We have to rant about Trump and Venezuela for a bit, but to take our minds off that, we turn to TWISH and hear about the discovery of the Galilean moons, found by (who could have guessed?) Galileo.
Then it’s time for the news:
- UK: Google AI Overviews put people at risk of harm with misleading health advice
- HUNGARY: University of Pécs course on gene therapies lists mRNA COVID vaccines as such – that’s wrong!
- UK: Hot-reading Psychic Medium Dean
Susanne Bügel of Copenhagen University gets the Award for being Really Right for her work to inform the public about the issues with multi-vitamin pills. Then we get two different Words of the Week – Besserwisser and Lagom.
Enjoy!
Segments: Intro; Greetings; TWISH; News; Really Right; Word of the Week; Quote; Outro; Outtakes
0:00:27 INTRO
0:00:49 GREETINGS
- Commentary on Trump’s attack on Venzuela
0:10:19 TWISH – THIS WEEK IN SKEPTICAL HISTORY
- 7 January 1610: Galileo Galilei’s first account of the discovery of Jupiter’s largest moons
- Science in School: https://scienceinschool.org/article/2012/galileo/
0:23:14 NEWS
- UK: Google AI Overviews put people at risk of harm with misleading health advice
- HUNGARY: University of Pécs course on gene therapies lists mRNA COVID vaccines as such – that’s wrong!
- University of Pécs: https://gytk.pte.hu/hu/tantargykereso/3275
- UK: Hot-reading Psychic Medium Dean
- Skeptical Inquirer: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/__trashed/
0:39:14 REALLY RIGHT
- Really Right: Danish professor Susanne Bügel warns against multi-vitamin tablets
- Berlingske: https://www.berlingske.dk/vores-liv/det-er-det-mest-populaere-kosttilskud-men-foerende-ekspert-advarer-det-burde-vaere-paa-recept
- Sydsvenskan: https://etidning.sydsvenskan.se/p/sydsvenskan/2025-12-31/a/professorns-varning-vitamintabletter-kan-doda/2790/2074340/68658666
- NIH: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/healthy-adults-taking-multivitamins-daily-not-associated-lower-risk-death
0:44:38 WORD OF THE WEEK
- GERMAN: Besserwisser (noun) – ‘Know-it-all’, as in an annoying person
- SWEDISH: Lagom (adj.) – ‘just enough, just right’ with a positive connotation
0:47:08 QUOTE AND FAREWELL
-
“
The genuine rationalist does not think that he or anyone else is in possession of the truth; nor does he think that mere criticism as such helps us achieve new ideas. But he does think that, in the sphere of ideas, only critical discussion can help us sort the wheat from the chaff.”
/ Karl Popper (28 July 1902 – 17 September 1994), Austrian–British philosopher, academic and social commentator. /
0:48:44 OUTRO
0:50:06 OUT-TAKES