This week we remember James “the Amazing” Randi, a great skeptic and generous person who like no one else influenced the skeptic movement. His legacy lives on.
We also reflect a bit on daylight saving before we go further back in time than usual in this week in history and look into the importance of Emperor Constantine and the Battle of the Milvian Bridge for early Christianity. Then Pontus looks into if Pope Francis really has changed his and the Church’s position on gay rights, before we get into the news:
- COVID-19 update
- No evidence contact tracing helps tackle COVID
- WHO and Wikipedia team up to combat pandemic misinformation
- United Nations turns 75
- Iris Hundertmark and her pharmacy – update
- ARP-SAPC news
- Patents on homeopathic products
- IPSOS – Trust in news sources by country
Enjoy!
Segments:
Intro; Greetings; Pontus Pokes the Pope; This Week; News; Really Wrong; Quote and Farewell; Outro; Out-takes
Events Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe
0:00:29 INTRO
0:00:54 GREETINGS
- REMEMBERING RANDI
- ECSO: https://www.ecso.org/news/in-memoriam-of-the-amazng-randi/
- Randi in Australia (Youtube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN-0FEqAkQM
- DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME – WHAT’S NEXT?
0:17:15 THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
- 28 October 312: Constantine and the battle of the Milvian Bridge
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbFtMXytMj8
- The battle of the Milvian bridge (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Milvian_Bridge
- Christian Classics Ethereal Library: https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iii.xv.ix.html
- Constantine and Christianity (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_the_Great_and_Christianity
0:22:50 PONTUS POKES THE POPE
- POPEY SAYS CIVIL UNION FOR GAY COUPLES ARE OK. WELL, AIN’T THAT NICE! OR?
- Crux: https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2020/10/pope-endorses-same-sex-civil-unions-in-new-documentary-film/
- NCR: https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/popes-civil-union-comments-appear-be-taken-out-context
- the Conversation: https://theconversation.com/pope-francis-support-for-civil-unions-is-a-call-to-justice-and-nothing-new-148607
0:28:31 NEWS
- INTERNATIONAL: COVID-19 update
- Retraction Watch: https://retractionwatch.com/2020/10/26/paper-suggesting-vitamin-d-might-protect-against-covid-19-earns-an-expression-of-concern/
- News Wire: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/study-helps-explain-declines-in-death-rates-from-covid-19-301157786.html
- the Conversation: https://theconversation.com/is-reaching-zero-covid-19-possible-145108
- the Conversation: https://theconversation.com/sick-of-covid-19-heres-why-you-might-have-pandemic-fatigue-148294
- Outbreak News: http://outbreaknewstoday.com/covid-19-lockdown-dramatically-altered-our-personal-habits-largely-for-the-worse-study-31600/
- the Conversation: https://theconversation.com/why-lockdown-had-little-to-no-effect-on-global-temperatures-148129
- INTERNATIONAL: No evidence contact tracing helps tackle COVID
- INTERNATIONAL: WHO and Wikipedia team up to combat pandemic misinformation
- INTERNATIONAL: United Nations turns 75
- GERMANY: Iris Hundertmark and her pharmacy – update
- SPAIN: ARP-SAPC news
- Escepticos: https://www.escepticos.es/node/7695
- Business of Apps: https://www.businessofapps.com/data/telegram-statistics/
- Escepticos: https://www.escepticos.es/node/7698
- the Conversation: https://theconversation.com/margarita-del-val-la-oleada-de-otono-no-es-inevitable-la-podemos-parar-148612
- EUROPE: Patents on homeopathic products
- INTERNATIONAL: IPSOS – Trust in news sources by country
1:01:14 REALLY WRONG
- POLAND RULES ABORTION DUE TO FOETAL DEFECTS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
1:05:41 QUOTE AND FAREWELL
“Science helps us before all things in this, that it somewhat lightens the feeling of wonder with which Nature fills us; then, however, as life becomes more and more complex, it creates new facilities for the avoidance of what would do us harm and the promotion of what will do us good.”
/ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832), German writer and statesman /
1:06:54 OUTRO
1:08:09 OUT-TAKES