starts with the wonderful news that Annika is now a full time ESP member and co-host. We couldn’t be happier! We start with a minor correction to a story from last week and ...

This week we welcome Annika back and first chat a bit about comets and astronomy and about some of the excellent online skeptical events there now is to follow, like the UK Skeptics in the ...

This week we are joined by the brilliant British geneticist, broadcaster, science journalist and author, Dr Adam Rutherford. He’s written several books of international acclaim like “Creation: The Origin of Life and the Future of ...

This week Europe has lost a star in the sky and we hear about how Louis Pasteur managed to create a rabies vaccine back in 1885 (NB: he wasn’t even a medical doctor). Pope Francis ...

This week we can't help but mention the Polish presidential elections and Susan Gerbic's latest interview with Pontus. We commemorate Ignaz Semmelweis on his birthday before moving on to deliberating over the future of the ...

This week Pontus and András bring you the latest from all over Europe mixed with some history and a little bit of Poking the Pope(s). This week marks the 646th anniversary of the onset of ...

This week we first learn about how the 1854 cholera outbreak led to advances in the knowledge about diseases and outbreaks thanks to the clever and rigorous work by the physician John Snow, now regarded ...

Become a Patron! This week we celebrate the birthday of the ‘Ask for Evidence’ campaign, the Pope gets stuck in an elevator and we debunk three myths about the Amazon forest fires. Counterfeit Medicine is ...

Become a Patron! This week it was Congress time! András and Pontus (unfortunately, no Jelena) spent a wonderful weekend in Ghent, Belgium, at the European Skeptics Congress 2019, where they had a blast! At the ...

Become a Patron! This week it is true that the Amazon (Amazonas? Amazonia?) is burning and glaciers are dying, but misinformation is still everywhere. Especially, meditation and rain dances will not help. Instead we should ...

Become a Patron! This week we start by noting that the measles numbers in Serbia from last week must be nonsense (it’s much worse) and again urge you to support Retraction Watch. We then report ...

Become a Patron! This week we hear about free energy devices, about Pope Francis’ friend who stands accused of sex-abuse, and that Metro in Sweden is closing down taking with it their ‘Viral Examiner’ that ...

Become a Patron! This week we reflect on the current heatwave and on climate change, we give a shout-out to James Randi who turned 91 this week(!) and Pontus pokes the pope for letting his ...

Become a Patron! This week and from now on, you can now listen to us on Spotify too! If you do, this episode will tell you about how Lamarck, born today 275 years ago, got ...

Become a Patron! This week András interviewed Sander Van Der Linden, who is a social psychologist and has done extensive research into how we should approach the fight against #fakenews and the spreading of #misinformation about ...

Become a Patron! This week we celebrate Britt Hermes’ lawsuit victory and that Annika got married (yay!) and urge everyone top make plans for ESC in Belgium – there’s still time to get your tickets! ...

' Become a Patron! This week while Pontus is away, we talk to Andreas Kyriacou from Switzerland about Camp Quest Switzerland before moving on to other events, IQ testing and a lot more, including a ...

' Become a Patron! This week Jelena discloses the location of her new place to live - and it's far away! Then we hear about how Pasteur would not have been even close to pass ...

Become a Patron! This week we clarify the difference between a ‘skeptic’ and a ‘denier’ when it comes to climate change and plug the Rationalist International Conference (Cambridge, 27-28 July) before Jelena debunks the myth ...

Become a Patron! This week we remember Willem (‘Wim’) Betz, the iconic Belgian physician, researcher and skeptic, co-founder of SKEPP (Belgian Skeptic Organisation) and CSICOP fellow, who sadly passed away on 8 June. Pontus reports ...

Become a Patron! This week András sticks his neck out, announcing that he will give a talk at the upcoming CICAP Fest in Padua in September - in Italian! We then learn about Margherita Hack ...

Become a Patron! This week we catch up a bit regarding VoF (the Swedish skeptics) and talk about a new Manifesto against pseudoscientific treatments. We also get a bit nostalgic about a UK referendum about ...

Become a Patron! Segments: Intro; Greetings; This Week in Skepticism; News; Pontus Pokes the Pope; Really Wrong; Quote and Farewell; Outro; Out-takes This week we talked about Susan Gerbic's new interview with Massimo Polidoro, a ...

Become a Patron! On this Episode: QED in Manchester is drawing closer! We speak to Jay Novella of the Skeptics Guide to the Universe (the SGU) whose total cast will be there in October. Hear ...

