It is European Immunization Week! Get your boosters and jabs folks, and make you and the people around you are safe! In TWISH this week we hear about John Oliver, British comedian who (whether you like him or not) understands science and the need for healthy skepticism. Then we of course take a look at the news: ITALY: Italy passes measures to allo…

The report on DISC analysis and Thomas Erikson from last week generated some good feedback, it’s time for the John Maddox prize again and Susan Gerbic has a new YouTube channel that you should definitely check out. Don’t forget to book your ticket for the European Skeptics Congress in Lyon! In TWISH we hear about Norbert Schobert, the Hungarian fit…

A bit of a correction first, regarding earthquakes. Then we get some Vatican news with speculation about a Swedish ‘papabile’, plus idiotic statements about genders. In TWISH we hear about Paolo Frisi, an Italian university dropout who in the 18th century went on to become a polymath. Then we have a look at the news: EUROPE: Whooping cough on the r…

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 i…

Who knew that Hungarian intellectuals where numerologists – András reveals all! We have correction from last week and also reflect over the illness of Princess Kate, naturally we wish her well. In this weeks TWISH we hear about Percy Shelley and how his atheism ruined his academic career – to the benefit of mankind. Then, it’s time for the news: IN…

Flying unicorns exist in Portugal and you can vote for your favorites on the Portuguese Skeptics’ web site (COMCEPT) before 1 April. By coincidence this is also the deadline for getting the Early Bird discount for the European Skeptics Congress in Lyon, so sign up in time! On a sadder note, Annika will have to take a few months off from the podcast…

Brian Eggo is certainly bo no stranger to this podcast. Relentless in his quest to spread the skeptical world, he is known as the main force behind the Glasgow Skeptics, one of the great people behind Skeptics in the Pub - Onlin and a frequent speaker and guest on several podcasts. This week we interview him about the time when the big C came to hi…

We start with some listener feedback and corrections regarding Tridentinosaurus Antiquus – the origin of its name was wrong and despite what we said, it wasn’t a a dinosaur. In TWISH we hear about Gerardus Mercator, the man behind most world maps. Then we get to the news: SWEDEN: Companies exploit fear of war to sell pretty useless and expensive “e…

This week we have the great pleasure to interview our friend Prof. Chris French! We hear a lot about his research into the paranormal – or Anomalistic Psychology as he prefers to call it. Chris has a new book coming out on 19 March. It’s called “the Science of Weird Shit” and we cannot recommend it enough! (we were lucky enough to get a sneak peek)…

This week we’ve had some feedback regarding AI – always glad to hear from our listeners! In TWISH we hear about Charles Clermont-Ganneau, famous French archeologist with a flare for spotting fake artifacts. Then we turn to the news: INTERNATIONAL: Fossil forgery – famous specimen shown to be fake, and it is not alone FRANCE: Experts identify Moscow…

Luna sits in for András(!) and we talk about conspiracy theories regarding the earthquake in Turkey last year, a new study about peoples worldview and in TWISH we get into the curse of Tutankhamun – what really was going on? Then we have a look at the news: UK: Sexual harassment anyone? Chiropractic council is there for chiropractors, not for patie…

King Charles III is ill and although we seldom agrees with him we still whish him a speedy recovery. Marcus Wandt, the Swedish astronaut, took time off his busy schedule and gave a called via link with students at a Swedish school – the teacher setting it up is active in VoF, the Swedish skeptics. Well done, Philippe! Marcus has been stuck on the I…

We start with some listener feedback and ponder the wonders of European languages before we turn to TWISH, where we hear about Bertrand Russell and his teapot. Then we go into the news: INTERNATIONAL: Measles update SWITZERLAND: Homeopathy in Switzerland AUSTRIA: The Austrian Medical Academy exposed for peddling pseudomedicine INTERNATIONAL: Fundin…

