TheESP – Ep. #417 – Mercator flattened the Earth

We start with some listener feedback and corrections regarding Tridentinosaurus Antiquus – the origin of its name was wrong and despite what we said, it wasn’t a a dinosaur. In TWISH we hear about Gerardus Mercator, the man behind most world maps. Then we get to the news:

• SWEDEN: Companies exploit fear of war to sell pretty useless and expensive “emergency equipment”
• RUSSIA: Rumors surrounding the death of Alexei Navalny
• INTERNATIONAL: How harmful are ultra-processed foods?
• UK: Cochrane UK closing shop

The UK government gets this week’s Really Wrong Award for covering up the statistics about the deaths of homeless people.

Enjoy!

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

0:00:51 GREETINGS

• Listener feedback – Tridentinosaurus Antiquus

0:06:42 TWISH – THIS WEEK IN SKEPTICAL HISTORY

• 5 March 1512: Birth of Gerardus Mercator
  • University of Chicago Press: https://press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/534316.html

0:16:40 NEWS

• SWEDEN: Companies exploit fear of war to sell pretty useless and expensive “emergency equipment”
  • Omni: https://omni.se/msb-rasar-foretag-slar-mynt-av-svenskars-krigsoro/a/O8wKlV
• RUSSIA: Rumors surrounding the death of Alexei Navalny
  • Snopes: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/navalny-death-covid-vaccine/
• INTERNATIONAL: How harmful are ultra-processed foods?
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/feb/28/ultra-processed-food-32-harmful-effects-health-review
• UK: Cochrane UK closing shop
  • Cochrane: https://www.cochrane.org/news/news-cochrane-uk
  • Evidently Cockrane: https://www.evidentlycochrane.net/goodbye-evidently-cochrane/

0:39:55 REALLY WRONG

• Really Wrong: UK Government for aiming to stop publishing important stats
  • the Conversation: https://theconversation.com/the-uk-government-aims-to-stop-publishing-stats-on-homeless-peoples-deaths-heres-why-thats-a-problem-223879

0:43:24 QUOTE AND FAREWELL

“Alternative medicine had begun its remarkable ascent in a general climate of unreason. Incrementally, over the past two decades, we have seen the emergence of a culture that is curiously indifferent to the concept of truth. There is not one truth now, but many—all of them interchangeable, all of them of equal weight, and all deserving of equal consideration. In this Wonderland of relative facts, parallel truths and intellectual legerdemain, basing an argument on flawed reasoning does not automatically disqualify or even devalue it. To the contrary: logical fallacies are tolerated—indeed, often celebrated—as manifestations of a much-needed diversity.”
/ Edzard Ernst Quote from his book “A scientist in Wonderland”. Edzard Ernst (30 January 1948 – ) is a retired British-German academic physician and researcher specializing in the study of complementary and alternative medicine. /

0:45:30 OUTRO

0:46:44 OUT-TAKES