TheESP – Ep. #309 – It’s a ‘League’ of Homeopaths

No mercy for No-vaxx Djokovic

Sweden had some unusual northern lights last weekend (which Pontus missed) and the Tonga volcanic eruption had an impact on Annika’s plans. Don’t miss Pontus on next week’s Skeptic Zone with Richard Saunders! In TWISH we hear about Baron d’Holbach who created an important encyclopedia and organised great Skeptics in the Pub meetings back in the 1700s. Pope Francis hates that people are getting pets instead of generating new baby Catholics, totally missing the irony of himself opting out of parenthood. Then we take a look at the news:

• EUROPE: Increase in attacks against journalists for reporting on COVID
• ITALY: Nurse in Palermo arrested for administering fake jabs
• WORLD: 2021 was the fifth warmest year on record
• INTERNATIONAL: YouTube called on by factcheckers to tackle misinformation
• INTERNATIONAL: Homeopaths urging WHO to begin training homeopaths
• SWEDEN: Tik Tok – Children get bombarded with news of imminent Russian invasion
• SWITZERLAND: Publisher Frontier in crisis?
• UK: Edzard Ernst did it again… new book coming!

Novak Djokovic is this week’s Really Wrong Award winner for his covid pass shenanigans and anti-vaxx nonsense.

Enjoy!

Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; Pontus Pokes The Pope; News; Really Wrong; Quote And Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes;
 
0:00:27 INTRO

0:00:54 GREETINGS

• Northern lights over Stockholm
  • Newsfounded: https://newsfounded.com/swedeneng/the-northern-lights-over-stockholm-mighty/
• Tonga volcano generate tsunami warning in Sydney
  • the Conversation: https://theconversation.com/waves-from-the-tonga-tsunami-are-still-being-felt-in-australia-and-even-a-50cm-surge-could-knock-you-off-your-feet-175056
• Pontus interviewed on the Skeptic Zone
  • Skeptic Zone: https://skepticzone.tv/
  • Direct link to the episode: https://skepticzone.libsyn.com/the-skeptic-zone-694-23january2022

0:05:39 TWISH – THIS WEEK IN SKEPTICAL HISTORY

• Baron d’Holbach died on 21st January 1789
  • Stanford: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/holbach/
  • Humanists UK: https://humanists.uk/humanism/the-humanist-tradition/enlightenment/baron-dholbach/

0:11:20 PONTUS POKES THE POPE

• Selfish people have pets instead of children
  • Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/01/06/pope-francis-pet-children-selfish/

0:17:03 NEWS

• EUROPE: Increase in attacks against journalists for reporting on COVID
  • the Conversation: https://theconversation.com/increasing-numbers-of-physical-attacks-on-european-journalists-as-they-report-on-covid-and-other-stories-173941
• ITALY: Nurse in Palermo arrested for administering fake jabs
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/16/italian-nurse-accused-of-giving-fake-covid-jabs-to-anti-vaxxers
  • Outbreak News: http://outbreaknewstoday.com/italy-people-unvaccinated-and-older-than-50-years-face-fines-lose-salary-under-new-decree-52313/
• WORLD: 2021 was the fifth warmest year on record
  • BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-59915690
• INTERNATIONAL: YouTube called on by factcheckers to tackle misinformation
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/12/youtube-is-major-conduit-of-fake-news-factcheckers-say
  • Climate Feedback: https://climatefeedback.org/more-than-80-fact-checking-organizations-call-on-youtube-to-tackle-misinformation/
• INTERNATIONAL: Homeopaths urging WHO to begin training homeopaths
  • Edzard Ernst: https://edzardernst.com/2022/01/the-who-must-encourage-the-international-medical-community-to-immediately-begin-training-in-homeopathy/
• SWEDEN: Tik Tok – Children get bombarded with news of imminent Russian invasion
  • DN: https://www.dn.se/sverige/bilden-av-ett-sverige-i-krig-sprids-pa-tiktok/
• SWITZERLAND: Publisher Frontier in crisis?
  • Retraction Watch: https://retractionwatch.com/2022/01/11/frontiers-retracts-a-dozen-papers-many-more-expected/
• UK: Edzard Ernst did it again… new book coming!
  • Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Charles-Alternative-Prince-Unauthorised-Biography/dp/1788360702/

0:45:26 REALLY WRONG

• Novak Djokovic spreads covid as well as anti-vaxx nonsens
  • Snopes: https://www.snopes.com/ap/2022/01/17/djokovic-deported-belgrade/

0:49:38 QUOTE AND FAREWELL

“Religion has ever filled the mind of man with darkness, and kept him in ignorance of his real duties and true interest. It is only by dispelling the clouds and phantoms of Religion, that we shall discover Truth, Reason, and Morality. Religion diverts us from the causes of evils, and from the remedies which nature prescribes; far from curing, it only aggravates, multiplies, and perpetuates them.”
/ Paul-Henri Thiry, Baron d’Holbach (8 December 1723 – 21 January 1789), French-German philosopher, encyclopedist, writer, and prominent figure in the French Enlightenment. /

0:51:53 OUTRO

0:53:08 OUT-TAKES