This week we interview the fabulous Anja Harrison (no relation to any of the hosts) about a great initiative – The Collaborative Library. Having met Anja at QED last year, we decided we just had to get her on the show. The ambitious plan of the Collaborative Library is to make scientific research much more accessible for the public, by making sure …

By the time this episode comes out, Sweden hopefully has its third and latest astronaut in space! Marcus Wandt is schedule for launch on Wednesday, (nope) Thursday evening, European time. For a little more down-to-Earth skeptical fun, sign up for the European Skeptics Congress, 30 May – 2 June, in Lyon, France. Registrations are now open! No TWISH …

Sorry for the delay guys, but we’re back! We have a host of tips for our listeners to get engaged in in the new year. In this week’s TWISH we hear about the Basel Massacre in 1349, gruesome stuff. Then we look at the news: ROMANIA: Measles declared an epidemic after infant death INTERNATIONAL: Large language models validate misinformation UK: King …

Suddenly Poland emerges as a possible example against populism in Europe – strange times indeed. In TWISH we hear about Marconi‘s groundbreaking radio transmission over the Atlantic – not very long ago when you think about it, and pretty cool since he didn’t really know how radio waves work! In the news this week we look at these items: SWEDEN: Sup…

First we mention that the prestigious Heinz Oberhummer Award has just been given to Die Sendung mit der Maus which we recently called out for being Really Wrong. Annika puts that into perspective for us. It is time to plan the trip to next year’s European Skeptics Congress, this time in Lyon France, 30 May to 2 June. We then ask if Pope Frankie is …

In TWISH this week we hear about Claude Lévi-Strauss who put together a structuralist theory to analyze myths. We also hear that Pope Frankie is sick but still plans to attend the COP-28 meeting in Dubai – we cannot help wondering why. Then it’s time for the news: ISRAEL: Most common rumors related to the Israel-Hamas war GERMANY: Court dismisses l…

In this week’s TWISH we hear about Trofim Lysenko before we look into the news: EU: Glyphosate update INTERNATIONAL: Nostalgia in politics UK: The Good Law Project supports the General Medical Council taking action against harmful misinformation NORTHERN IRELAND: ‘The Hum’ is back! Naturopaths selling Miracle Mineral Supplements (MMS) are promoting…

Despite the numerology, this episode CAN be found wherever you get your podcasts. We will give you tips about The Conspiracy Test, the Humanist UK 2024 Convention, the latest Skeptical Inquirer interview and Skepticon 2023 in Australia – all good things to check out! In TWISH we hear about one of Darwin’s buddies, the groundbreaking (pun intended) …

After the normal meet and greet, we have an interview with Norbert Aust – German skeptic and one of the initiators of INH, Information Network Homeopathy. He brings us up to date on what’s going on and reports on the fight to get fraudulent and incorrect ‘scientific’ papers retracted. We later get a ‘TWISH’ about the ‘Festival of Reason’, a failed …

– with Paula Dahlberg Full length episode, plus an interesting interview this week. We first note that science has discovered the “Pontus plate” (much to our liking) and also that if you are quick you can still apply to give a talk at SkepKon in Augsburg in May. Then we hear about the sad passing of Peter Olausson, prominent skeptic and former pres…

Starting off our next 400 episodes, we interview the amazing Cara Santa Maria of Talk Nerdy and Skeptic Guide to the Universe fame. We get into things about her that you may not be aware of – how she rebelled against her Mormon upbringing, her passion for social injustices, and why she cannot always be allowed to speak her mind on the Skeptics Guid…

The band is back together for episode 400! Watch out for Gerson therapy, confusing Synods and of course, this week’s news:UK: Phones in schoolsPOLAND: End of the PiS party reign(?)BELGIUM: Catholic University of Leuven stops UFO ‘conference’SWITZERLAND: Another tumor ‘treated naturally’UK: ‘Relaxed’ climate change policies in the UK, but also elsew…

