TheESP – Ep. #429 – Think away the long covid

We start with some listener feedback and also worry if Neil DeGrasse Tyson and his Star Talk show are falling for some alternative medicine. On the good side Skeptical Science, led by John Cook, is continuing their quest for science literacy and has a new online quiz you can take to check your “bullshit detector”. In TWISH we hear about the trial against Joan of Arc in 1431. Then we turn to the news:

• SWEDEN: How the Karolinska protected Paolo Macchiarini — and whistleblowers paid the price
• UK: People with Long Covid scammed by fake therapy
• INTERNATIONAL: Misleading claims on well-known rare risk of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine
• GERMANY: Michael Schumacher’s family wins law case against publisher running deepfake interview

The Telegraph and the Independent spout antivaxx disinformation and for that get this week’s award for being Really Wrong.

Enjoy!

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

0:00:50 GREETINGS

• Listener feedback: Newton and the giants
  • Faktoider: https://faktoider.nu/newton_axlar.html
• StarTalk spreads nonsense?
  • Star Talk Media: https://startalkmedia.com/show/guide-to-alternative-medicines-with-helene-langevin/
• Mastering FLICC – A Cranky Uncle themed quiz
  • Skeptical Science: https://skepticalscience.com/mastering-flicc-a-cranky-uncle-themed-quiz.html

0:14:03 TWISH – THIS WEEK IN SKEPTICAL HISTORY

• 30 May 1431: Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for heresy
  • History.com: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/joan-of-arc-martyred
  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc

0:23:47 NEWS

• SWEDEN: How the Karolinska protected Paolo Macchiarini — and whistleblowers paid the price
  • Retraction Watch: https://retractionwatch.com/2024/05/17/how-the-karolinska-protected-paolo-macchiarini-and-whistleblowers-paid-the-price/
  • Stylecaster: https://stylecaster.com/lists/where-paolo-macchiarini-now/where-is-paolo-macchiarini-now/
• UK: People with Long Covid scammed by fake therapy
  • BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-69040592
• INTERNATIONAL: Misleading claims on well-known rare risk of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine
  • Factcheck: https://www.factcheck.org/2024/05/scicheck-misleading-claims-on-well-known-rare-risk-of-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine/
• GERMANY: Michael Schumacher’s family wins law case against publisher running deepfake interview
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/may/23/michael-schumacher-family-win-legal-case-against-publisher-over-fake-ai-interview

0:43:03 REALLY WRONG

• Really Wrong: The Telegraph and The Independent for spreading disinformation about Astra Zeneca’s Covid vaccine
  • Factcheck: https://www.factcheck.org/2024/05/scicheck-misleading-claims-on-well-known-rare-risk-of-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine/

0:46:18 QUOTE AND FAREWELL

“The time has come when scientific truth must cease to be the property of the few, when it must be woven into the common life of the world.”
/ Louis Agassiz (28 May 1807 – 14 December 1873), Swiss-born American zoologist, glaciologist and geologist /

0:50:33 OUTRO

0:51:48 OUT-TAKES