Become a Patron! Segments: Intro; Greetings; News; Pontus Pokes the Pope; Really Wrong; Farewell and Quote; Outro; Out-takes Show Notes: 00:00:27 Greetings While unfortunately Jelena is not present, this week we talk about an ET ...

Become a Patron!  Segments: Intro; Greetings; This Week in Skepticism; News; Pontus Pokes the Pope: Really Wrong; Radio Ad; Farewell and Quote; Outro; Out-takes Show Notes: 00:00:26 Greetings As Eggman (Brian Eggo) sits in ...

Become a Patron! On this Episode: We have good news from Ukraine, when we talk to Malek Tohme, who is starting up the Ukraine Humanist, Rationalist, Skeptic Modernists in the city of L'viv! And a ...

Become a Patron! Segments: Intro; Greetings; This Week in Skepticism; News; Pontus Pokes the Pope: Really Wrong; Quote; Outro; Out-takes Show Notes: 00:00:27 Greetings We quickly go from ear-candles to ass-candles and then the Pope ...

Become a Patron! On this Episode: We talk with the fabulous and twice Ockham's Award winning Edinburgh Skeptics Society! Heather Pentler and Sean Slater tell us all about the upcoming Skeptics on the Fringe when ...

Become a Patron! Segments: Intro; Greetings; This Week in Skepticism; News; Pontus Pokes the Pope: Really Wrong; Quote; Outro; Out-takes Show Notes: 00:00:55 Greetings This week we bring you stuff to think about like Eugenics, ...

Become a Patron! On this Episode: We talk to leading science and medical reporter Amina Manzoor at the largest Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN). Amina Manzoor fights the good fight in the media to spread ...

Become a Patron! Segments: Intro; Greetings; Interview with Norbert Aust; This Week in Skepticism; News; Pontus Pokes the Pope: Really Wrong; Quote; Outro; Out-takes Show Notes: 00:00:27 Greetings We comment on Stephen Hawking's funeral and ...

Become a Patron! On this Episode: This week we interviewed Annika Merkelbach, who told us what’s new in Germany, how the greatest German skeptical convention SkepKon went and why the country need native speakers to ...

Become a Patron! Segments: Intro; Greetings; This Week in Skepticism; News; Pontus Pokes the Pope: Really Wrong / Really Right; Quote; Outro; Out-takes Show Notes: 00:00:29 Greetings Catching up on our slightly erratic release schedule ...

Become a Patron! On this Episode: On this episode we interview Dutch mathematician and skeptical activist Pepijn van Erp to talk about his blog, his work at Stichting Skepsis and the Dutch skeptical magazine Skepter ...

Become a Patron! Segments: Intro; Greetings; This Week in Skepticism; News; Really Wrong; Quote; Outro; Out-takes Show Notes: 00:00:27 Greetings Andras talks about this travels around Europe and meeting old friends; We remind listeners to ...

Become a Patron! On this Episode: This week we interviewed Italian skeptic and podcaster Enrico Zabeo, who's one of the founders and hosts of Radio CICAP, the official podcast for the Italian skeptical organisation CICAP ...

On this episode: We tell you all about the fantastic 17th European Skeptics Congress coming up in Wroclaw in less than two weeks. Our guest is Claire Klingenberg, event manager extraordinaire from Sisyfos, the Czech Skeptics' ...

On this episode: The inspiration for Mel Gibson’s the Passion of the Christ, alternative treatments in Valencia, the Heilpraktiker system in Germany, whether Down’s syndrome has been eradicated in Iceland and the new Full Fact ...

We start our episode with Editor-in-Chief of The Skeptic magazine, Deborah Hyde, who tells us about this year's Ockham Awards that will be happening at QED: Question. Explore. Discover in October 2017, the nominations for ...

This week we're back with a regular episode and joined by Chris Higgins, who talks about SkeptiCamp Manchester. Charles Richet is our special mention on 'This Week in Skepticism'. Then we go on talking about ...

Our guest on this episode was Konrad Talmont-Kaminski, philosopher and cognitive scientist, who will be among the speakers at the European Skpetics Congress in Wroclaw in September 2018. Ha talks about his research into how ...

This week Pontus and Jelena talks about news and have an interview with the humanist Leo Igwe, speaker at the upcoming European Skeptcis Congress in Poland. Nicola Throp of the Measeyside Skeptics also comes on ...

Our guest on this episode was Holm Gero Hümmler, nuclear physicist, management consultant and author of the book ‘Relativer Quantenquark’. He blogs at quantenquark.com and he is one of the speakers on the upcoming 17th ...

