Episode #067

This week we talked about how fake news are a bit more complicated than that, Vaxxed still growing its audience, Rudolf Steiner and his anthroposophy and schools, Massimo Polidoro having a new book out, ComCept’s Flying Unicorn Award, the Carl Sagan Journalism Prize offered by GWUP, the UK’s Charity Commission’s consultations about the charitable status of organisations promoting pseudoscience, the death of the last patient of Paolo Macchiarini’s.
Finally, the British Chiropractic Association wins the Really Wrong price for still “happily promoting bogus treatments”.

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Segments
Intro; Greetings & Feedback; This Week in Skepticism; Skeptical News; Really Wrong; Quote

Show notes:
00:00:00
INTRO music

00:00:26
Greetings & feedback

Fake News – It’s a bit more complicated than that.

• First Draft News: Fake news. It’s complicated.
• Wikipedia article on Vaxxed – From Cover-up to Catastrophy

00:08:50
This Week in Skepticism
Rudolf Steiner, founder of Anthroposophy

00:24:06
Skeptical News

1. Massimo Polidoro has a new book out: The Powers of the Mind
   • Massimo Polidoro: The Powers of the Mind: the new book arrives on March 24  (in Italian)
2. ComCept to award the Flying Unicorn Prize again. And they’re open for suggestions
   • ComCept: Voting for open for the Flying Unicorn Award 2016 (in Portuguese)
3. Carl Sagan Journalist Prize by the GWuP to be awarded to filmmakers
   • GWUP: Alternative Cancer Treatment: Carl Sagan Prize 2017 by GWUP awarded for undercover documentary/article (in German)
   • Urania: Skeptical 2017: facts are sexy! (in German)
4. The UK’s Charity Commission consulting with experts to assess the eligibility of organisations actively promoting pseudoscience for the charitable status.
   • Good Thinking Society: Good Thinking’s response to the Charity Commission’s CAM consultation
   • Prof. Edzard Ernst: Organisations promoting alternative medicine – can they have charitable status?
5. The last of the Macchiarini patients have died
   • SVT: The death of Macchiarini’s last patient (in Swedish)
   • Retraction Watch: “It’s been three tough years:” Macchiarini whistleblower cleared of previous charges

00:34:16
Really Wrong
The British Chiropractic Association for still “happily promoting bogus treatments”.

• Prof. Edzard Ernst: The BCA: still happily promoting bogus notions

00:39:36
Radio Spots

• Glasgow Skeptics
• Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (International) – Facebook page

00:41:39
Quote
“Those who wish to seek out the cause of miracles and to understand the things of nature as philosophers, and not to stare at them in astonishment like fools, are soon considered heretical and impious, and proclaimed as such by those whom the mob adores as the interpreters of nature and the gods. For these men know that, once ignorance is put aside, that wonderment would be taken away, which is the only means by which their authority is preserved.”
/Baruch Spinoza, Dutch philosopher of Sephardi/Portuguese origin./

00:44:55
Outro

00:46:10
Out-takes