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The History of Medicine

Explore the rich history of medicine, from the diseases that once plagued us, how the medicine we take for granted today came to be, and the curious characters and stories surrounding these topics. Updates every week, with breaks between seasons for additional research and planning. Our current topic: Pain. Episodes to resume in early October 2021! Past Season's topics: Season 1 - Antibiotics. Season 2 - Surgery/Anesthesia. Season 3 - Public Health. Season 4 - Mental Illness. Season 5 - Pain.
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Episodes

6.1 - Papyrus and Paralysis

This week, we talk about the highlights of neurological understanding, spanning from Ancient Egypt to the Romans to Medieval Islamic surgeons. Check out our website at https://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine! Transcripts and Sources here at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19hHEgjSdLvSjsd6K3frEFSD1p_fnFKpM?usp=sharing!...

Jan 29, 20249 minSeason 6Ep. 1

Returning to the Show

Good evening everyone. As you can tell, I've been gone for a bit longer that expected, for which I apologize. But I bear good news, I am all done getting married, and life has mostly settled down to normalcy again, so I've had time to do some research. I did previously settle on the history of physical rehabilitation as my next topic, but it's been tough to turn up reliable sources, so I'm likely to switch topics. If you've got an idea for a season topic, let me know in the next week or two! My ...

Aug 15, 202342 sec

Extending Hiatus More

Good evening everyone. As you can tell, I've been gone for even longer than expected, and I am sorry for that. I love doing this podcast, but it is a hobby for me. Between my research being very busy, wedding planning absolutely kicking my butt, and also throwing out my back for a week, it just hasn't been possible to get this season going yet. I'm still receiving mail from some of y'all, which as always makes me very happy. I hope to be back soon, as my back is all better now, and wedding plann...

Aug 24, 202236 sec

Extending Hiatus

Good evening everyone. As you can tell, I've been gone for a bit longer that expected, for which I apologize. I unfortunately also will need to extend my hiatus even longer. I did settle on the history of physical rehabilitation as my next topic, and have begun some research, but that was all de-railed by my fiance getting sick for a bit although she's fine now, and speaking of, I also got engaged. Turns out wedding planning is a lot of work, especially as supply chains are all messed up from Co...

Jun 27, 20221 min

5.20 - The Future

This week, we talk about the potential future of pain management. We talk about how opioids might be improved upon, and about how interdisciplinary approaches might become more accessible for all. If you've got topic ideas for the next season, send them my way! Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Apr 28, 20227 min

5.19 - Options Outside of Opioids

In our 2nd to last episode this season, let's talk about the development of functional restoration, and the tiny rise and fall of specialty pain clinics, all of which happened alongside the opioid crisis. Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Apr 21, 20229 min

Delayed for Passover

Good evening everyone. As happens here and there, some extra responsibilities and some holidays have snuck up on me. This past week, I’ve been swamped with work, and this upcoming week I’ve got numerous Passover activities, and so this week’s episode will be unfortunately delayed. If you’re wondering why I’m celebrating Passover despite my last name being Asian, the answer is that my girlfriend’s family is Jewish, and so I’m participating with them. Thank you for your patience, and next week, we...

Apr 14, 202227 sec

5.18 - The Current Opioid Crisis

Thanks for waiting. This week, we talk about the origins of the current opioid crisis. It began with a drug called OxyContin, a reformulation of the existing opioid oxycodone, and many, many mistakes from physicians, researchers, regulators, and companies. The consequences were to be disastrous, and we are still dealing with them today. Purdue Pharma OxyContin Commercial Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Apr 07, 202215 min

Big Episode Next Week

Good evening everyone, Kirby here. I apologize, but I’m going to put off this week’s episode in order to release a bigger, better episode for next week to make up for it. This episode will cover the origins of the modern opioid epidemic, which gets quite complex, and I haven’t found a place I think would be a good place to stop writing the episode. So, I decided I won’t. Thank you for your patience! Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Tr...

Mar 30, 202228 sec

5.17 - A Genus of German Drugs

This episode, we catch up on some developments in the world of opioids while we've been away from it. Oxycodone gets developed, and plays a role in World War II. Methadone is discovered, and ironically becomes a treatment for opioid addiction, and finally, fentanyl is created and abused. Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Mar 23, 20228 min

5.16 - Strongman and Chairman

This week, we learn about John Bonica, a world-famous wrestler, and then a world-famous doctor and pain researcher, and all around an extraordinary individual. Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Mar 16, 20227 min

5.15 - Spaghetti and Bricks

This week, we talk about Wilbert Fordyce, a pioneer in applying psychological research to preventing pain. You may have heard of operant conditioning before, but have you heard of using it for chronic pain reduction? Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Mar 09, 20226 min

Episode Delayed, Sorry!

