This week we welcome Brian back for an unprecedented two-weeks-in-a-row appearance and then we dive into how the Piltdown Man hoax went undetected for many years, but was revealed this week 66 years ago. Then we poke the pope for trying to put the blame for his sex abuse scandals on Facebook, Apple and Microsoft, while Cardinal Pell, believe in or not, may get one more day in court.
In the news we find we still have to explain why you should NOT go to a chiropractor because not only is chiropractic total pseudoscience, it’s also occasionally deadly. In happier news an Ebola vaccine is finally here and has been approved in the EU, where coincidentally, being it due to vaccinations or not, the measles epidemic finally shows signs to be receding. Nevertheless, the measles vaccine is now mandatory in Germany.
In Venice the recent floods are devastating but is it climate change or is it just that building a city out in the water is a bad idea? Speaking of water, did holy water from Lourdes save Shakira’s voice? And will Golden Rice finally be approved in Bangladesh? So many questions, and only the ESP experience to sort it all out!
Finally, the State Government of Bavaria is taking stupid to a new level when trying to fight multi-resistant bacteria with homeopathy and that earns them a place in the Really Wrong hall of fame.
Enjoy!
Segments:
Intro; Greetings; Pontus Pokes the Pope; News; Really Wrong; Quote and Farewell; Outro; Out-takes
Events Calendar: https://theesp.eu/events_in_europe
0:00:27 Intro
0:00:51 Greetings
We welcome Brian Eggo back yet again(!) and chat with him about the Glasgow Skeptics 10-anniversary last week and what’s coming up next (spoiler: Matt Dillahunty!).
0:05:53 This Week in Skepticism – Piltdown Man
On 21 November 1953 the Piltdown Man, a skull regarded as one of the most important missing links between apes and man, was publicly announced to be a hoax.
0:12:14 Pontus Pokes the Pope – “Beware of Children’s Access to Porn!” Says Leader of the World’s Largest Paedophile Ring – plus: Last Bell for Pell
Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Google and other tech companies should protect children from sex say Francis, implying that they may otherwise seduce his priests. And believe it or not Cardinal Pell will have another chance to plead for his innocence.
- The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/16/three-more-altar-boys-claim-they-were-abused-by-priests-in-vatican
- The Sun: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10350674/pope-francis-tech-giants-kid-porn-exposure/
- Crux (1): https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/11/16/vatican-youth-seminary-scandal-grows-with-new-abuse-claims/
- The Age: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/george-pell-case-to-be-heard-by-high-court-20191113-p53a3j.html
- Crux (2): https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2019/11/new-head-of-vaticans-economy-office-needs-popes-strong-backing-to-succeed/
0:18:28 News
UK: Broken neck from Chiropractic Treatment
EUROPE: Ebola Vaccine Approved by EU
EUROPE: Measles update as of October
GERMANY: Measles Vaccinations Now Mandatory
- The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/14/german-parliament-approves-compulsory-measles-vaccinations
ITALY: Venice Flooded – Mayor Claims It is Due to Climate Change
- BBC (1): https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50401308
- BBC (1): https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50430855
- Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2019/11/16/venice-flooding-reveals-a-real-hoax-about-climate-changeframing-it-as-eitheror/#4e8d93393a12
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acqua_alta#Historical_records
- Climate.gov: https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-level
- Live Science: https://www.livescience.com/19195-venice-sinking-slowly.html
FRANCE (SPAIN): Shakira went to Lourdes to get her voice back
- The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/nov/11/shakira-interview-singing-el-dorado-tour-film-super-bowl
INTERNATIONAL: Bangladesh (Expected?) to Approve Golden Rice
- Dhaka Tribune: https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/agriculture/2019/10/28/bangladesh-close-to-releasing-golden-rice
- Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/11/11/golden-rice-long-an-anti-gmo-target-may-finally-get-chance-help-children/
0:50:27 Really Wrong: The Bavarian State Government wants to fight multi-resistance with – Homeopathy!
- Spiegel Online: https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/globuli-und-medizin-zwischen-wirksamkeit-und-aberglauben-kolumne-a-1296422.html
0:54:07 Quote and Farewell
“For to be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough; the prime requisite is rightly to apply it. The greatest minds, as they are capable of the highest excellence, are open likewise to the greatest aberrations; and those who travel very slowly may yet make far greater progress, provided they keep always to the straight road, than those who, while they run, forsake it”
/ René Descartes, 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650, French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist /
0:55:48 Outro
0:57:03 Out-takes