Episode #069

This week we are bringing you an episode packed with news, important events and topics from all over Europe: Autism Acceptance Month, World Homeopathy Awareness Week, poppy seeds causing false positive drug tests, public opinion and vaccination, the latest on the screenings of the movie Vaxxed in Germany and Ireland, ComCept’s Flying Unicorn Awards, Nominations open for the John Maddox Prize, QED: Question. Explore. Discover. announced, nominations open for the British Podcast Awards, call for speakers at the 17th European Skeptics Congress in Poland, our calendar of skeptic events, an update on the NHS vs homeopathy, Prince Anne backing GM crops, BBC to uphold the Good Thinking Society’s complaint against the Look North report on chiropractic for animals, an update on the UK Charity Commission’s latest actions, a researcher banned from seeking funding after misconduct in Germany, the German government passes legislation about punishing social media firms for not removing hate speech, new fronts in the war against pseudoscience in Medicine in Spain, El Esceptico issue 46 is out commemorating Carl Sagan, who’s been dead for 20 years now, Swiss skeptics open research department, the current state of measles and the effect of the anti-vaccination movement in countries across Europe and a look at how Swedes handle an attack on their capital.

If you’re interested in the events happening across Europe, please visit our calendar page.

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

Show notes:
00:00:00
INTRO music

00:00:27
Greetings & feedback

1. Autism Acceptance Month
2. World Autism Awareness Day (2nd April)  since 2007.
3. World Homeopathy Awareness Week
   • The Good Thinking Society’s educational website
   • Pro-Homeopathy website
4. Poppy seeds causing false positive drug tests
   • Snopes.com: Poppy Seeds Alter Drug Test Results?
5. Legislation vs public opinion
   • NCIRS: No Jab No Play, No Jab No Pay Policies
6. The latest on the screenings of the movie Vaxxed in Germany and Ireland
   • WAZ: Vaxxed demonstration in Essen (in German)
   • The Irish Times: Discredited English anti-vaccine doctor’s Irish tour criticised
7. ComCept’s Flying Unicorn Awards 2016
   • List of Winners (in Portuguese)
   • Nominations for the 2017 are open (in Portuguese)
8. Nominations open for the John Maddox Prize
   • The website of the John Maddox Prize
9. QED – Question. Explore. Discover. announced
   • QED 2017 between 14-15th October in Manchester (tickets go on sale May 1)
10. Nominations open for the British Podcast Awards
    • Please, vote for us here! Thanks.
11. Call for speakers at the 17th European Skeptics Congress in Poland
    • Register to participate on the website of the ESC

00:19:48

This Week in Skepticism

Maria Gemma Umberta Galgani (Died on 11th April 1903), Italian mystic, venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church since 1940.

00:27:39

Skeptical News

1. BBC upholds the Good Thinking Society’s complaint against the Look North report on chiropractic for animals
   • Good Thinking Society: BBC upholds our complaint against Look North report on chiropractic for animals 
   • BBC: Look North, BBC1 (North East), 18 May 2016: Finding by the Editorial Complaints Unit
2. Princess Anne backs GM crops
   • BBC: Genetically-modified crops have benefits – Princess Anne
3. Update on the NHS and homeopathy
   • The Nightingale Collaboration: NHS Homeopathy: 20 years of decline
   • Prof. Edzard Ernst: Why should homeopathic medicines escape the NHS prescribing ban? 10 possible answers
   • Prof. Edzard Ernst: My special offer to homeopaths: a free lecture
4. An update on the UK Charity Commission’s latest actions
   • UK Government: Consultation on complementary and alternative medicines
5. German researcher banned from seeking funding after misconduct
   • Retraction Watch: German funder bans researcher for five years following misconduct probe
   • Retraction Watch: Authors who retract for honest error say they aren’t penalized as a result
6. German government passes legislation about punishing social media firms for not removing hate speech
   • BBC: Social media ferms face huge hate speech fines in Germany
   • LA Times: Germans need to recognize that the future of the free world depends on their election
7. New fronts in the war against pseudoscience in Medicine in Spain
   • Escepticos: Hopes for the Observatory against pseudoscience (in Spanish)
   • The website of Farmaciencia (in Spanish)
8. El Esceptico issue 46 is out commemorating Carl Sagan, who’s been dead for 20 years now…
   • Escepticos: El Esceptico #46 Carl Sagan Special is out on the streets (in Spanish)
9. Swiss skeptics open a research department
   • Skeptiker Schweiz: Our thing: Skeptiker Schweiz launches a Research Department (in German)
   • Our episode #017 featuring an interview with Marko Kovic

00:47:40
Analysis

The current state of measles and the effect of the anti-vaccination movement in countries across Europe

• The website of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
• UNICEF: Tracking Anti-vaccination Sentiment in Eastern European Social Media Networks (pdf)
• Forbes: Deadly Measles Complication In Kids More Common Than Thought, Highlighting Need For Vax

00:59:23
Really Right

Swedes for handling an attack in their capital without panic

01:04:24
Quote
“In our reasonings concerning matter of fact, there are all imaginable degrees of assurance, from the highest certainty to the lowest species of moral evidence. A wise man, therefore, proportions his belief to the evidence.”

/David Hume, Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist/

01:05:25
Outro

01:06:40
Out-takes