TheESP – Ep. #413 – Don’t make up the data!

King Charles III is ill and although we seldom agrees with him we still whish him a speedy recovery. Marcus Wandt, the Swedish astronaut, took time off his busy schedule and gave a called via link with students at a Swedish school – the teacher setting it up is active in VoF, the Swedish skeptics. Well done, Philippe! Marcus has been stuck on the ISS for several days but as this episode comes out he is finally on his way back to Earth. We remind everyone to sign up for the European Skeptics Congress in Lyon, France, 30 May – 3 June! Speakers include Massimo Polidoro, Karolina Lisslö Gylfe and Edzard Ernst! In TWISH we hear about Peter the Great who despite obvious flaws also happened to be quite a fan on the enlightenment. Then, it’s time for the news:

• SWEDEN: No data? No problem! Just ask Excel to make something up
• IRELAND: The Constitution, the Catholic Church and the role of women
• UK: House of Lords committee pushes back on EV related misinformation and urges government to do that, too
• EUROPE: European Commission wants to target vaccine-preventable cancers

The NHS in Kent is supporting unscientific alternative treatments and gets this week’s award for being Really Wrong, and to round up the episode we go to Iceland for the Word of the Week. Who can guess what ‘Bóluefni’ means? Tune in to find out!

Enjoy!

Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; News; Really Wrong; Word of the Week; Quote and Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes
 
0:00:27 INTRO

0:00:52 GREETINGS

• King Charles III has cancer – we wish him well and so does Edzard Ernst
  • BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68208157
  • Edzard Ernst (on X): https://twitter.com/EdzardErnst/status/1754591254967357510
• Swedish astronaut still on ISS – return delayed
  • ESA: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Watch_live_Marcus_Wandt_returns_to_Earth
  • SVT: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/skane/lundaelever-ringde-svenske-astronauten-marcus-wandt-i-rymden-jattecoolt
• ESC! – sign up for the European Skeptics Congress 2024 in Lyon, France!
  • ECSO: https://www.ecso.org/esc2024/
• Listener feedback: Irish Health Minister says measles outbreak will come within months
  • RTE: https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2024/0206/1430731-explained-why-there-is-renewed-concern-about-measles-in-ireland/

0:13:50 TWISH – THIS WEEK IN SKEPTICAL HISTORY

• 8 February 1725: Death of Peter the Great
  • European Proceedings: https://www.europeanproceedings.com/article/10.15405/epsbs.2021.05.02.111#

0:21:55 NEWS

• SWEDEN: No data? No problem! Just ask Excel to make something up
  • Retraction Watch: https://retractionwatch.com/2024/02/05/no-data-no-problem-undisclosed-tinkering-in-excel-behind-economics-paper/
• IRELAND: The Constitution, the Catholic Church and the role of women
  • the Conversation: https://theconversation.com/irish-referendum-how-the-catholic-church-shaped-irelands-constitution-to-define-the-status-of-women-222231
• UK: House of Lords committee pushes back on EV related misinformation and urges government to do that, too
  • BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-68130432
  • UK Government: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/transport-and-environment-statistics-2023/transport-and-environment-statistics-2023#greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-transport-2021
• EUROPE: European Commission wants to target vaccine-preventable cancers
  • Vaccines Today: https://www.vaccinestoday.eu/stories/europe-targets-vaccine-preventable-cancers/

0:39:39 REALLY WRONG

• Really Wrong: NHS in Kent supports ear beeds, accupressure and more
  • Edzard Ernst: https://edzardernst.com/2024/01/hard-to-believe-in-kent-uk-the-nhs-advocates-and-pays-for-pure-quackery/

0:40:00 WORD OF THE WEEK

• Icelandic: Bóluefni, ‘vaccine’

0:49:00 QUOTE AND FAREWELL

“Let the dataset change your mindset.”
/ Hans Rosling (27 July 1948 – 7 February 2017), Swedish physician, academic and public speaker. /

0:51:22 OUTRO

0:52:37 OUT-TAKES