TheESP – Ep. #275 – Edzard Ernst Strikes Again

 
This week Swedish vaccinations are not too well organised, András has debated homeopaths and the Swedish Skeptics have some cool events coming up. Ranga Yogeshwar (check him out!) celebrates his birthday and then we check out the news:

• Looks like we’re very selfish after all… Personal benefit is better driver than greater good
• Virtual exhibition in Nuremberg
• Edzard Ernst strikes again: Paper on ‘energy medicine’ retracted after reader complaints
• Hungarian Competition Authority fines snake oil salesman’s firm
• Long-lost letter by Einstein reveals his special insight, making him the predictor of something cool
• Accelerated climate change
• What’s going on in Chernobyl?

The Danish People’s Party think that mandatory prayers in schools and Danish meatballs are something that will “save Danish culture” and for that they are Really Wrong.

Enjoy!

Segments: Intro; Greetings; This Week In Skepticism; News; Really Wrong; Quote & Farewell; Outro; Out-takes

0:00:26 INTRO

0:00:51 GREETINGS

• Vaccinations opened for non-risk groups in the south of Sweden yesterday, and it didn’t go well
  • Sydsvenskan: https://www.sydsvenskan.se/2021-05-17/problem-med-bokning-av-vaccintider
• IDAHOBIT this week – we just want to say: Be and love who you want, as long as it’s consenting adults, go for it!
  • IDAHOBIT: https://www.idahobit.org.au/
• Andras’ participation in a homeopathy-debate
  • OzoneTV: https://www.ozonetv.hu/teljes-adasok/2021/05/18/eszak-del-vita-a-homeopatiarol/637

0:14:13 THIS WEEK IN SKEPTICISM

• Ranga Yogeshwar was born 18 May 1959
  • Wikipedia (German): https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranga_Yogeshwar
  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranga_Yogeshwar
  • Yogeshwar: https://yogeshwar.de/

0:18:13 NEWS

• UK: Looks like we’re very selfish after all… Personal benefit is better driver than greater good
  • Science Alert: https://www.sciencealert.com/making-the-benefits-personal-could-counter-vaccine-hesitancy-survey-shows
• GERMANY: Virtual exhibition in Nuremberg
  • GWUP: https://blog.gwup.net/2021/05/12/zeichen-der-zukunft-wahrsagen-in-ostasien-und-europa-virtuelle-ausstellung-im-gnm-nuernberg/
• UK: Edzard Ernst strikes again: Paper on ‘energy medicine’ retracted after reader complaints
  • Rectration Watch: https://retractionwatch.com/2021/05/05/paper-on-energy-medicine-retracted-after-reader-complaints/
  • Sage: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/21649561211011791
  • Edzard Ernst: https://edzardernst.com/2021/03/this-is-what-happens-when-pseudoscience-is-called-out-in-academia/
  • Edzard Ernst: https://edzardernst.com/2020/10/a-quantum-physics-perspective-on-acupuncture-and-other-scams/
• HUNGARY: Hungarian Competition Authority fines snake oil salesman’s firm
  • Hungarian Competition Authority: https://www.gvh.hu/en/press_room/press_releases/press-releases-2021/the-gvh-has-imposed-a-fine-of-huf-1178-million-and-permanently-banned-the-unlawful-advertising-of-c-peptide-products-
• UK: Long-lost letter by Einstein reveals his special insight, making him the predictor of something cool
  • Science Alert: https://www.sciencealert.com/long-lost-letter-reveals-einstein-predicted-the-discovery-of-animal-super-senses
• SPAIN: Accelerated climate change
  • El País: https://english.elpais.com/society/2021-05-18/global-warming-accelerates-in-spain-average-temperature-rises-13c-in-60-years.html
• UKRAINE: What’s going on in Chernobyl?
  • Science Alert: https://www.sciencealert.com/chernobyl-s-molten-guts-are-warming-and-it-could-go-critical-all-over-again
  • Live Science: https://www.livescience.com/chernobyl-smoldering-nuclear-reactions-again.html

0:46:11 REALLY WRONG

• REALLY WRONG: Danish People’s Party wants to bring back prayers in school to “protect Danish culture”
  • DN.se: https://www.dn.se/kultur/dansk-folkeparti-bekampar-identitetspolitik-med-morgonpsalm-och-frikadeller/

0:51:23 QUOTE AND FAREWELL

“Problems in medicine do not mean that homeopathic sugar pills work; just because there are problems with aircraft design, that doesn’t mean that magic carpets really fly.”
/ Ben Goldacre (20 May 1974 – ), British physician and science writer. /

0:53:19 OUTRO

0:54:34 OUT-TAKES