Doctoring the Truth

Jenne Tunnell and Amanda House

Welcome to Doctoring the Truth, a podcast where two dedicated audiologists dissect the world of healthcare gone rogue. Explore jaw-dropping stories of medical malfeasance, nefariousness, and shocking breaches of trust. The episodes provide deep dives that latch onto your curiosity and conscience. It's a podcast for truth-seekers craving true crime, clinical insights, and a dash of humor.

  1. Sep 25

    Ep 82-Mesmer's Magic Tub, Mozart's Armonica Envy, and Ben Franklin's Dinner Disaster: Old Timey Medicine at it's Fanciest

    Send us Fan Mail A doctor in a lilac silk robe, a wooden tub packed with iron rods, patients linked together in a room with music, and “healing crises” that look like fainting spells. That sounds like theatre, until you realise how many smart, suffering people in the late 1700s desperately wanted relief and how convincing a carefully staged medical experience can feel. We trace the real history behind Franz Anton Mesmer, from his formal medical training in Vienna to the moment magnets and a single patient case turn into a sweeping theory of “animal magnetism.” From there, the story explodes in Paris: the baquet (the famous tub) makes group treatment possible, the rituals scale, and mesmerism becomes both a health trend and a business with followers, fees, and secrecy. Along the way, we talk about why a treatment can seem effective even when its proposed mechanism is wrong, and why attention, touch, imitation, and expectation matter in any healing setting. If you like medical history, skepticism, hypnosis history, and stories where belief collides with experimentation, you’ll love this one. Subscribe or follow, share it with a friend who loves a good debunk, and leave a review telling us what convinces you most when a health claim feels “real.” Resources: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/78413/pg78413-images.html https://exhibits.stanford.edu/super-e/feature/franz-anton-mesmer-1734-1815 https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/mesmerized/ https://www.jameslindlibrary.org/articles/mesmers-1780-proposal-for-a-controlled-trial-to-test-his-method-of-treatment-using-animal-magnetism/ https://www.jameslindlibrary.org/articles/antoine-de-lavoisiers-role-in-designing-a-single-blind-trial-to-assess-whether-animal-magnetism-exists/ https://momh.org.uk/exhibitions/maria-theresia-von-paradis-1759-1824/ https://fi.edu/en/science-and-education/collection/benjamin-franklins-glass-armonica https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/139667 https://www.bmj.com/content/336/7651/999 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3154208/ https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0015591 https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/placebo-effect https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/hypnosis https://www.masshist.org/database/viewer.php?item_id=1839&pid=3 https://www.masshist.org/database/viewer.php?img_step=2&item_id=1839&mode=transcript Support the show Don't miss a (heart) beat! Check out our Instagram @doctoringthetruthpodcast and email us your Medical Mishaps at doctoringthetruth@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at Doctoring the Truth, and TikTok @doctoring the truth. Don't forget to download, rate, and review so we can keep bringing you more exciting content each week! Stay safe, and stay suspicious...trust, after all, is a delicate thing! Don't forget to check out these fantastic discounts using promo code STAYSUSPICIOUS from our sponsors at: *thecuminclub.com for 30% off *https://strongcoffeecompany.com/discount/STAYSUSPICIOUS for 20% off *www.handful.com for 30% off  *www.standshoes.com for 15% off *www.getcheeky.com for 30% off *https://mollybz.com for 10% off  *klearprotein.com for 20% off *www.torrain.org for 15% off *www.cozyearth.com for 21% off * www.yarokhair.com for 15% off   *www.loveindus.com for 21% off   https://www.tumbleweedandoak.com for 15% off www.aspiredrinks.com  20% OFF  ...

