Conclave

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 papacy.
In the news:
– Was the Tönnies incident with COVID19 due to a church service
– Didier Raoult doubles down on hydroxychloroquine
– Hungary’s new curriculum and history textbooks full of folk legends and misleading claims
– Measles update
– The latest and most sophisticated fake of the Loch Ness Monster
– Large wildfires in Siberia as reminder of climate change
– ARP-SAPC’s Sergio Lopez Borgonoz research grant now open for applications

This week’s Really Wrong Price goes to a Swedish elementary school for investing in bogus “protective equipment” against Wi-Fi.

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

0:00:54 GREETINGS

“About time Presents – in conversation with…” – Pontus Böckman edition:
https://youtu.be/UhoY7YcR_7E

Susan’s other recent interviews:

• András: https://youtu.be/_vkgxZRkIVA
• Michael Marshall: https://youtu.be/GPeqeshgxME
• Paul Offit: https://youtu.be/mH9TGH1gK5c
• Richard Saunders: https://youtu.be/2xYFozEbS0E

0:09:37 THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
1st July 1818 – Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis, “Saviour of Mothers”

• • New Scientist: https://www.newscientist.com/people/ignaz-semmelweis/
  • The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/ignaz-semmelweis-the-doctor-who-discovered-the-disease-fighting-power-of-hand-washing-in-1847-135528
  • The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/ignaz-semmelweis-google-doodle-hand-washing-time-coronavirus-doctor-who-hungary-a9411896.html

0:17:45 PONTUS POKES THE POPE
The Next Pope: Two new books explore life after Francis

• • https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/2-next-pope-books-follow-different-paths
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm71-Q0P6to
  • https://wdtprs.com/2020/06/book-the-next-pope-the-leading-cardinal-candidates-by-edward-pentin/

0:30:38 NEWS

1. GERMANY: Was the Tönnies incident because of a church service?
   • T-online (in German): https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/id_88091216/corona-krise-gottesdienst-koennte-ursache-des-ausbruchs-bei-toennies-sein.html
   • Deutche Welle: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-puts-two-western-districts-on-lockdown/a-53918417
   • BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53177628
   • Deutche Welle: https://youtu.be/gsLj3bi1p0M
2. FRANCE: Didier Raoult’s Hydroxychloroquine claims get even more bizarre
   • Le Monde (in French): https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2020/06/28/hydroxychloroquine-la-derniere-etude-de-didier-raoult-ne-convainc-pas-nombre-d-epidemiologistes_6044435_3244.html
3. HUNGARY: New history textbook full of legends, errors and misleading information
   • Index.hu: https://index.hu/techtud/2020/06/24/uj_tankonyv_tortenelemtankonyv_kritika_nemzeti_alaptanterv_oktatas_tortenelemtanarok_egylete/
4. EUROPE: Measles update
   • WHO: https://www.who.int/immunization/monitoring_surveillance/burden/vpd/surveillance_type/active/measles_monthlydata/en/
5. SCOTLAND: Latest evidence of the Loch Ness monster turns out to be fake too
   • Science Alert: https://www.sciencealert.com/this-new-pic-claiming-to-show-a-mysterious-creature-in-loch-ness-is-totally-fake
6. RUSSIA: Large wildfires after of 38° Celsius heatwave in Siberia
   • Svenska Yle (in Swedish): https://svenska.yle.fi/artikel/2020/06/26/arktis-bokstavligen-brinner-forskare-oroar-sig-over-smaltande-permafrost-i
7. SPAIN: ARP-SAPC’s Sergio Lopez Borgonoz paranormal investigation research grant open for applications
   • Escepticos: https://www.escepticos.es/node/7360

1:03:59 REALLY WRONG
Swedish elementary school invest in “protection” against wi-fi

• • Svt Nyheter: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/stockholm/grundskola-tog-in-stralningsskydd-for-routrar-och-surfplattor-kritiseras-av-forskare

1:07:38 QUOTE AND FAREWELL
“To spread healthy ideas among even the lowest classes of people, to remove men from the influence of prejudice and passion, to make reason the arbiter and supreme guide of public opinion; that is the essential goal of the sciences; that is how science will contribute to the advancement of civilization, and that is what deserves protection of governments who want to insure the stability of their power.”
/George Cuvier, French naturalist, widely considered the founder of comparative anatomy and paleontology, 1810/

1:08:50 OUTRO

1:10:04 OUT-TAKES