TheESP – Ep. #421 – Wishful Thinking

There are two great European skeptical events to sign up for this year – European Skeptics Congress in Lyon (30 May- 2 June) and QED in Manchester (18 – 20 October) – there is still time to catch the Early Bird discounts for both! In TWISH we hear about the earthquake in L’Aquila in Italy in 2009, that not only shook the ground but also the trust in science. Of course, we also give our take on the news:

• UK: Rumours about King Charles III’s illness on the rise
• RUSSIA: Russia linked to ’Havana Syndrome’. We’re not convinced…
• NETHERLANDS: New study may help us understand wishful thinking

This week we hopefully hand out our last PiS related Really Wrong Award. More specifically it goes to Polish president Andrzej Duda who did a doo-doo and vetoed access to women’s health care.

Enjoy!

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

0:00:49 GREETINGS

• Correction from last episode – this year is 2024…!
• ESC 2024 – Early Bird extended
  • ECSO: https://www.ecso.org/esc2024/
• QED Tickets on sale from May 7th, 2024
  • QED: https://qedcon.org/updates/2024/tickets-on-sale-from-may-7

0:06:36 TWISH – THIS WEEK IN SKEPTICAL HISTORY

• 6 April 2009: The ground shakes in the city of L’Aquila… and so does the trust in science
  • Internet Geography: https://www.internetgeography.net/topics/laquila-earthquake-2009/
  • Science Direct: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016328717300460
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/10/laquila-earthquake-scientists-win-appeal-seismologists

0:16:35 NEWS

• UK: Rumours about King Charles III’s illness on the rise
  • Snopes: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/king-charles-pancreatic-cancer/
• RUSSIA: Russia linked to ’Havana Syndrome’. We’re not convinced…
  • EuroNews: https://www.euronews.com/2024/04/01/havana-syndrome-possibly-linked-to-russian-intelligence-media-report-finds
  • Skeptoid: https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4603
  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana_syndrome
• NETHERLANDS: New study may help us understand wishful thinking
  • University of Amsterdam: https://www.uva.nl/en/content/news/press-releases/2024/03/making-the-future-too-bright-how-wishful-thinking-can-point-us-in-the-wrong-direction.html

0:40:22 REALLY WRONG

• Really Wrong: Polish president vetoes contraception access
  • AP News: https://apnews.com/article/poland-morning-after-pill-law-president-veto-fe41d1c97ea3e0151d67278e67c0512a
  • Notes from Poland: https://notesfrompoland.com/2024/03/29/president-vetoes-prescription-free-access-to-morning-after-pill-in-poland/

0:45:54 QUOTE AND FAREWELL

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”
/ Oscar Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900), Irish poet and playwright. /

0:46:58 OUTRO

0:48:12 OUT-TAKES