  2. Sep 18

    Ep 81-When Prescriptions Become A Weapon: Dr. Craig A. Spiegel

    Send us Fan Mail A tire pressure alert leads to a nail in the tread, and a split second label check stops an anaphylaxis scare and then the tone shifts hard. We’re talking about the kind of betrayal that makes your stomach drop: a pediatrician accused of using the prescription pad as payment, trading controlled substances for sex acts, nude photos, and cash. The allegations span years, and the case ends with a guilty plea and a 20 year federal prison sentence. If you care about medical ethics, patient safety, controlled substance prescribing, and the real world gaps that let harm hide in plain sight, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who cares about healthcare accountability, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Resources:  Justice.gov  Justice.gov 2 https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2024/03/14/st-louis-area-pediatrician-indicted-accused-exchanging-prescriptions-for  healing gel  Support the show Don't miss a (heart) beat! Check out our Instagram @doctoringthetruthpodcast and email us your Medical Mishaps at doctoringthetruth@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at Doctoring the Truth, and TikTok @doctoring the truth. Don't forget to download, rate, and review so we can keep bringing you more exciting content each week! Stay safe, and stay suspicious...trust, after all, is a delicate thing! Don't forget to check out these fantastic discounts using promo code STAYSUSPICIOUS from our sponsors at: *thecuminclub.com for 30% off *https://strongcoffeecompany.com/discount/STAYSUSPICIOUS for 20% off *www.handful.com for 30% off  *www.standshoes.com for 15% off *www.getcheeky.com for 30% off *https://mollybz.com for 10% off  *klearprotein.com for 20% off *www.torrain.org for 15% off *www.cozyearth.com for 21% off * www.yarokhair.com for 15% off   *www.loveindus.com for 21% off   https://www.tumbleweedandoak.com for 15% off www.aspiredrinks.com  20% OFF  ...

  3. Sep 11

    Ep 80-What Little We Know About Post Partum Psychosis: Otty Sanchez and Lindsay Clancy (Part 3)

    Send us Fan Mail A mother can be terrified, begging for help, and still be sent home. A mother can look organised on a video visit and still be collapsing behind the scenes. This week we close our postpartum psychosis series with two cases that force the hardest questions in maternal mental health, forensic psychiatry, and criminal responsibility. Trigger warning: child deaths, suicide, severe mental illness, psychosis, and a brief mention of cannibalism. If this series helped you think differently about postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis, warning signs, and emergency care, please subscribe, share the episode, and leave us a review so more people can find it. Resources  Associated Press trial overview, Associated Press closing-argument coverage, Massachusetts criminal-responsibility instruction, and Plymouth County District Attorney case release. Mom Who Mutilated Newborn Enters Plea — San Antonio Express-News Documents Released in Case of Mother Who Killed Her Son — KHOU911 Call Reveals Horror Over Baby’s Mutilation — Houston ChronicleMistrial Declared After Jury Deadlocks — Associated Press Key Moments in the Lindsay Clancy Case — Associated PressA Look at the Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial — Associated PressWhat Happens After the Lindsay Clancy Mistrial? — CBS NewsTestimony from Psychiatrists Who Treated Clancy — CBS BostonClancy’s Psychiatric Care Before the Children’s Deaths — CBS BostonMassachusetts Model Jury Instructions: Criminal ResponsibilityCommonwealth v. Lindsay Clancy — Plymouth County District AttorneyHelp Advance the Research MGH Postpartum Psychosis Project MGH Center for Women’s Mental HealthPostpartum Support International: Current ResearchAction on Postpartum Psychosis: Research ParticipationNIMH Women’s Reproductive Mental-Health StudiesClinicalTrials.gov: Postpartum-Psychosis StudiesSociety for Women’s Health ResearchResearch opportunities and eligibility requirements change over time. Participation is voluntary, and listeners should review each study’s consent, privacy, and institutional-review information before enrolling.  Support the show Don't miss a (heart) beat! Check out our Instagram @doctoringthetruthpodcast and email us your Medical Mishaps at doctoringthetruth@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at Doctoring the Truth, and TikTok @doctoring the truth. Don't forget to download, rate, and review so we can keep bringing you more exciting content each week! Stay safe, and stay suspicious...trust, after all, is a delicate thing! Don't forget to check out these fantastic discounts using promo code STAYSUSPICIOUS from our sponsors at: *thecuminclub.com for 30% off *https://strongcoffeecompany.com/discount/STAYSUSPICIOUS for 20% off *www.handful.com for 30% off  *www.standshoes.com for 15% off *www.getcheeky.com for 30% off *https://mollybz.com for 10% off  *klearprotein.com for 20% off *www.torrain.org for 15% off *www.cozyearth.com for 21% off * www.yarokhair.com for 15% off   *www.loveindus.com for 21% off   https://www.tumbleweedandoak.com for 15% off www.aspiredrinks.com  20% OFF  ...

