– and BTW, Elvis really has left the building – no matter what psychic mediums sayThis week we first chat about a “psychic medium” who is friendly with Elvis and touch on the Tories in the UK who apparently is friendly with no one, not even themselves. Then Kevin Davies of the Canberra Skeptics joins us and tells all about the Australian Skeptics National Convention 2022 where we will be in December! In TWISH we hear about Tycho Brahe and his achievements and Pope Frankie is still infallible and...
Oct 28, 2022•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast – and get your flu shot, people!This week the full crew is back and we urge you to take the flu seriously. We recommend a video of a presentation by Germany skeptic Amardeo Sarma about critical thinking, find out how to pronounce ‘that town’ in the Netherlands and feel sad that Robbie ‘Hagrid’ Coltrane passed away. In TWISH we celebrate 100 years with the BBC, and then it’s time for the news:RUSSIA: The online guide Russians use to escape Putin’s warGERMANY: 75-year-old conspiracy theorist woman...
Oct 21, 2022•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast – Lauterbach takes on pseudoscienceBrian Eggo steps in to save the day as he covers for both András and Annika this week. We talk about listener reactions to last week’s episode and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the last of this year’s Nobel prizes in the natural sciences. In TWISH we reminisce about QED 2018 as we prepare attending the next one. Pontus Pokes the Pope for his failure to handle the relations to Russia but give’s him a broken clock award for taking a stand for refugees. Then it is...
Oct 14, 2022•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast – we’re back in the Dark AgesWe start this week with commenting on the winners of the two first Nobel Prizes this year – Svante Pääbo who won the prize in Medicine or Physiology and the trio of Aspect, Clauser and Zeilinger who shares the Physics prize. We also celebrate the first ever female European commander of the ISS, Samantha Cristoforetti, before we travel back in time with our TWISH-machine and acknowledge this week’s birthday bay, Denis Diderot. Then we dig into the news:UK: The dark si...
Oct 07, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast – don’t listen to the fish and chips physicianThis week we have several things to get through before the actual show – the Swedish Skeptics at the international book fair in Gothenburg, the Hungarian Skeptics at the upcoming HungaroCon, the new book from the SGU (The Skeptic’s Guide to the Future), a listener question about organic farming and reactions to the Italian elections. In TWISH (This Week in Skeptical History) we hear about the Voronezh UFO incident.Then it’s time for the news:CONFLICT...
Sep 30, 2022•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast – Frankie has found his own 007!This week we reveal further plans about our travels and about Skepticamp at QED. We also have listener feedback about air quality in planes regarding last week’s Really Wrong. No TWISH this week, but Pope Frankie has found a super Cardinal to drop behind enemy lines for covert operations. And then we look into this week’s news:GERMANY: Honorable mention of HomöopaTeaUK: Charles feels vindicated for going organic. He is wrong.UKRAINE: UFOs above KievSWEDEN: Pontus ...
Sep 23, 2022•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast – but at least the bees were informed of the death of their queenWe’re back from ESC in Vienna! Thanks to all who came up and said hi to us, that was a blast! This week we reflect on what Charles III, the king of SCAM, may mean for skepticism and what there is to say about the Swedish election results. For TWISH we get to learn about Foucault and his pendulum, a simple but brilliant demonstration of the rotation of the Earth. We leave the poking-of-the-Pope for next week and dig into the news:GE...
Sep 16, 2022•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast – a carnival of Cardinals says it’s permittedThis week we are packing our bags for the ESC Vienna – hope to see you there! But we also have plans for QED – András and Pontus will both talk at Skepticamp, and BREAKING NEWS! – live recording of the ESP has now been announced! In TWISH we celebrate 200 years of “cardinal” permission of the heliocentric model and in more current Vatican news, Pope Frankie elevates a predecessor who is now on his way to full sainthood. Then there is the news:GERMANY:...
Sep 09, 2022•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast – and Francis flips the birdAndrás is back and we chat about next week’s upcoming European Skeptics’ Congress in Vienna – the ESC, and we’re looking forward to go! Mikhail Gorbachev died and we comment a bit on what he meant for Russia and the contrast Putin is compared to him. Going back to the autumns events there is also QED where the winners of the Ockham Award and the Rusty Razor will be announced. Listeners can now put in their nominations for the best Skeptical activism and the most promi...
Sep 02, 2022•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast – speaking of cults, Mother Teresa wasn’t much of a saintTurns out the “hunger stone” found in Elbe is not a photo from this year. It’s almost like you cannot trust the internet any more… Climate change is here to stay, regardless. In TWISH (This Week in Skeptical History) we hear about Mother Teresa, probably the best known modern saints of all, and we learn that she was in fact pretty mean and cruel. The guy who made her a saint (Francis) gets a poking for messing with the on-going “trial of t...
