The Poor Historians: Medical History Misadventures

Nov 06 2024 105 ep. 56 mins 74

The Poor Historians: Medical History Misadventures Podcast artwork

This is a show for all the nerdy medical history people.

Three modern emergency physicians and their show's "medical history intern" take a lighthearted, humorous quest through various stories in the history of medicine. Topics from ancient times to recent history, all related to important advancements, people, or discoveries in the history of medicine.

New episodes every two weeks!

History Comedy Health & Fitness

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The Finale - John Hunter, the Founder of Scientific Surgery

Nov 06 2024 89 mins

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 starting a show about medical history in the first place. The chief source for this episode is "The Knife Man" a book by Wendy Moore talking about the life, times, and accomplishments of the

The Chicago Tylenol Murders and Halloween Sadism

Oct 23 2024 54 mins

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 meets toxicology story. We'll lay it all out here in this episode.Support the show-----PHPod Merch Store (t-shirts and other swag)-----Podcast Linktree (social media links / reviews / ratin

Comstock Laws and Women's Health in the Gilded Age with Special Guest, Alicia Gutierrez-Romine, PhD

Oct 09 2024 66 mins

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 about Anthony Comstock and his silly morality-influenced laws, discuss early forms of contraception, and will examine all of this amidst the cultural milieu of the era. We'll go out on a

The Origins of Placebos and their Effects

Sep 25 2024 71 mins

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 complexities of the placebo effect as we understood it simply in the past, and try to contrast that with all of the newer science on the topic. This gets weird.Sources:Wikipedia: Placebo https://e

The Krebiozen Hoax-An Infamous Quack Cancer Treatment

Sep 11 2024 71 mins

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 out via that link and show the author some love. It's a great addition to your medical history library.This is the story of how a 22-year elaborate hoax was delivered to the American p

The Multiple Murder Attempts of "Durable" Mike Malloy: A Medical History Perspective

Aug 28 2024 63 mins

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 murder an Irish immigrant who would later be nicknamed "The Irish Rasputin" for his incredible survival of multiple attempts on his life. How did this all transpire, medically speaking? Le

A History of Breast Surgery: Wax, Oil, and Silicone

Aug 14 2024 74 mins

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 chests for a variety of reasons.References: https://citylights.com/topographies/cleavage-man-made-breasts/ Cleavage book, Nora Jacobson, 2000 (MAIN SOURCE)Squeezing saline bag story, https

The First U.S. Opiate Crisis: The Civil War and the Opium Eaters

Jul 31 2024 60 mins

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 opium, to morphine, to heroin, these substances have been a part of civilization for much longer than most realize.If you or someone you know may be struggling with opiates or other addi

Alcohol in Civilization, Culture, and Medical History

Jul 17 2024 68 mins

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 to alcohol and takes us through a tour of it's evolution alongside various cultures and eventual recognition as a poison that is capable of great harm. This includes an overview of early

Royal Pains: Medical Movie Show Review

Jul 10 2024 79 mins

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.Support the show-----PHPod Merch Store (t-shirts and other swag)-----Podcast Linktree (social media links / reviews / ratings)-----#medicine #medicalhistory #history #historypodcast