  4. Sep 4

    Ep 79-What Little We Know About Post Partum Psychosis: Dena Schlosser (Part 2)

    Send us Fan Mail A calm voice, religious music in the background, and a confession that makes no emotional sense unless you understand psychosis. We trace the Dena Schlosser case in Plano, Texas, where postpartum psychiatric illness, religious language, and the criminal legal system collide, forcing a brutal question: when does a stated “belief” read like motive, and when is it evidence that reality testing has collapsed? If you want medically grounded true crime, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find these lifesaving conversations. Sources: Dena Schlosser Houston Chronicle — “Law, Psychiatry Clash When a Mother Kills” — Schlosser’s psychiatric treatment, postpartum symptoms, child-welfare involvement, and the distinction between psychosis and legal insanity.Houston Chronicle — “Mom Accused of Severing Baby’s Arms Wanted to ‘Give Baby to God’” — Trial testimony concerning religious delusions, previous psychiatric symptoms, competency proceedings, and the prosecution and defense arguments.Houston Chronicle — “Doctor: Woman Who Fatally Cut Off Baby’s Arms Didn’t Know Right from Wrong” — Expert psychiatric testimony regarding Schlosser’s mental state and insanity defense.CBS News/AP — “Mom Avoids Prison in Baby Slay Case” — Reporting on Schlosser’s 2006 finding of not guilty by reason of insanity and commitment to a state psychiatric hospital.Sources: The Thalidomide Tragedy and Women in Research FDA — Frances Oldham Kelsey and the Thalidomide Tragedy — How Dr. Kelsey resisted approving thalidomide in the United States and how the disaster influenced modern drug regulation. NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health — History of Women’s Participation in Clinical Research — The 1977 FDA recommendation excluding women of childbearing potential from early drug trials and the eventual 1993 federal inclusion requirements.Kim and Scialli — “Thalidomide: The Tragedy of Birth Defects and the Effective Treatment of Disease” — Peer-reviewed history of thalidomide’s development, teratogenic effects, regulatory consequences, and later medical uses.FDA — Thalidomide Information — Current FDA safety information regarding thalidomide’s severe fetal risks and restricted use.Help Advance the Research MGH Postpartum Psychosis ProjectMGH Center for Women’s Mental HealthPostpartum Support International: Current ResearchAction on Postpartum Psychosis: Research ParticipationNIMH Women’s Reproductive Mental-Health StudiesClinicalTrials.gov: Postpartum-Psychosis StudiesSociety for Women’s Health ResearchResearch opportunities and eligibility requirements change over time. Participation is voluntary, and listeners should review each study’s consent, privacy, and institutional-review information before enrolling.  Support the show Don't miss a (heart) beat! Check out our Instagram @doctoringthetruthpodcast and email us your Medical Mishaps at doctoringthetruth@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at Doctoring the Truth, and TikTok @doctoring the truth. Don't forget to download, rate, and review so we can keep bringing you more exciting content each week! Stay safe, and stay suspicious...trust, after all, is a delicate thing! Don't forget to check out these fantastic discounts using promo code STAYSUSPICIOUS from our sponsors at: *thecuminclub.com for 30% off *https://strongcoffeecompany.com/discount/STAYSUSPICIOUS for 20% off *www.handful.com for 30% off  *www.standshoes.com for 15% off *www.getcheeky.com for 30% off *https://mollybz.com for 10% off  *klearprotein.com for 20% off *www.torrain.org for 15% off *www.cozyearth.com for 21% off * www.yarokhair.com for 15% off   *www.loveindus.com for 21% off   https://www.tumbleweedandoak.com for 15% off www.aspiredrinks.com  20% OFF  ...

  5. Aug 28

    Ep 78-What Little We Know About Post Partum Psychosis: Andrea Yates (Part 1)

