TheESP – Ep. #377 – the So Called Alternative Monarch

…or “SCAM”, if you will
This week we have lots of catching up to do, with sad news from Hungarian Skeptics, but also good news regarding skeptical meetings and activism in Germany, Hungary and Sweden. In TWISH we remember the founding of the Jagiellonian University over six hundred years ago this week. Then we dig into the news:

• INTERNATIONAL: WHO declares pandemic to be no longer a threat
• GERMANY: Homeopathic cold medicine Meditonsin no longer allowed to advertise with certain statements
• EUROPE: Russia behind anti-Ukraine and anti-Erdogan demonstrations all over EU
• UK: Propagator of SCAM now heads the Royal Medical Household
• GERMANY: Association of Midwifery distances themselves from Homeopathy
• UK: Measles on the rise
• SWEDEN: Paranormal beliefs remarkably high

A very sad Really Wrong this week as a 14 year-old girl dies in Austria due to alternative practitioners.

We trust you still enjoy the episode!

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

0:00:50 GREETINGS

• Death of Hungarian icon, one of the fathers of the skeptical movement in the country, István Vágó.
  • 24.hu: https://24.hu/belfold/2023/04/29/meghalt-vago-istvan/
• Skepkon and WTF festival!
  • WTF Leipzig: https://www.wtf-leipzig.de/
  • Skepkon: https://www.skepkon.org/programm
• All day Skeptics Meeting in Szeged
  • Del Magyar: https://www.delmagyar.hu/helyi-kozelet/2023/05/az-altudomanyokrol-rantottak-le-a-leplet-szegeden
• News flash! Pontus resigns as president of Swedish Skeptics!
  • VoF: https://www.vof.se/blogg/arsmotet-2023-ny-styrelse-utsedd/

0:17:07 TWISH – THIS WEEK IN SKEPTICAL HISTORY

• 12 May 1364: The founding of the most prestigious university of Poland, the Jagiellonian University in Kraków
  • Jagiellonian University: https://en.uj.edu.pl/en_GB/about-university/history

0:26:56 NEWS

• INTERNATIONAL: WHO declares pandemic to be no longer a threat
  • WHO: https://www.who.int/news/item/05-05-2023-statement-on-the-fifteenth-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-19)-pandemic
• GERMANY: Homeopathic cold medicine Meditonsin no longer allowed to advertise with certain statements
  • Skeptical Inquirer: https://skepticalinquirer.org/2023/05/homeopathy-research-hits-new-low/
  • Aerzte Blatt: https://www.aerzteblatt.de/nachrichten/142862/Urteil-untersagt-bei-Meditonsin-bestimmte-Werbeaussagen
  • GWUP: https://blog.gwup.net/2023/05/05/unzulaessige-werbung-fuer-homoeopathische-meditonsin-tropfen-urteil-jetzt-rechtskraeftig/
• EUROPE: Russia behind anti-Ukraine and anti-Erdogan demonstrations all over EU
  • Omni: https://omni.se/kartlaggning-tio-ryska-fejkdemonstrationer-i-europa/a/rlb8ma
• UK: Propagator of SCAM now heads the Royal Medical Household
  • Edzard Ernst: https://edzardernst.com/2023/05/guess-who-is-the-new-head-of-the-royal-medical-household/
• GERMANY: Association of Midwifery distances themselves from Homeopathy
  • GWUP: https://blog.gwup.net/2023/05/06/neu-im-spiegel-deutscher-hebammenverband-distanziert-sich-von-homoeopathie/
• UK: Measles on the rise
  • Outbreak News: http://outbreaknewstoday.com/measles-cases-up-in-the-uk-london-accounts-for-two-thirds-of-cases-48323/
• SWEDEN: Paranormal beliefs remarkably high
  • Gothenburg University: https://www.gu.se/nyheter/tro-pa-paranormala-formagor-relativt-utbredd-i-sverige

0:48:29 REALLY WRONG

• Really Wrong: Investigations underway regarding the death of 14 year-old as a result of rejecting treatment
  • Der Standard: https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000146190640/ermittlungen-gegen-eltern-nach-krebstod-von-14-jaehriger-kaerntnerin

0:54:18 QUOTE AND FAREWELL

“We rise to great heights by a winding staircase of small steps.”
/ Francis Bacon (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), English physicist and lawyer and contributor to the advancement of the scientific method. /

0:55:47 OUTRO

0:57:02 OUT-TAKES