Aug 26, 2022•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast – nepotism, bribes and orgies in the Vatican!We start the episode with some listener feedback that led us to look a bit deeper into Mindfulness and find that it’s worse than we thought. We share the sad news that the great Italian science communicator and skeptic super hero, Piero Angela, has passed away at the respectable age of 93. In TWISH we take a look at pope Alexander VI who was an intriguing figure and who also has a legacy that pope Francis has to deal with to this day. Speaking of Fran...
Aug 19, 2022•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast – a look into the Vatican’s hidden financesWe start by revisiting last week’s sad news about Dr Kellermayr and explore the reactions of other skeptical activists. In TWISH we learn about Peter Atkins, professor extraordinaire in physical chemistry. A deep dive this week in the busines of Pope Francis, both regarding his recent apology and trip to the indigenous peoples of Canada (did he do enough?), and also then into the hidden finances of the Vatican which we suddenly know much more about than...
Aug 12, 2022•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast – also, climate change is a ‘total meltdown’More confusion regarding the collaboration between Roscosmos and NASA, Tantra is back on the menu and (on a not so skeptical note) today marks the release of the Beatles ‘Revolver’ album. Pope Frankie finally went to Canada, which was a literal ‘feather in is cap‘. Then we have a look at the news:DENMARK: Russian oil and gas supply issues could drive green transitionUK: Heatwave basically impossible without climate changeINTERNATIONAL: Total climate me...
Aug 05, 2022•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast – student writes bill for UK Parliament re climate change educationThis week we mention that Eurovision will be held in UK next year, that Steven Pinker makes clear that ESP is not real (but WE are!) and Annika clarifies how the police system is organised in Germany. No TWISH or Pope this week so we skip right into the news:UK: TikTok is fastest growing source of news for adultsUKRAINE: Google to be banned in Donetsk and LuhanskGERMANY: Manual on climate communication publishedUK: Students write...
Jul 31, 2022•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast – with special guests Alice and MarshThis week we have celebrity company in the form of Alice Howarth and Michael “Marsh” Marshall of Skeptics with a K fame! Before they tell all about QED in October, we chat a bit about the LHC firing up again, EU law suits against Hungary, homeopathy against the heath wave and the brand new interview with Claire Klingenberg on Skeptical Inquirer conducted by Annika. In TWISH we here about Sir Richard Owen and his role in in founding the Natural History Museum ...
Jul 22, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast – propaganda is for petty dictatorsThis week we celebrate the news of the return of QED Skepticamp, courtesy the lovely SITP online team. Space is fascinating as demonstrated by the new images from the James Webb telescope. In TWISH we also talk about space and the Apollo – Soyuz Test Project, which launched this week 47 years ago. It made us think that space was out-of-bounds for politics (ah, we were naïve…). Pope Frankie cannot help hinting that he may resign some day while still being busier...
Jul 15, 2022•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast How was your day, fellow Skeptic?We’re half-way to hell (666), but not only is Pontus back, but we also have that lovely Queen of European Skeptics Claire Klingenberg with us, so what’s to complain about? Pontus explains why he has been absent lately and Claire talks about a very disconcerting incidence at a recent science fair. In TWISH we celebrate Newton’s ‘Principia’ which lay the ground for much of modern science, over three hundred years ago. The Pope gets a poking for not knowing his DNA ...
Jul 08, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nope. But he gets a Really Right!We have a rare third host today! Luna is part of this episode.Starting with sad news about the Oslo shooting, we then talk about Scotland's discussion about independence.This week's TWISH congratulates Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz to his birthday on the 1st of July 1646. They discuss what a Staffelwalze is (aptly named Leibniz wheel) and András mentions important facts about the mathematician's life.The news this week were the following:GERMANY: Could Sucharit Bakhd...
Jul 03, 2022•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast What is humour allowed to do?Despite us still missing a cheery Hejsan Hejsan, we are back with a new episode! We talk about Nikil Mukerji (interviewed in Episode 252), who wrote a paper about Bullshit with his colleague Adriano Mannino. If you want to meet skeptics like Nikil Mukerji, then European Skeptics Congress in Vienna is the right place for you. Early bird prices still apply until the 30th of June! Another ESC we talk about is the Eurovision Song Contest, which will not take place in Ukr...
Jun 26, 2022•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast András and Annika are back and tell us all about upcoming events! The European Skeptics Congress in September in Vienna is sure exciting to go to, as is QED in October in Manchester! To round our number of conferences up, we have also been invited to go to Australia! Check your drop bears!To celebrate this momentous chain of events, we issue a competition: If you can meet us at all three conferences, we will give you a beer (or beverage of your choice)! Come see us!In TWISH András tells us all a...
Jun 17, 2022•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast An unusually short episode this week brought to you by Annika and András, featuring the first record of a ball-lightning observation in the English speaking world from 1195 AD, then we talk about a prison sentence over a fake diagnostic tool in Germany. And of course, we finish on a fitting quote from Plato. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jun 12, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Frankie appoints a carnival of CardinalsAndrás is back and tells us not how to stand on a volcano, we have some listener feedback about YouTube banning videos and the QED conference release their tickets on 13 June. Mark you calendars for 28-30 October! We then interview Jelena Lenka Příplatová from the Czech Skeptics (Český klub skeptiků Sisyfos) about their Erratic Boulders Awards the was announced on 27 May. In TWISH we celebrate the founding of the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences way back ...
Jun 03, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast We need to fight for abortion rights – againMonkeypox is coming – is that the new pandemic? Our favourite ESC is the European Skeptics Congress in Vienna in September and we’re counting on seeing you there. The DA! Awards are coming and if you live in Germany you should register your nominations. Then we have an error correction from last week regarding horses and snails… No TWISH today so we jump right into Pope Francis meeting with Bono (of U2 fame) and a pretty remarkable exchange between the...
May 27, 2022•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nessie is back – unless the camera is onUkraine wins the Eurovision Song Contest and Putin is not happy about it. On the other hand the other ESC – the European Skeptics Congress – should make everybody happy! Register now! Guerilla Skepticism on Wikipedia, GSOW, is a great thing and Annika celebrates five years on the team. In TWISH we learn about Heinz Oberhummer who was born this week in 1941 and the Pope has a bunch of cardinals in trouble so he has replaced the communion wine with tequila. ...
May 21, 2022•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Covid death toll is more likely 15 million according to WHOAnnika is back! and after discussing stupid Putin and his failed war a little, we turn our focus to space. We look towards the black hole in the Milky Way to get as far away as possible and yes, Norway really has this very special space programme about fish in space. In TWISH (This Week in Skeptical History) we revisit the legend of the Apparitions of Our Lady of Fàtima since it all started this week in 1917. No pope today, so instead we...
May 13, 2022•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Russia takes post-truth to new levelsMostly bad news this week, but on the bright side we have The Skeptic’s Guide soon to come out with their new book The Skeptic’s Guide to the Future (pre-order it now!) and the upcoming European Skeptics Congress in Vienna. See you there! This week we celebrate Sir David Attenborough‘s 96th birthday and we take a look at Pope Francis and his dealings with the other “Pope”, Patriarch Kirill, also known as Putin’s altar boy. Then we go through some news:RUSSIA:...
May 06, 2022•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast Social Psychology and conspiracy theoriesIn quick news the Hungarian Skeptics has announced Gábor Varga as their Flat Earth Award winner for 2022 and also we keep reminding all listeners to sign up for European Skeptics Congress in Vienna in September.This week we interview Péter Krekó who is a social psychologist and an expert in conspiracy theories. We talk about everything from state propaganda and the pandemic to how social media has changed the environment for all of us and how and why it h...
Apr 29, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast In other news, don’t leave a mark on your pyjamasIn Hungary they are busy preparing for the flat Earth awards and András will be one of many excellent speakers at SkeptiCal in California. Here in Europe you should still sign up for the European Skeptics Congress! This week sees the birthday of “the Iceman”, Wim Hof. Don’t fall for his pseudo-nonsense. Nonsense is also rampant in the Archdiocese in Cologne but Pope Frankie is saying ‘la-la-la’ and looking the other way. Then, of course we have th...
Apr 22, 2022•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Zelensky is not Soros’ cousinWe remind you again to sign up for the European Skeptics Congress! It’s going to be great!In other news, Darwin’s iconic ‘evolution as a tree’-notebook has been mysteriously returned which is good news in a pink bag. Our notes on conversion therapy last week got some terfs really upset on Twitter, but of course they get it all wrong. For TWISH we celebrate the birth of Christiaan Huygens, a true spirit of the enlightenment already in the 17th century. No poking this ...
Apr 15, 2022•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tickets released for the European Skeptics Congress! Sign up!The Hungarian elections did not go well and that’s not a political statement but a skeptical one. Propaganda is everywhere, but we put our hopes in the European Skeptics Congress in Vienna in September. We will be there and we count on all of you to be there too! Chris French is the topic for TWISH (happy birthday, Chris!) and the Flat Earth award is coming up in Hungary. Pope Francis makes a decent apology but the legal stuff is yet t...
Apr 08, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
