TheESP – Ep. #534 – Fight for Science!

These days even cognitive biases are automated. In TWISH we hear about the skeptical TV-series X-Aknák (X-Mines) that ran on Hungarian TV in the early 2000s. Then, it’s time for the news:

• UK / INTERNATIONAL: Canadian man admits sending ‘suicide packets’ to hundreds of people in the UK and around the world
• UK / INTERNATIONAL: John Maddox Prize open for nominations
• INTERNATIONAL: Online ads are becoming harder to spot – but we’re not powerless to stop it
• GERMANY: Interviews from SkepKon 2026 now available

The Conference of Deans of Faculties of Medicine in France aims to throw out alternative medicine from the universities and for that they are Really Right!

Enjoy!

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

0:00:51 GREETINGS

• AI and cognitive biases
  • Skeptic UK: https://www.skeptic.org.uk/2026/05/in-the-era-of-ai-cognitive-biases-are-not-exclusive-to-humans/

0:06:54 TWISH – THIS WEEK IN SKEPTICAL HISTORY

• 7 June 2002: The First Airing of X-Aknák (X-Mines) on ATV in Hungary
  • Gábor Hraskó: https://xaknak.hrasko.com/tag/x-aknak-tv-musor/

0:14:38 NEWS

• UK / INTERNATIONAL: Canadian man admits sending ‘suicide packets’ to hundreds of people in the UK and around the world
  • the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/29/canada-kenneth-law-suicide-packets-hundreds-of-people-around-world
• UK / INTERNATIONAL: John Maddox Prize open for nominations
  • Sense about Science: https://senseaboutscience.org/john-maddox-prize/
• INTERNATIONAL: Online ads are becoming harder to spot – but we’re not powerless to stop it
  • the Conversation: https://theconversation.com/online-ads-are-becoming-harder-to-spot-but-were-not-powerless-to-stop-it-283782
• GERMANY: Interviews from SkepKon 2026 now available
  • GWUP: https://blog.gwup.net/2026/06/03/nach-der-skepkon-2026-diese-interviews-sind-bereits-online/

0:31:22 REALLY RIGHT

• Really Right: Conference of Deans of Faculties of Medicine in France aims to throw out alternative medicine from the universities
  • Edzard Ernst: https://edzardernst.com/2026/06/quackademia-in-france/
  • La Gazette France: https://www.lagazettefrance.fr/article/dans-certaines-universites-des-diplomes-de-medecines-alternatives-qui-posent-probleme

0:36:13 QUOTE AND FAREWELL

“Many people are drawn to magical thinking — to the idea of something gentle and natural that treats not the symptom but the person. Trust doctors; don’t be taken in by these things that are circulating. Science demands intellectual honesty. And let us not forget that the Galileos of this world are not the people selling magical thinking. Science is built on doubt. The speed of light is not decided by a show of hands or by majority vote.”
/ Piero Angela (22 December 1928 – 13 August 2022), Italian science journalist, television host, and essayist. /

0:38:03 OUTRO

0:39:25 OUT-TAKES