This week we welcome Annika Merkelbach from Germany back to the show to talk about the upcoming skeptical convention SkepKon, GSoW and her series of interviews on Skeptical Inquirer’s website.
We also talk about the European Skeptics Congress to be held in Ghent the end of August, plus lots of news items and topics to mention include:
The Cancer Act 1939 of the UK, the latest wrongdoings of the Vatican, an Italian politician who’s been opposing mandatory vaccination being hospitalised with chicken pox, the death of HPV vaccine campaigner Laura Brennan and how her campaign must have saved a lot of lives, plagiarism made illegal in Montenegro after a long and interesting battle with the problem, an email by a listener bringing hope in the fight against bogus claims asking for support on Indiegogo, students in Oxford petitioning for climate change to be made a core part of the national curriculum in the UK, Holm Gero Hümmler’s new book on conspiracy theories and Jehova’s witnesses being under attack by authorities in both Sweden and the US for child indoctrination and sexual abuse.
Segments:
Intro; Greetings; Interview; This Week in Skepticism; Pontus Pokes the Pope; News; Really Wrong; Quote; Outro; Out-takes
Events Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe
00:00:27 Intro
00:00:51 Greetings
Programme out for European Skeptics Congress in Ghent 29 Aug – 1 Sept
00:05:30 Interview with Annika Merkelbach
We catch up with Annika Merkelbach regarding the upcoming SkepKon conference (take part in our raffel to win a ticket!) and her work with Guerilla Skepticism on Wikipedia and writing for the Skeptical Inquirer.
- https://www.skepkon.org/
- http://guerrillaskepticismonwikipedia.blogspot.com/
- https://skepticalinquirer.org/
00:20:20 This Week in Skepticism
The UK Cancer Act of 1939
00:27:24 Pontus Pokes the Pope
The Vatican is still no place for women; Cardinal who covered up abuse not allowed to resign; A US Catholic diocese sued on consumer protection grounds
- https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/26/world/europe/women-vatican-magazine-quit.html
- https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2019/03/20/pope-wont-accept-resignation-of-cardinal-convicted-of-ignoring-child-sex-abuse/
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/03/19/west-virginia-attorney-general-sues-catholic-diocese-bishop-allegedly-knowingly-employing-pedophiles
00:33:18 Skeptical News
ITALY: Politician Who Fought Against Mandatory Chickenpox Vaccine Contracts Chickenpox
- https://www.euronews.com/2019/03/20/italian-politician-opposed-to-mandatory-vaccination-of-children-is-hospitalised-with-chick
- https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/italy-vaccination-chickenpox-anti-vax-massimiliano-fedriga-salvini-a8829926.html
IRELAND: HPV vaccine campaigner’s legacy will be to save thousands of live
MONTENEGRO: Plagiarism made illegal in the country along with other forms of misconduct
- https://retractionwatch.com/2019/03/25/montenegro-just-made-plagiarism-illegal-what-does-it-hope-to-achieve/ https://www.rferl.org/a/montenegro-education-reforms-plagiarism-lesson/28703476.html
- https://www.euroscientist.com/university-and-montenegrin-government-ignored-evidence-of-science-ministers-plagiarism-minister-may-go-2/
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/02/hungarian-president-resigns-doctorate-plagiarism
INTERNATIONAL: E-mail from the listener (re episode 158) Indiegogo does (at least nominally) have policies in place that can be used to appeal questionable projects
UK: Climate change petition: Oxford students campaign for better teaching on subject
- https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-oxfordshire-47709552/climate-change-petition-oxford-students-campaign-for-better-teaching-on-subject
- https://www.change.org/p/get-the-climate-crisis-on-the-national-curriculum
- https://fullfact.org/education/climate-change-school-curriculum/
GERMANY: Holm Gero Hümmler’s new book on conspiracy myths
01:00:34 Really Wrong
Jehova’s Witnesses child indoctrination in schools (+ plus US child molestation)
- https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/jehovas-vittnens-filmvisning-i-ratten-inte-lampligt-for-barn
- https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6847391/Jehovahs-Witnesses-kept-secret-database-tens-thousands-child-molesters.html
01:07:27 Quote and Goodbye
“An education isn’t how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It’s being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don’t.”
/ Anatole France, French poet, journalist, and successful novelist /
01:09:29 Outro
01:10:44 Out-takes