Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine

Now that there have been malaria cases popping up in the United States, we bring the full episode about the disease from 2015. So learn all about malaria in the past, and Dr. Sydnee will have an update about malaria in the present.  Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/ Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinsawb...

Sound can sometimes be therapeutic, like listening to white noise to help fall asleep. But can a big egg-shaped hut use the theory of quantum realms and vibrations to cure everything with love and frequencies? Um . . . no. But someone seemed to think so. Dr. Sydnee and Justin explain the Harmonic Egg, how it’s supposed to work, and how it came about. Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://tax...

Start the summer off smarter with the answers to listener medical questions! What old-timey diseases should I worry about if I time travel? Are meat sweats a real thing? Is there any risk in being exposed to drugs in giving someone mouth-to-mouth? And why does Aleve get the short end of the stick when it comes to choice painkillers? Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.co...

Most people have probably heard of gangrene, a condition that causes tissue to become necrotic. But Fournier’s Gangrene is a more . . . targeted version, specifically affecting the perineum, or taint. Justin and Dr. Sydnee discuss who Dr. Fournier was and how he (deservedly or not) put his name on this very specific infection. Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/ Hel...

Sometimes Sawbones covers timely topics, like the latest adulterant in a substance people like to put in their bodies. Xylazine, or “tranq,” is the new one exacerbating the opioid crisis. Dr. Sydnee talks about the history of Xylazine and how to approach it now. But all in all, the best way to help would be to stop managing a medical condition with the justice system instead of health care. Music:...

Recently, the FDA has updated their guidelines on who can donate blood and when – an update that has long been demanded. So we bring the full episode about Dr. Charles Drew and the history of blood donation, along with the new guidelines and why these changes were finally made. Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/ Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Beco...

Live from Columbus, Ohio, home of the first Wendy's, and also COSI, the Center of Science and Industry! Justin and Dr. Sydnee bring forward one of the world's oldest medical mysteries: what happened to King Tut? Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/ Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinsawbones

The third Hepatitis to be discovered, appropriately named Hepatitis C, is an infection that primarily affects the liver, but often has non-specific symptoms. Dr. Sydnee and Justin trace the strange history of this virus, how it spreads, and why testing for it is more important than ever.    Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/ Help support this show and unlock bonus...

Justin takes the wheel as he once again brings out the official Marvel Anatomy book to discuss the science of comic book superpowers. He and Dr. Sydnee discuss the feasibility of abilities in characters like Daredevil, The Invisible Woman, Captain America, Spider Woman, and The Lizard.   Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/ Help support this show and unlock bonus con...

Recently a number of states have passed restrictions for gender-affirming care for those under 18, but shouldn't it be medical professionals, not states, whose expertise should be considered? Dr. Sydnee goes through what this medical treatment really is and the history of how we developed it, how it works, and the research that shows that yes, it does work to help save lives. Music: "Medicines" by...

Why do people start losing the pigment in their hair as they grow older? Well, it might be one of those things that we don't entirely understand, though there are some new studies that offer some ideas. But that didn't stop people throughout history from trying to find ways to keep their hair from turning grey. Of course, Justin doesn't need any of these methods because he has surprisingly little...

Mifepristone, known colloquially as the abortion pill, has recently been in the news as its future availability in the United States comes into question. Dr. Sydnee and Justin go through the history of the medicine, from how it was discovered to how it was approved to what happened over the summer to change that. Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/ Help support this...

Blowing your nose is maybe the only small glint of satisfaction had while having a cold or sinus infection. But is blowing your nose actually good, or even safe? Dr. Sydnee and Justin look through the history of handkerchiefs and nose-wiping to the science of what happens to your sinuses when you blow your nose in order to try and find a happy medium. Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://ta...

The Great Stink of 1858 has highlights from some of the Sawbones Greatest Hits: the controversy of hand washing, the miasma theory of disease. and cholera. Which is all to say: it took humanity a long time to figure out that we shouldn't be drinking poop. Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/ Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://...

We wanted to share a little teaser of our MaxFunDrive Bonus Content, so here's a short clip of Dr. Sydnee and Charlie addressing kid medical questions. If you want to hear the whole thing, head over to maximumfun.org/join to get access to this, plus the bonus content from MaxFunDrives past. Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinsawbones

Dr. Sydnee and Justin go through the marvelous Marvel Anatomy book, which explains how many comic book heroes' superpowers work. Where does the Hulk's strength come from? How does Spider-Man climb walls? How does Captain Marvel shoot energy out of her hands? And is any of it anatomically or medically plausible at all? Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/ Help support...

Lice aren’t just a longtime annoyance of school aged kids, they’ve actually been around longer than people. Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about the history of trying to get rid of these creatures as well as some common misconceptions. Be warned: your head will be itchy during this episode. Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/ Help support this show and unlock bonus cont...

It's another Sawbones: Medical Questions, and we're gonna go full Galaxy Brain on these listener-submitted queries. What is methalated B-12? Can my appendix grow back and give me appendicitis ad infinitum? Does sugar help tongue burns or is it just tasty? And most importantly, how do I tell my friend to stop listening to TikTok for medical advice? Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpay...

People have been dying of the inflammation of the appendix long before anyone even knew what this little finger-like organ was good for. Dr. Sydnee goes through the history of the first accidental appendix removal, to the long journey to figuring the true cause of abdominal distress. And most importantly: What's the one place where you MUST have your appendix removed before visiting? Music: "Medic...

There are lots of things that aren’t medicine. Taxes. Pound cake. One thing that is definitely not a medicine but at a time was thought as one? Ketchup! Dr. Sydnee goes through ketchup’s journey from a fermented non-tomato condiment to the condiment we know and love, including its brief stint as Dr. Miles’ Extract of Tomato. Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/ Help...

Dr. Sydnee and Justin don't actually like grapefruits, so it's irrelevant to them, but grapefruit juice is known to interact poorly with many medications. Given the wide variety of fruits and their juices, it seems strange this is such an outlier. How was this anomaly discovered, and why exactly does it do what it does? Atlas Obscura article, "Grapefruit is One of the Weirdest Fruits on the Planet...

Have you ever been interrupted on a college campus by someone asking about your latest incident of intimate kissing? That's because they were trying to track the spread of a common infection called mononucleosis, or mono. Dr. Sydnee goes over the history of how the virus that caused mono was tracked down, and how it's tested for now. Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.c...

If you're like Dr. Sydnee and your TikTok algorithm keeps advertising medical substances at you, perhaps you've heard of asafoetida. It's a pungent resin derived from a plant, and has culinary appeal as well as reportedly some medical benefits. But what, if any, research and evidence do we have about these medicinal claims? And most importantly, what does it really smell like? We need to know, for...

In 2001, the United States was under a biological attack from strange spores in mailed envelopes. This is a lot of people's first introduction to anthrax, a bacteria often associated with both domestic and wild animals. But what is anthrax, how is it spread, and where did it come from? To clarify, this episode is about the disease, not the metal band. Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://ta...

The Sawbones Medical Quiz is back and better than ever, with questions about this past year's episodes! What have you learned about bad fast food, Senate contenders, pirate medicine, and owls? Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/ Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinsawbones