TWISH

Canada’s Mark Carney could possibly be a role model for our European leaders, and the Swedish Bar Association agrees with our criticism of putting children in prison. In TWISH we hear of Emanuel Swedenborg, a great polymath of the Enlightenment who somehow turned into a religious mystic. Then it’s time for the news:

• RUSSIA: The Ukraine war has given rise to an ‘exorcism economy’ in Russia
• UK: The current status and concerns of the proposed ban on social media for under 16s
• SPAIN / SWEDEN: More immigrants, please!
  Spain to regularise 500,000 undocumented migrants
  Swedish Communes say they want more immigrants – for the community and added workforce
• INTERNATIONAL: So, where do we actually stand on microplastics?
• UK: Bigfoot has crossed the pond

The Really Wrong Award goes to the UK House of Lords, where a few unelected persons are somehow allowed to filibuster the Assisted Dying Bill.

Enjoy!

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

0:00:53 GREETINGS

• World Economic Forum in Davos
• Follow-up: Putting 13 year-olds in prison
  • DN: https://www.dn.se/sverige/hard-kritik-mot-sankt-straffbarhetsalder-experiment-pa-barn/

0:10:45 TWISH – THIS WEEK IN SKEPTICAL HISTORY

• 29 January 1688: Birth of Emanuel Swedenborg
  • Swedenborg.com: https://swedenborg.com/emanuel-swedenborg/about-life/
  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emanuel_Swedenborg

0:28:07 NEWS

• RUSSIA: The Ukraine war has given rise to an ‘exorcism economy’ in Russia
  • the Conversation: https://theconversation.com/the-ukraine-war-has-given-rise-to-an-exorcism-economy-in-russia-271037
• UK: The current status and concerns of the proposed ban on social media for under 16s
  • Full Fact: https://fullfact.org/technology/banning-social-media-for-under-16s-could-create-more-problems-than-it-solves/
  • the Conversation: https://theconversation.com/i-research-the-harm-that-can-come-to-teenagers-on-social-media-i-dont-support-a-ban-273835
• SPAIN / SWEDEN: More immigrants, please!
  Spain to regularise 500,000 undocumented migrants
  Swedish Communes say they want more immigrants – for the community and added workforce
  • AFP: https://afp.omni.se/spain-to-regularise-500-000-undocumented-migrants-minister/a/Rjyjpr
  • DN: https://www.dn.se/debatt/kommunerna-trotsar-regeringen-de-vill-ha-fler-migranter/
• INTERNATIONAL: So, where do we actually stand on microplastics?
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/13/microplastics-human-body-doubt
• UK: Bigfoot has crossed the pond
  • Yahoo News UK: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/bigfoot-sighting-cannock-chase-dad-052800139.html

1:00:57 REALLY WRONG

• Really Wrong: Assisted dying bill filibustered in House of Lords
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/22/assisted-dying-bill-uk-house-lords-unelected-chamber
  • the Conversation: https://theconversation.com/the-house-of-lords-has-voted-to-stop-under-16s-using-social-media-what-happens-now-274139

1:05:35 WORD OF THE WEEK

• RUSSIAN:
  отчитка [otchitka] (noun) – ‘Exorcism’

  1:06:54 QUOTE AND FAREWELL

  “I was to blame for not having pressed my point. I had given into authority when I believed I was right. I note it here as a warning to the young, if you are sure of your facts, you should defend your position.”
  / Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (10 May 1900 – 7 December 1979), British-born American astronomer and astrophysicist. Her work on the cosmic makeup of the universe and the nature of variable stars was foundational to modern astrophysics. /

  1:08:18 OUTRO

  1:09:40 OUT-TAKES