SkepKon 2024 is coming up in May 2024! It will be held in Augsburg and there is a call for papers out, see link in the show notes. This episode comes out on Friday the 13th, so in TWISH we explore where this superstition comes from. We have an interview with Dr Holm Hümmler who tells us what really went down at the presentation of Das Goldene Brett…

This is the second part of our reporting from QED 2023. Before we get into the interviews we comment on the brand new Nobel Prizes in Medicine, Physics and Chemistry, all awarded for fascinating progress in science! Then we have four new interviews to share from QED.Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; Interview; Additional Interviews; Farewell; Outro…

Last week was QED, and boy did we enjoy it! Fantastic talks, great happenings and wonderful people!This episode is part 1 of our interviews with some of the people we met.Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; Interview; About Qed; Additional Interviews; Farewell; Outro; Out-Takes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

…science communicator extraordinaire! This week we are talking to Florian Aigner, an Austrian physicist, science editor, author, science communicator and skeptic. He lives in Austria and works at the TU Vienna (Technical University). He is also on the jury of Das goldene Brett. He has written three popular science books and held the keynote speech …

Annika has been to the esoteric fair and gives a report and dowsing is apparently used by employees at Scottish Water. In TWISH we celebrate the International Day of Democracy, and boy do we need it. And then there is the news:INTERNATIONAL: Toddlers can reason!SWEDEN / UK: Believing in personal gut feelings and falling for conspiracy theoriesGERMA…

Several awards and gatherings to be on the look-out for: the Ockham Award, the Rusty Razor, the Bent Spoon and Das Goldene Brett. The feast of Santa Rosalia is the topic for TWISH and Pope Frankie is nostalgic about the Mongolian invasion (wtf?). Then, we have this week’s news:GERMANY: Follow-up on the Reichsbürger movementINTERNATIONAL: Prediction…

…and Nessie goes ‘gloop’ We’re happy to announce that the ESP Shop is now available in the US, Canada and Australia. We also want you to know that nominations for Das Goldene Brett is still open. In TWISH we hear about an encounter of the third kind and Frankie insists India don’t look the congregation in the eye more than half of the time. Then we…

…sleep restriction for insomnia? A lot of great talks are coming up for Skepticamp at QED in September – with András, Pontus and Claire among the speakers! In TWISH we hear about an almost 200 year old fake news about the moon and then we take a look at the news:UK: Asparagus fails to predict the futureSCOTLAND: Loch Ness might be ‘home to spirit e…

…Uri Geller strikes again… There are now streaming tickets for QED! In TWISH we hear about the three wise guys, sorry, the three wise men, and how they ended up in Cologne in Germany. No pope this week, so we head right in for the news:UK: Voter databank hacked and according to experts can potentially be used to target voters with disinformationINT…

…and the deep fakes grows deeper We start with listener feedback regarding burning the Quran and the best ways to boil a frog… We also announce our newly created merch store and there is still time to get your ESP t-shirt before QED. 15% off if you hurry!. In TWISH we hear about Sea Org day celebrated by scientologists and the pope gets poked for h…

…might get you pregnant?Another record with July being the hottest month ever. It may not matter since AI is here to finish us off before the climate crisis does… But the show must go on and in TWISH we hear about Alexander Fleming who was born this week in 1881, Pope Frankie is in Portugal for his own Woodstock, hoping that no one talks too much a…

…BTW, a ‘rutgängare’ uses a ‘slagruta’ in their professionThis week in TWISH we hear about Rosalind Franklin and Pope Frankie is on a diplomatic mission from God. In the news, we hear about:SWEDEN: Greta Thunberg gets fined for disobeying police, goes back to protest and confront police the same dayAUSTRIA: Wanted holocaust denier gets stopped by t…

This week, as we are finally all back together to record, we start by lamenting on the latest heatwaves and why we might be doomed, especially when we consider the current political stage in countries like Germany.We then interview Stefan Uttenthaler about the yearly 'Das Goldenes Brett' satirical award, before moving on to TWISH, in which we comme…

