Wildfires

This week we mention World Hepatitis Day (28 July) and new study that (again) finds no relationship between mobile cellphones and cancer. We also have two short interviews by Annika(!) from Skepticon Australia, with Richard Saunders and George Hrab! In TWISH we hear about John Tyndall, Irish physicist and great science communicator.

Then we take a look at the news:

• SWEDEN: Quackery round-up: Frequency therapy
• AUSTRIA: Kneipp Therapy: Popular tradition, still very little evidence
• FRANCE / SPAIN: Wildfires in France and Spain
• INTERNATIONAL: Snopes’ AI detection toolkit

The Really Wrong Award goes to the new phenomenon of ‘Agentic AI’.

Enjoy!

Segments: Intro; Greetings; Interviews; TWISH; News; Really Wrong; Quote; Outro; Outtakes

0:00:27 INTRO

0:00:51 GREETINGS

• 28 July: World Hepatitis Day
  • ECDC: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/world-hepatitis-day-2026-despite-progress-towards-eliminating-hepatitis-europe-gaps
• Quick update: No evidence mobile phones cause brain cancer – new study
  • the Conversation: https://theconversation.com/no-evidence-mobile-phones-cause-brain-cancer-new-study-287581

0:12:04 INTERVIEWS

• 0:12:08: Richard Saunders
• 0:15:54: George Hrab

0:21:19 TWISH – THIS WEEK IN SKEPTICAL HISTORY

• 2 August 1820: Birthday of Irish physicist and avid science communicator John Tyndall
  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tyndall

0:29:38 NEWS

• SWEDEN: Quackery round-up: Frequency therapy
  • Omni: https://omni.se/svenska-kliniker-erbjuder-verkningslos-frekvensterapi/a/oE1kKg
  • Svd: https://www.svd.se/a/8pqw5E/frekvensterapi-kallad-mirakelmaskin-sa-rundades-forbudet
  • Läkartidningen: https://lakartidningen.se/kultur/frekvensmedicin-ar-fantastiskt-sa-hon/
• AUSTRIA: Kneipp Therapy: Popular tradition, still very little evidence
  • Edzard Ernst: https://edzardernst.com/2026/07/kneipp-medicine-popular-lucrative-and-totally-unproven/
• FRANCE / SPAIN: Wildfires in France and Spain
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/27/france-and-spain-race-to-contain-huge-wildfires-before-fresh-heatwave-begins
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/27/weather-tracker-europe-wildfires-difficult-stop-france-spain
  • BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2350zlyy1yo
  • BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd7le0d53y2o
  • Sky: https://news.sky.com/story/europe-wildfires-latest-french-tourist-hotspot-evacuated-as-national-emergency-declared-in-spain-13566532
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jul/27/europe-wildfires-france-spain-emmanuel-macron-crisis-meeting-pedro-sanchez-castillon-latest-news-updates
• INTERNATIONAL: Snopes’ AI detection toolkit
  • Snopes: https://www.snopes.com/articles/471427/spot-ai-images-guide/

0:50:42 REALLY WRONG

• Really Wrong: Agentic AI accounts
  • El País: https://english.elpais.com/health/2026-07-22/food-related-scams-are-flooding-social-media-with-hyper-realistic-ai-generated-videos.html
• Bonus from Ep #456: IM8 – David Beckham’s supplement business
  • El País: https://english.elpais.com/health/2026-06-30/beckhams-supplements-promise-better-health-but-the-small-print-tells-a-different-story.html

0:56:27 QUOTE AND FAREWELL

“Their certainty that they were right is worth remembering because it means there’s probably stuff we’re certain is right that future ages will correctly judge to be monstrous. The fact that everybody is convinced of something is no guarantee that it isn’t evil horseshit.”
/ David Mitchell (14 July 1974 – ), British comedian, actor, and writer. The quote is from his book ‘Unruly: A History of England’s Kings and Queens’. /

0:58:53 OUTRO

1:00:16 OUT-TAKES