Hello everyone, Kirby here. Sorry but I cannot get an episode up this week. Between a some personal matters and my internet being down for an entire day, my week has been very chaotic, and this week’s episode is unfinished. I’m hoping to resume like usual next week. Bear with me, and thank you for your patience. Be back soon! Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Mar 03, 202217 sec

5.14 - Super Aspirin

This week, we learn about Stewart Adams, who helped discover ibuprofen, one of the most important painkilling medications today. Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Feb 24, 20226 min

5.13 - Seventy Years

This week, we talk about the very long journey of acetaminophen/paracetamol, from its discovery in the late 1800s to its eventual widespread use in modern times. This journey is filled with mistakes and mishaps, but eventually the drug does make it out. Part 1 of my interview on the NoiseFilter podcast Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Feb 16, 20228 min

5.12 - Out of the Gate

Sorry for the delay, I took a week off for Lunar New Year! This episode, we talk about some of the applications of Melzack and Wall's Gate Theory of Pain. A whole bunch of doctors, scientists, and engineers got interested in zapping away our pain again, and the implantable nerve stimulator for pain was born. Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Feb 09, 20227 min

5.11 - Opening the Gates

This week, let's learn about Ronald Melzack and Patrick Wall, two very different successors to Livingston who together published the very influential gate control theory of pain. Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Jan 26, 20226 min

5.10 - The Pain Project

Today, we talk about some ways that pain was thought about before the 20th century, and then William K Livingston, who combined a lot of that thinking and set up our modern understanding of pain. Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Jan 19, 20227 min

5.9 - Shocks and Surgeries

We're back! Sorry, the last few weeks were crazy, between a Covid exposure and the holidays. This week, let's talk about some of the pain treatments that replaced opioid drugs in the late 1800s and early 1900s; electrotherapy, and neurosurgery. Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Jan 12, 20228 min

5.8 - The Most Versatile American Since Benjamin Franklin

This week, we talk about Silas Weir Mitchell, who was a doctor and researcher who first studied causalgia, or pain caused by nerve damage. He had a lot of accomplishments in his life, and a lot of tragedy too, and deserves to be remembered. Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Dec 16, 20218 min

5.7 - A Heroin History

This week, we return to talking about opioid drugs, this time discussing heroin, which is to replace morphine in many ways, good and bad. Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Dec 07, 20216 min

5.6 - Where There's a Will-ow...

This week, we talk about the discovery of aspirin, going from willows to modern pills, with some drama in between. Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Nov 22, 20218 min

5.5 - Or Nightmares

We continue the story of morphine, and detail its terrible effects on Americans after the Civil War, and how it fell out of favor. Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Nov 17, 20217 min

5.4 - The Stuff of Dreams

This week, we learn about morphine, and the one who first isolated it, Friedrich Serturner. It takes a while for folks to figure out how important it is, but this is just the beginning. Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Nov 09, 20216 min

5.3 - Heroic Remedies

This week, we advance to the Renaissance era with two stories: Willem ten Rhijne, who brought Eastern medicine to Europe, and William Sydenham who pioneered proprietary laudanum. Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Oct 26, 20217 min

5.2 - Eat Your Veggies

This week we move onto the Medieval era, and look at the writings of some guy named some version of Nicolai, and Arabic surgeon Ibn al Quff to learn about what they were up to. Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Oct 18, 20217 min

5.1 - Plants, Needles, and Eels

We're back! And this season, we're exploring the history of treating pain, or pain management. As per usual, we start this off with an exploration of ancient techniques for dealing with pain, which honestly I'm pretty impressed by. Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Oct 12, 20217 min

4.29 - The Future

This week, let's talk about what the future may hold when it comes to treating mental illness. As always, I'm now taking a month-long hiatus to prepare for the next season. Be back soon! Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Aug 30, 20218 min

4.28 - The DSM: Happily Ever After

It turns out, complaining on the internet can be good for something. Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Aug 23, 20216 min

4.27 - The DSM Strikes Back

This week, we return to the DSM, the big book used by psychiatrists for diagnoses, which comes under fire, but now in the age of the internet, which we know can always make things interesting. Check out our website! E-mail me at thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.com! Say hi on Facebook! Transcripts and Sources here!...

Aug 16, 20216 min
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