…holiday on Crimea? This war is no vacationSweden seems clear for NATO, but there is still time for Erdogan to trip things up. Two Skeptical awards are coming up, das Goldene Brett and the Ockham Awards. We have a special interview with international skeptic extraordinaire, Adrienne Hill! After that, we hear how Pope Frankie is packing the papal co…

…plus Nicola Throp tells all about QED!This week we’re saved once again by Brian Eggo, as we suddenly find ourselves very short on staff. What a guy!Some initial info is followed by an interview with Nicola Throp, one of the brilliant members of the QED organizing team. In TWISH we hear about Carl Vogt, the German scientist, philosopher and, not le…

…and someone is quacking in LatviaThis week we start by commenting on the strange developments in Russia and the Titan submersible. We call for speaker at QED SkeptiCamp recommend the work of Skeptical Science. And if anyone wants to meet up with András in the Baltic states, get in touch! In TWISH we hear about the Tunguska event and then as usual …

…be mindful of MāņticībaWe see signs of climate change all over the place and it’s worrying. Taking bus 666 to ‘Hel’ is not even an option anymore, but thankfully going to QED is still possible! Check out the link for the QED attendance fund if you cannot afford your ticket… In TWISH we hear about how it really went down when Galileo Galilei was fo…

…anthroposophy on fire?Full episode this week folks, with the premier of a new segment to boot (see below). We talk about Hvaldimir the Russian spy whale and remind you of Annika’s SITPO talk on 5 July and comment on feedback from last week’s interview. In TWISH we hear about the recent passing of Silvio Berlusconi and then demonstrate that the Cat…

This week we have a real treat for you – an interview with Brian Deer, the journalist who more than anyone showed the world how fraudulent Andrew Wakefield was when he claimed that there could be a link between the MMR vaccine and autism (spoiler – there isn’t).Enjoy!Segments: Intro; Greetings; Interview; Outro; Out-Takes Hosted on Acast. See acast…

We start by commenting on the sad passing of Tina Turner – even sadder since she at one point turned to homeopathy. That was a choice that she later regretted and it most likely made her condition much worse than it had to be. On a brighter note we have good news about QED in Manchester 23-24 September: first of all there is a QED Attendance Fund t…

…plus interviews from SkepKonPlease support Oliver Rautenberg in his defence against a SLAPP-suit! What’s up with the Turkish presidential elections? Annika delivers short interviews from SkepKon with Maximilian Doeckel and Rebecca Wismeg-Kammerlander and then we look into Pope Frankie‘s obsession with negotiating peace in Ukraine. After that, it’s…

…FYI, that’s not James Randi talkingThis week we reflect a bit on the Eurovision Song Contest and how people misunderstand the news about a baby “with three parents”. In TWISH we wish Ben Goldacre a happy birthday and then Pontus brings us up to date with Pope Frankie. And then, of course, the news:GERMANY: The Golden Board Award is back!IRELAND: A…

…or “SCAM”, if you willThis week we have lots of catching up to do, with sad news from Hungarian Skeptics, but also good news regarding skeptical meetings and activism in Germany, Hungary and Sweden. In TWISH we remember the founding of the Jagiellonian University over six hundred years ago this week. Then we dig into the news:INTERNATIONAL: WHO de…

…BTW, there was not a single monkey at the Scopes Monkey trialBrian Eggo is back to save the day once again! as András and Annika couldn’t make it. But we hope that just like them and us, you will all make it to QED in Manchester on 23-24 of September. We will certainly be there! Tickets are now out and they’re selling like, well, QED-tickets after…

…we also have a ‘defrogging’ for Pope Francis to look intoWe have Claire Klingenberg onboard this week and it means a packed show! We talk about the new interview with Claudia Preis, European immunization week and the Hungarian Flat Earth Award. Claire gives us a report from the growing anti-abortions movement in Czechia and we hear about several u…