The Poor Historians: Medical History Misadventures

This is the final episode for the Poor Historians Podcast. It's been a wonderful ride and we're happy to end on what we think is a high note, talking about the topic that interested Dr. Max in starti…

If you've ever wondered why your over-the-counter pill bottles have that annoying little foil under the cap, you'll be happy to know it's there for good reason. It all stems from this true-crime meet…

We welcome our special guest historian to discuss an overview of issues affecting medical history and it's approaches to women's health during the late 19th century into the early 20th. We'll talk ab…

This is a fascinating and complicated dive into the history behind the first placebos and observations of their effects. We'll do our best not to lose our own minds trying to sort out the complexitie…

This episode was brought to you by our main source, the excellent book on the topic by Matthew C. Ehrlich entitled, The Krebiozan Hoax: How a mysterious Cancer Drug Shook Organized Medicine. Check it…

This episode is a blend of true crime and criminal ineptitude. We'll walk through the story of how a gaggle of NYC barflys in the early 20th century U.S. Prohibition Era conspired (very badly) to mur…

This is one of those episodes where we're happy to have Alba's perspective. We'll explore the history of breast surgery, it's various early procedures, and a host of things done to change women's che…

History does have a way of repeating itself--at least in broad strokes. In this episode we'll discuss the first opiate crisis the U.S. ever suffered and do a bit of comparison to modern times. From o…

It's probably popular knowledge that alcohol as a substance of use--and potential misuse--has been with humankind since our earliest days. In this episode, Dr. Mike explores the earliest references t…

Thanks to a fan suggestion, we went ahead and gave this TV series about an ER doctor turned concierge physician for the rich and famous a try.

It had its moments.

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We've had many requests for this topic over the years and Dr. Aaron finally took charge of it. We'll explore the crossroads of medical history and medical ethics as it applies to the case of Henriett…

In the early 19th century, pioneers on the American western frontier were dying of an unusual illness. It even claimed the life of Nancy Lincoln, mother of the accomplished wrestler (and incidental p…

We have a new piece of medicine infused awful cinema to check out. We reviewed Madame Web and boy was it bad, not only as a movie, but also as a portrayal of EMS medicine.  

Way to go, Marvel.

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In the 1930's (and before), there was a mysterious cause of infant mortality. An astonishing number of newborns were victim to a mismatch between their blood type, and that of their mothers. Doctors …

If you can believe it, watching people walk around was once a spectator sport. It was the Gilded Age and there weren't many options for sport entertainment. We'll investigate how the participants in …

We said that episode one of this TV series was bad, medically and critically speaking. Maybe that's not fair. It was a pilot, after all. 

We went ahead and checked out episode 2. 

It was worse.

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When a mysterious gastrointestinal illness starts turning into a dangerous neurologic disease accompanied by green tongues in post WWII Japan, researches scramble to find out why people are becoming …

From the discovery of this well-known medication, to the science behind its function, and spanning all the way to treatments for the underlying condition of erectile dysfunction as well as a complica…

The Patrons have spoken! They suggested we lend our medical expertise in a new and unique manner, by watching, reacting, and reviewing a popular medical show. We chose "The Resident" and boy-oh-boy w…

We invited Jerry Landry, host of the exceptional Presidencies of the U.S. Podcast onto the show today to help us discuss the clandestine surgery at sea that was done on President Grover Cleveland in …