The Cadaver's Lessons

Medicine has always sought ways to alleviate suffering. And sometimes, in that search, it silenced people instead. Welcome to The Cadaver’s Lessons . In this episode, we confront one of the darkest chapters in psychiatric care: the rise of the lobotomy and the man who helped turn it into a medical sensation— Dr. Walter Freeman . Once hailed as a miracle cure for mental illness, the lobotomy was pr...

Unwired: The Lobotomy Legacy Medicine has always been a little… experimental. And some ideas refuse to stay buried. Welcome to The Cadaver’s Lesson , a podcast exploring the strange, fascinating, and unsettling history of medicine. In this episode, we look into one of psychiatry’s darkest chapters: the lobotomy—and how a desperate search for cures led to irreversible harm. From the pivotal case of...

Amanda Fielding: Drilling into Consciousness Medicine—and the mind—have always pushed against the edges of what we think is possible. And some questions refuse to stay locked inside the skull. Welcome to The Cadaver’s Lesson , a podcast exploring the strange, fascinating, and unsettling history of medicine. In this episode, we step away from the operating theater and into the realm of consciousnes...

Trepanation: What’s a little hole in the skull? Medicine has always been a little… experimental. And some ideas refuse to stay buried. Welcome to The Cadaver’s Lesson , a podcast exploring the strange, fascinating, and unsettling history of medicine. In this episode, we open the skull—carefully—to examine trepanation , one of humanity’s oldest surgical practices, and its surprising survival into m...

Medicine has always been a little… experimental. And every lesson has a body count. Welcome to The Cadaver’s Lesson , a podcast exploring the strange, fascinating, and unsettling history of medicine. From early anatomy and experimental treatments to rare diagnoses and cases where medicine collides with crime, we examine how medical ideas began, why they made sense at the time, and what they reveal...