theESP

Albert Hofmann

TheESP – Ep. #218 – All Pell Breaks Loose

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This week we bring you news and topics from all over Europe again.
We start by talking about the unfortunate death (probably of Covid-19) of a board member of VoF.
After that we’re looking back at the history of LSD and how 19 April marks a special day in it, before we discuss how Cardinal Pell walks freely after the High Court of Australia overturns the previous verdict on his child abuse case.
In the news: Covid-19 update followed by details of some other stuff related to the pandemic, including: OfCom, the British media authority helping confused media consumers, a Policy Paper of the NHS release a few days after the publication of Sense About Science’s call for transparency over testing. Colloidal Silver seems to be a big sell in Finland these days, while Hungary’s response to the pandamic can only be described as chaotic, something that a petition might not be able to change. Religious liberty restrictions across Europe are also in focus as countries are trying to fight the disease, while British homeopaths “happily promote bogus treatments”. A new Chernobyl scare makes its rounds on social media over a wildfire in the area, but the best news is that Edzard Ernst’s new book ‘Don’t Believe What You Think’ is now available.
President Macron gets this week’s Really Wrong Prize for adding weight to an unproven ‘cure’ for the Novel-Coronavirus.
Also, please don’t forget that nominations for the John Maddox Prize are open until 11th May.

Enjoy!

Segments:
Intro; Greetings; This Week in Skepticism; 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

0:00:50 GREETINGS

  • Terrible news: Swedish Skeptics board member deceased, likely from covid-19
  • “Stay The Fuck At Home” song: Youtube

0:05:23 THIS WEEK IN SKEPTICISM
19 April 1943, Albert Hofmann chose to deliberately ingest 250 micrograms of the Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) he had synthesized at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland. Three days earlier he had accidentally absorbed some through his skin by touching a container of the drug. From the accidental exposure he experienced restlessness, dizziness and “extreme activity of imagination.” Although he had first made it five years before, as a drug intended to relieve respiratory ailments, it was only on this day that he found the drug was a hallucinogen. The striking experience was one he chose to repeat.

0:14:15 PONTUS POKES THE POPE
What the Pell happened?

Tim Minchin’s song ‘Come Home Cardinal Pell’

0:24:21 NEWS

  1. INTERNATIONAL: COVID-19 update
  2. UK: OfCom gives a helping hand to media consumers
  3. UK: Update on Sense About Science’s call for transparency – Policy Paper issued by ministry
  4. FINLAND: Colloidal Silver sells out via closed Facebook groups
  5. HUNGARY: Chaos around response to Covid-19 and online petition for more comprehensive testing
  6. INTERNATIONAL/EU: Religious liberty restrictions across Europe
  7. UK: Dangerous nonsense spread by homeopaths in the UK
  8. HUNGARY/EU: Chernobyl wildfire stirs up radiation… and social media
  9. INTERNATIONAL: Edzard Ernst’s new book ‘Don’t Believe What You Think’ is now available

1:14:45 REALLY WRONG
The presidential curse(?): Macron adds to the hydroxychloroquine hype

1:19:46 QUOTE AND FAREWELL

“The fact is, that the public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything, except what is worth knowing. Journalism, conscious of this, and having tradesmanlike habits, supplies their demands.”
/Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde, Irish poet and playwright/

1:21:06 OUTRO

1:22:21 OUT-TAKES