This week we discuss the Notre-Dame fire before we celebrate this week’s icon, the Hungarian astronomer and skeptic Iván Almár. The Measles epidemic is getting even worse with the WHO showing a 300% global increase so far this year, Metabiota has launched a new website for tracking epidemics, Anthroposophs claim to be for vaccinations (they’re really not) and the Hungarian government wants to control Facebook.
Also, the “Finns party” switches to a new conspiracy theory when the old one is not attractive enough, the MMR vaccine does NOT cause diabetes and Brussels thinks 5G testing is using people as Guinea pigs. We learn (again) that stop eating sugar does not cure cancer and we give a shout-out to the Portuguese skeptics, ComCept, that are now on Patreon.
We close the show by saluting one of the champions of keeping the Internet a little bit saner: Snopes.com
Segments:
Intro; Greetings; This Week in Skepticism; News; Really Right; Quote; Outro; Out-takes
Events Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe
00:00:27 Intro
00:00:51 Greetings
We discuss the fire at Notre-Dame and ask you to support Rectraction Watch and also talk about the latest Skeptical Club in Budapest who debated how science fiction can shape society.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre-Dame_de_Paris_fire
- https://retractionwatch.com/2019/04/11/retraction-watch-readers-we-need-your-help-to-be-able-to-continue-our-work-5/
- https://szkeptikus.blog.hu/2019/04/11/szkeptikus_klub_sci-fi_tudomany_es_tarsadalom
00:21:35 This Week in Skepticism
Iván Almár, born 21st April 1932. He is an Hungarian astronomer and prominent figure of SETI and the Hungarian skeptic movement.
00:26:32 Skeptical News
FRANCE: Good news: Measles cases go down in France
- http://outbreaknewstoday.com/measles-cases-france-36464/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_in_France
INTERNATIONAL: Bad news: The number of measles cases globally quadruple in 2019
INTERNATIONAL: Metabiota launches new epidemic tracker website
- http://outbreaknewstoday.com/metabiota-launches-new-epidemic-tracker-website-78898/
- https://www.weforum.org/press/2019/01/risks-to-global-businesses-from-new-era-of-epidemics-rival-climate-change/
- https://www.epidemictracker.com/
INTERNATIONAL: Are Anthroposophy enthusiasts for or against vaccinations?
HUNGARY: Facebook vs Hungarian government – who will win?
- http://www.urbanlegends.hu/2019/04/mi-var-a-facebookra-magyarorszagon/
- https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2019/03/ads-transparency-in-the-eu/
FINLAND: Right wing party switches to new conspiracy theory after old one loses attraction
UK: Diabetes claimed on Facebook post to be a side effect of MMR. It is not.
EU: Brussels puts 5G testing on hold in case it’s harmful
UK: Stopping all sugar intake won’t cure cancer
PORTUGAL: ComCept goes onto Patreon
01:01:04 Really Right
Snopes.com are Really Right for relentlessly debunking stupidity – most recently about Notre-Dame.
01:04:45 Quote and Goodbye
“Science, my lad, has been built upon many errors; but they are errors which it was good to fall into, for they led to the truth.”
/ Jules Verne, French writer pioneering science-fiction – Quote from Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864) /
01:07:28 Outro
01:08:43 Out-takes