This week Pontus and András are joined by Brian Eggo who sits in for Jelena while she's on a European motorbike trip. We talked about Karl Popper's philosophical system of scientific discovery, how much of ...

Unfortunately, due to all three of us hosts being otherwise engaged, we could not provide you with a show this week. But there are a few things we had to mention. Sorry and hope to ...

This week Jelena and Andras explore the world of skeptical conferences like CICAPFest, the European Skeptics Congress and Skeptics on the Fringe in Edinburgh. The Loch Ness Monster, the death of Ryke Geerd Hamer (NGM) ...

  On this episode our guest was Diego Fontanive, who's the founder of the EOF Project (End of Fear) that aims to understand our epistemic acceptances and apply meta-cognition in order to achieve a better ...

This week we talk about Swedish Skeptics treating their members to 15 tickets to the European Skeptics Congress and how we were interviewed by Skeptical Inquiry before we talk about the famous Oxford Evolution debate ...

This week's episode is dedicated to our interview with Italian chemist, skeptic and paranormal investigator Luigi Garlaschelli, who has investigated and debunked many miraculous claims, including weeping Madonnas, stigmata, the blood of San Gennaro and ...

This week we are coming back with our regular segments featuring topics like the 17th European Skeptics Congress, CICAPfest2017, James Randi's appearances in Europe, the BMJ being infiltrated by quackery, the harm in using homeopathy ...

  This week's episode is dedicated to our latest interview with Susan Gerbic, the Wikipediatrician, who's the leader of the international project called Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia. We talked about what's new, how people can ...

Along with a usual run-through of feedback and events across Europe in the coming week, this episode is dedicated to our interview with skeptical blogger and podcaster Ovidiu Covaciu, founder and president of the Romanian ...

On this episode, you'll find news, events and interesting topics, including cupping on Wikipedia, a poltergeist in Glasgow, a new tool for understanding health research and anthroposophy schools to face end in Sweden. We also ...

Along with a usual run-through of feedback and events across Europe in the coming week, this episode is dedicated to our interview with Fiona O'Leary, founder of Autistic Rights Together (ART). Segments: Introduction and greetings; ...

On this episode, you'll find news, events and interesting topics, including QED, cupping and ways to win at the Olympic Games, ART and the need to support Fiona O'Leary against the movie "Vaxxed" as well ...

Along with a usual run-through of feedback and events across Europe in the coming week, this episode is dedicated to our interview with folklorist and cultural anthropologist Deborah Hyde, Editor-in-chief of the UK magazine 'The ...

On this episode, you'll find news, events and interesting topics, including Pokémon Go, The Good Thinking Society vs the BBC, banners to indicate retraction in scientific papers, a guy jailed for insulting the Dutch King, ...

Along with a usual run-through of feedback and events across Europe in the coming week, this episode is dedicated to our interview with Brian Eggo (Eggman), leader of Glasgow Skeptics and organiser of both Glasgow ...

On this episode, you'll find news, events and interesting topics, including Brexit, problems with science writing, British veterinarians to call for action against the use of homeopathy & the fallacy of political correctness. Segments Intro; ...

Along with a usual run-through of feedback and events across Europe in the coming week, this episode is dedicated to our interview with Linda Strand Lundberg, president of the Swedish Skeptics Association (VoF). Segments: Introduction ...

On this episode, you'll find news, events and interesting topics, including Brexit, Sense About Science to open EU office, NHS Liverpool to stop funding homeopathy and Marko Kovic, president of Skeptiker Schweiz publishes an article ...

Along with a usual run-through of feedback and events across Europe in the coming week, this episode is dedicated to our interview with Claire Klingenberg, foreign liaison for the Czech Skeptics' Club Sisyfos. Segments: Introduction ...

On this episode, you'll find news, events and interesting topics, including Brian Clement touring in Europe, Romanian doctors in trouble and much more. Segments Intro; Greetings & Feedback; On this day; What's on in Europe?; ...

Along with a usual run-through of feedback and events across Europe in the coming week, this episode is dedicated to our interview with Susan Gerbic aka 'The Wikipediatrician', who is the founder and manager of ...

On this episode, you'll find news, events and interesting topics, including open access to science journals in Europe, homeopathy in Germany, the state of GMO bans across the continent and pseudoscience in Greece. Also, Pontus ...

Along with a usual run-through of feedback and events across Europe in the coming week, this episode is dedicated to our interview with Amardeo Sarma, who is the co-founder and chairman of the German Society ...