MarcusDuSautoy

With András back in the saddle, we advice against climate doom and also encourage listeners to nominate for the Ockhams Awards. In TWISH we go back almost 2500 years for an example of how superstition can ruin your quite innocent Sicilian expedition, and then we head for the news:

• SWEDEN: Elections coming up fast, rife with AI fakes and populistic opportunism
• SPAIN / INTERNATIONAL: Investigation into the fake doctor industry
• FRANCE: End of Life law implemented
• GERMANY: Follow-up on Bavarian Study – Massive failure

The Channel 4 documentary ‘The Great ADHD Myth?‘ is loaded with pseudoscience and conspiracy theories and so is a worthy recepient of the Really Wrong Award.

Enjoy!

Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; News; Really Wrong; Quote; Outro; Outtakes
 
0:00:27 INTRO

0:00:50 GREETINGS

• Climate doom and what to do to avoid inaction
  • the Conversation: https://theconversation.com/climate-doom-may-discourage-climate-action-but-theres-a-way-to-counter-it-288301
• Nominations for the Ockham Awards now open!
  • Skeptic UK: https://www.skeptic.org.uk/2026/08/the-ockham-awards-2026-recognising-the-best-in-skepticism-and-the-worst-in-pseudoscience/

0:13:31 TWISH – THIS WEEK IN SKEPTICAL HISTORY

• 28 August 413 BCE: Panic over lunar eclipse costs the Athenians the Sicilian Expedition (and a lot of lives)
  • Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kionasmith/2019/08/27/how-a-lunar-eclipse-defeated-a-greek-army/

0:22:56 NEWS

• SWEDEN: Elections coming up fast, rife with AI fakes and populistic opportunism
  • DN: https://www.dn.se/sverige/svenska-kandisar-utnyttjas-i-politisk-ai-propaganda-det-ar-forjavligt/
  • Omni: https://omni.se/416-partier-staller-upp-i-valet-nytt-rekord/a/y5KpLg
• SPAIN / INTERNATIONAL: Investigation into the fake doctor industry
  • Maldita: https://maldita.es/investigaciones/20260731/health-tips-artificial-intelligence-youtube/
• FRANCE: End of Life law implemented
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/19/france-assisted-dying-law-comes-into-effect
  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%A9r%C3%B4me_Lejeune
• GERMANY: Follow-up on Bavarian Study – Massive failure
  • HDP.de: https://hpd.de/artikel/ende-ende-bayerischen-homoeopathie-studie-24335

0:46:51 REALLY WRONG

• Really Wrong: The Great ADHD Myth? Channel 4 documentary claims ADHD is ‘a social construct’
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/aug/18/great-adhd-myth-rising-diagnosis-without-treatment
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/20/there-is-nothing-scientific-about-the-great-adhd-myth-documentary

0:51:34 QUOTE AND FAREWELL

“Five hundred years ago, when faced with an eclipse, many of us would have believed it was the work of an angry god. But as we’ve unearthed the language of the Code, we’ve discovered that the apparent mysteries of our world can be understood without invoking the supernatural. And this for me is what’s so remarkable. That despite the incredible complexity of the world we live in, it can all, ultimately, be explained by numbers. Just like the orbit of the planets, life too follows a pattern. And it can all be reduced to cause and effect.In the end, even the flip of a coin is determined by how fast it’s spinning and how long it takes to hit the ground. The ultimate symbol of chance isn’t random at all. It only appears that way. When we don’t understand the Code, the only way we can make sense of our world is to make up stories. But the truth is far more extraordinary. Everything has mathematics at its heart. When everything is stripped away all that remains is the Code.”
/ Marcus du Sautoy (26 August 1965 – ), British mathematician, Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford, Fellow of New College, Oxford, and author of popular mathematics and popular science books. /

0:54:22 OUTRO

0:55:44 OUT-TAKES