TheESP – Ep. #478 – Not a Political Podcast

QED tickets are available everyone, so we start our count-down to October in Manchester! The papal conclave is currently on-going and we bring you the latest news. In TWISH we hear about John Strachey, the almost forgotten pioneer in the field of basic geology. Then of course, we have the news:

• INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE: Measles update
• EU: Press freedom under threat by foreign disinformation
• SWEDEN: Swedish climate study stopped due to Trump policies
• NETHERLANDS: A PhD position to research paper mills
• ROMANIA: First round of presidential election goes to leader of pro-Putin conspiracy theorist
• UK: Reform UK wins election, if by six votes only

The American war on science is starting to reach Europe and for that Donald Trump receives this week’s award for being Really Wrong.

Enjoy!

Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; News; Really Wrong; Quote; Outro; Outtakes
 
0:00:27 INTRO

0:00:52 GREETINGS

• QED tickets available!
  • QED: https://qedcon.org/tickets
• Last minute conclave update
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/05/vatican-to-cut-phone-signal-during-conclave-to-elect-new-pope
  • Catholic Culture: https://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm

0:08:24 TWISH – THIS WEEK IN SKEPTICAL HISTORY

• 10 May 1671: Birth of English geologist John Strachey, who shaped our understanding of basic geology

0:16:18 NEWS

• INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE: Measles update
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/03/measles-post-herd-immunity
  • ECDC: https://measles-rubella-monthly.ecdc.europa.eu/
• EU: Press freedom under threat by foreign disinformation
  • the Conversation: https://theconversation.com/perfect-storm-of-tech-bros-foreign-interference-and-disinformation-is-an-urgent-threat-to-press-freedom-252986
• SWEDEN: Swedish climate study stopped due to Trump policies
  • DN: https://www.dn.se/varlden/svensk-klimatstudie-stoppad-av-trumps-politik
• NETHERLANDS: A PhD position to research paper mills
  • Retreaction Watch: https://retractionwatch.com/2025/05/01/phd-paper-mills-wiley-leiden-springer-nature/
• ROMANIA: First round of presidential election goes to leader of pro-Putin conspiracy theorist
  • Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/romania-pm-resigns-after-far-right-wins-first-round-president-vote-2025-05-05/
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/04/ultranationalist-wins-first-round-of-romanias-rerun-presidential-election
• UK: Reform UK wins election, if by six votes only
  • the Conversation: https://theconversation.com/reform-wins-runcorn-byelection-by-just-six-votes-what-the-result-means-for-labour-and-the-tories-255739
  • the Conversation: https://theconversation.com/reform-enters-local-government-for-the-first-time-with-uk-mayoral-election-wins-255731

0:46:49 REALLY WRONG

• Really Wrong: US embassy in Sweden demands that Stockholm City Planning Office signs anti-DEI contract
  • DN: https://www.dn.se/sverige/usas-ambassad-kraver-lydnad-av-stockholms-stad-bisarrt/

0:51:34 QUOTE AND FAREWELL

“Though the theory is worthless without the well-observed facts, the facts are useless without the frame of the theory to receive them.”
/ Charles Darwin (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882), English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. /

0:52:40 OUTRO

0:54:02 OUT-TAKES