    Send us Fan Mail A mother who just gave birth can look “fine” in a short conversation and still be slipping into a psychiatric emergency by nightfall. That gap between what others see and what she is actually experiencing is where postpartum psychosis becomes so dangerous, and where shame and silence can turn a treatable crisis into a catastrophe. We walk through what postpartum psychosis really is: an acute childbirth-triggered illness often linked to the bipolar spectrum, with early signs like severe insomnia, agitation, racing thoughts, unusual energy, rapid mood shifts, and escalating confusion. We also draw bright lines between postpartum depression, postpartum OCD (intrusive unwanted thoughts with preserved insight), bipolar disorder, and psychosis where delusions can feel like reality. We talk risk factors, why sleep deprivation matters, and what evidence supports emergency treatment, including supervised care, antipsychotics, lithium, and when modern ECT can be life-saving. If you care about maternal mental health, true crime ethics, or how courts interpret severe mental illness, listen now. Subscribe, share this with someone who supports new parents, and leave a review so more people can find the conversation. Emergency and support links: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 in the United States. https://988lifeline.org/National Maternal Mental Health Hotline: Call or text 1-833-TLC-MAMA in the United States. https://mchb.hrsa.gov/national-maternal-mental-health-hotlinePostpartum Support International HelpLine and PPP resources: https://postpartum.net/get-help/Massachusetts General Hospital Postpartum Psychosis Project: Research description, eligibility, and participant interest form. https://www.mghp3.org/about-our-researchAction on Postpartum Psychosis — Take Part in Research: Current PPP studies and lived-experience research opportunities. https://www.app-network.org/research-into-postpartum-psychosis/take-part-in-research/Action on Postpartum Psychosis — Donate: Supports APP’s research partnerships, peer support, information, professional training, and advocacy. https://www.app-network.org/get-involved/donate/Postpartum Support International — Current Research Announcements: Recruitment notices across perinatal mental health. https://postpartum.net/professionals/current-research-announcements/Postpartum Support International — Donate: Supports PSI’s education, training, helpline, peer-support, and access programs. https://postpartum.net/join-us/donate/ClinicalTrials.gov: Search the public study registry for “postpartum psychosis” and “perinatal mental health.” https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?cond=Postpartum%20PsychosisNIH Office of Research on Women’s Health — Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Portal: Federally supported maternal-health research, programs, and ongoing studies. https://orwh.od.nih.gov/mmm-portal/welcome-orwhNIH Discover Women’s Health Research: Search and explore NIH-supported women’s-health research. https://discoverwhr.nih.gov/Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance: Maternal-mental-health advocacy, policy, funding information, and opportunities to support systems change. https://www.mmhla.org/ Support the show Don't miss a (heart) beat! Check out our Instagram @doctoringthetruthpodcast and email us your Medical Mishaps at doctoringthetruth@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at Doctoring the Truth, and TikTok @doctoring the truth. Don't forget to download, rate, and review so we can keep bringing you more exciting content each week! Stay safe, and stay suspicious...trust, after all, is a delicate thing! Don't forget to check out these fantastic discounts using promo code STAYSUSPICIOUS from our sponsors at: *thecuminclub.com for 30% off *https://strongcoffeecompany.com/discount/STAYSUSPICIOUS for 20% off *www.handful.com for 30% off  *www.standshoes.com for 15% off *www.getcheeky.com for 30% off *https://mollybz.com for 10% off  *klearprotein.com for 20% off *www.torrain.org for 15% off *www.cozyearth.com for 21% off * www.yarokhair.com for 15% off   *www.loveindus.com for 21% off   https://www.tumbleweedandoak.com for 15% off www.aspiredrinks.com  20% OFF  ...

  6. Aug 21

    Ep 77-The House Of Horrors Clinic: Dr. Kermit Gosnell

    Send us Fan Mail A clinic door can feel like safety, especially when you’re scared, short on money, and out of options. But what happens when the “respectable” name on the sign is just a costume, and the system meant to protect patients stops looking closely? We tell the story of Dr. Kermit Gosnell and the Women’s Medical Society in West Philadelphia, using the confirmed criminal case and the court record to stay grounded in what was proven and what was alleged. We talk through the conditions investigators described when law enforcement finally entered the clinic in 2010, including unsafe sedation practices, unlicensed staff doing medical tasks, broken or missing emergency equipment, and why informed consent is more than a signature. This is not an abortion debate. It’s a patient safety and medical ethics breakdown, with real consequences for women who depended on a healthcare system that should have protected them. Content warning: this episode references medical exploitation, patient death, unsafe clinical practice, abortion, and infant death without unnecessary graphic detail. If you value true-crime-level accountability with real healthcare lessons, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Support the show Don't miss a (heart) beat! Check out our Instagram @doctoringthetruthpodcast and email us your Medical Mishaps at doctoringthetruth@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at Doctoring the Truth, and TikTok @doctoring the truth. Don't forget to download, rate, and review so we can keep bringing you more exciting content each week! Stay safe, and stay suspicious...trust, after all, is a delicate thing! Don't forget to check out these fantastic discounts using promo code STAYSUSPICIOUS from our sponsors at: *thecuminclub.com for 30% off *https://strongcoffeecompany.com/discount/STAYSUSPICIOUS for 20% off *www.handful.com for 30% off  *www.standshoes.com for 15% off *www.getcheeky.com for 30% off *https://mollybz.com for 10% off  *klearprotein.com for 20% off *www.torrain.org for 15% off *www.cozyearth.com for 21% off * www.yarokhair.com for 15% off   *www.loveindus.com for 21% off   https://www.tumbleweedandoak.com for 15% off www.aspiredrinks.com  20% OFF  ...

  7. Aug 14

    Ep 76-Nonconsensual Studies: Dr. Halikas and Marginalization of a Hmong Community

    Send us Fan Mail A patient walks into a hospital for help with opioid withdrawal, accepts a medication offered by a doctor, and later learns that dose was part of an experiment. That single shift, from treatment to research, is where trust can break for good. This story  forces a bigger conversation about clinical research ethics, vulnerable populations, interpreters, and the power dynamics inside detox units. We explore how the sponsor-investigator role concentrates responsibility, how an IRB (institutional review board) is supposed to function as a barrier between scientific ambition and human rights, and why teach-back and community-engaged research are now seen as essential safeguards rather than optional extras. Trigger warning: substance use disorder, opioid withdrawal, medical experimentation, informed consent failures, and exploitation of vulnerable patients. If you care about informed consent, FDA oversight, and what patients are owed when medicine turns into research, listen now, then share this episode and leave a review so more people can find the show. Resources: U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner’s final decision disqualifying James A. Halikas, M.D., from receiving investigational drugs, January 17, 2001. U.S. Food and Drug Administration Presiding officer’s detailed summary decision addressing the informed-consent violations, Halikas’s defenses, and the unresolved allegations involving language, coercion, and dosing. Halikas v. University of Minnesota, 856 F. Supp. 1331 (D. Minn. 1994) Federal court decision describing the GHB Opium Study, the University’s Institutional Review Board investigation, Halikas’s due-process arguments, and the court’s refusal to prevent dissemination of the investigation’s findings. FDA Clinical Investigator Disqualification Proceedings Database Public listing showing James A. Halikas as disqualified effective January 17, 2001. University of Minnesota Clinical and Translational Science Institute Information about SoLaHmo and community-driven research involving Somali, Latino, and Hmong communities. Support the show Don't miss a (heart) beat! Check out our Instagram @doctoringthetruthpodcast and email us your Medical Mishaps at doctoringthetruth@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at Doctoring the Truth, and TikTok @doctoring the truth. Don't forget to download, rate, and review so we can keep bringing you more exciting content each week! Stay safe, and stay suspicious...trust, after all, is a delicate thing! Don't forget to check out these fantastic discounts using promo code STAYSUSPICIOUS from our sponsors at: *thecuminclub.com for 30% off *https://strongcoffeecompany.com/discount/STAYSUSPICIOUS for 20% off *www.handful.com for 30% off  *www.standshoes.com for 15% off *www.getcheeky.com for 30% off *https://mollybz.com for 10% off  *klearprotein.com for 20% off *www.torrain.org for 15% off *www.cozyearth.com for 21% off * www.yarokhair.com for 15% off   *www.loveindus.com for 21% off   https://www.tumbleweedandoak.com for 15% off www.aspiredrinks.com  20% OFF  ...

  8. Aug 7

    Ep 75-In the Trenches with Marybeth: Near Death By Boxcutter

    Send us Fan Mail He walks into triage at 3 AM with his girlfriend, dressed for a night out, calm as can be, and says he just needs stitches. Then we lift the paper towel and see the kind of injury that makes your stomach drop: a box cutter laceration to the neck with the carotid artery visibly pulsing inside the wound. If you’ve ever wondered how close to disaster a “simple cut” can be, this story answers it in unforgettable detail (with a clear trigger warning for graphic injury descriptions). If this story sticks with you, subscribe, download, and leave a rating or review, then share it with someone who loves real medical stories. What’s the closest call you’ve ever witnessed, in healthcare or in life? Support the show Don't miss a (heart) beat! Check out our Instagram @doctoringthetruthpodcast and email us your Medical Mishaps at doctoringthetruth@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at Doctoring the Truth, and TikTok @doctoring the truth. Don't forget to download, rate, and review so we can keep bringing you more exciting content each week! Stay safe, and stay suspicious...trust, after all, is a delicate thing! Don't forget to check out these fantastic discounts using promo code STAYSUSPICIOUS from our sponsors at: *thecuminclub.com for 30% off *https://strongcoffeecompany.com/discount/STAYSUSPICIOUS for 20% off *www.handful.com for 30% off  *www.standshoes.com for 15% off *www.getcheeky.com for 30% off *https://mollybz.com for 10% off  *klearprotein.com for 20% off *www.torrain.org for 15% off *www.cozyearth.com for 21% off * www.yarokhair.com for 15% off   *www.loveindus.com for 21% off   https://www.tumbleweedandoak.com for 15% off www.aspiredrinks.com  20% OFF  ...

5
out of 5
21 Ratings

About

Welcome to Doctoring the Truth, a podcast where two dedicated audiologists dissect the world of healthcare gone rogue. Explore jaw-dropping stories of medical malfeasance, nefariousness, and shocking breaches of trust. The episodes provide deep dives that latch onto your curiosity and conscience. It's a podcast for truth-seekers craving true crime, clinical insights, and a dash of humor.

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