Dr Ben and Friends

Team Dr Ben
  • 5.0 (14)
  • Medicine
  • Weekly

Jump into Nashville's ultimate healthcare comedy podcast where Dr Ben celebrates healthcare heroes AND comedians!  No waiting, no Co-Pay.  Dr Ben is putting the MED in COMEDY!  

  1. 6d ago ·  Video

    Inside The Operating Room Team

    The operating room has its own language, its own rules, and its own unsung heroes and most patients never meet them. We’re shining that big, bright spotlight on the scrub tech, the person protecting the sterile field, managing instruments, and keeping the whole room ready for whatever the surgeon does next. If you’ve ever wondered what “sterile” really means, why the five-second rule is a joke in surgery, or how an OR team stays calm when the pace spikes, you’ll get the clearest answer here. Our healthcare hero Casey walks us through the real workflow: clocking in before sunrise, checking the case cart, living by preference cards, and flipping rooms between procedures. We talk about the hard parts too, like physical strain from standing on hard floors, plantar fasciitis, orthotic inserts, and the weird reality of planning hydration around long cases. You’ll hear how scrub techs learn to anticipate steps like a puzzle, how different surgeon personalities change the rhythm, and why teamwork in the operating room can feel like sports. Then we jump into the future with practical detail: new devices, in-services, vendor reps, cost-saving swaps, and what robotic surgery looks like from the scrubbed-in side, including draping, docking, and instrument exchanges. Along the way, comedian Brandon Skelton brings the laughs and one unexpectedly serious story about how a missing sense of smell and some hard-boiled eggs helped catch COVID and pneumonia early. If you like smart healthcare stories with clean comedy and real behind-the-scenes insight, subscribe, share the show, and leave a review. What’s the most surprising thing you’ve ever learned about surgery or the OR? THANKS TO OUR GUESTS: Brandon Skelton (Comedian, Teacher) Instagram and YouTube: @comedianbrandonskelton https://www.drybarcomedy.com/brandonskelton Casey (Operating room Scrub Tech, First Assist) DR BEN AND FRIENDS PODCAST: This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound. Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends.  Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence.  See you next time! Team Dr Ben SUPPORT THE SHOW: Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends! Don't stress! Get him a Volleybird golf gift box. Golf gift boxes full of gear, apparel, wellness he'd never find on his own Support the show Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio! Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode! DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories.  We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.   This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice. If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional.  Your health?  That's on you.  We'll stick to the punchlines.

  2. Oct 22 ·  Video

    Surgery Tools Explained Through Stand-Up Comedy

    Knock knock. A surgeon, a scrub tech, and a stand-up comedian walk into a podcast and somehow we end up talking about the duodenum with way more passion than anyone expects. We kick things off by turning a common medical term into a real, listener-friendly anatomy lesson: what the duodenum is, where it sits in the digestive system, and why surgeons treat it with extra respect when ulcers or perforations show up. Then we play “What The Heck?” with actual operating room instruments, and Brandon’s job is to look at them and make his best guess. The result is equal parts medical education and chaos: an “eyelash tool,” a “Zen garden rake,” and a “microphone” that should never go near your mouth. Casey, our scrub tech first assist, keeps us grounded with clear explanations of what the instruments are, how they’re used, and why design details like ratchets and sizing matter in real surgery. We also get into colon surgery basics with an EEA sizer for end-to-end anastomosis, plus a surprisingly practical tangent on why a vice grip sometimes earns a place in orthopedic cases when implants, plates, or broken screws refuse to cooperate.  If you like medical comedy, surgical instruments, operating room stories, and learning without feeling like you’re in a lecture, you’ll feel right at home. Subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review with the weirdest medical word you want us to tackle next. THANKS TO OUR GUESTS: Brandon Skelton (Comedian, Teacher) Instagram and YouTube: @comedianbrandonskelton https://www.drybarcomedy.com/brandonskelton Casey (Operating room Scrub Tech, First Assist) DR BEN AND FRIENDS PODCAST: This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound. Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends.  Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence.  See you next time! Team Dr Ben SUPPORT THE SHOW: Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends! Support the show Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio! Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode! DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories.  We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.   This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice. If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional.  Your health?  That's on you.  We'll stick to the punchlines.

  3. Oct 19 ·  Video

    Surgery Slang Showdown: Rules, Tools and Patient Safety

    “Jump room.” “Sterile field.” “Hemostat.” “Mayo scissors.” “Bovie.” If those words sound like a weird mix of hospital drama and nonsense syllables, you are exactly the person we made this for.  We take real operating room terms and surgical instruments and hand them to a comedian with one job: pronounce them, define them, and commit to the guess with confidence. The results are laugh-out-loud wrong in the best way and unexpectedly helpful if you have ever wanted to understand how surgery actually works.  We walk through what a jump room or swing room really is and why it exists in busy surgical schedules, plus how the scrub tech and first assist keep cases moving while protecting patient safety. We also unpack what “sterile field” means in plain English, why it is so strict, and how the rules of sterile technique shape everything from where people stand to how instruments are handled during long procedures.  Then we get hands-on with the gear: what a hemostat is used for when bleeding needs control, why Mayo scissors come in straight and curved versions, and what a Bovie does when electrocautery enters the chat. If you like medical comedy with real explanations and a peek behind the OR curtain, this one delivers. Subscribe, share it with a friend who loves surgery stories, and leave a review with the term you want us to quiz next. THANKS TO OUR GUESTS: Brandon Skelton (Comedian, Teacher) Instagram and YouTube: @comedianbrandonskelton https://www.drybarcomedy.com/brandonskelton Casey (Operating room Scrub Tech, First Assist) DR BEN AND FRIENDS PODCAST: This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound. Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends.  Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence.  See you next time! Team Dr Ben SUPPORT THE SHOW: Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends! Support the show Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio! Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode! DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories.  We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.   This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice. If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional.  Your health?  That's on you.  We'll stick to the punchlines.

  4. Oct 9 ·  Video

    Sterile, Fast, And Funny

    Surgical jargon can sound like nonsense until you realize it’s describing real, high-stakes work. We bring on operating room tech Herb Coleman alongside comedian Marianna Barksdale and turn a simple guessing game into a surprisingly useful tour of how the OR actually runs, with plenty of punchlines along the way. We unpack flash sterilization, what it is, when it’s used, and why “we need that instrument flashed” is not as dramatic as it sounds, but still seriously important for infection prevention and patient safety. Then we get into OR turnover: the rapid reset between surgeries that includes clearing waste, moving patients, restocking supplies, and getting the room ready to safely start again. If you’ve ever wondered how hospitals keep operating room efficiency high without cutting corners, this is the behind-the-scenes explanation you’ve been missing. From zone separation and those red-line boundaries to the surprisingly heated debate about music during surgery, we keep pulling on the thread of what makes a sterile field work: habits, teamwork, and constant awareness. We even talk about how the circulating nurse often becomes the room’s DJ, why some surgeons want silence, and why nonstop Disney songs might be the fastest way to break anyone’s focus. If you like smart comedy, medical stories, and learning how healthcare really functions, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves hospital behind-the-scenes content, and leave a review with the strangest medical term you’ve ever heard. THANKS TO OUR GUESTS: Marianna Barksdale (Comedian, Actor, Writer, Stuntwoman) Instagram: @itsmariannabarksdale https://linktr.ee/mariannabarksdale Herb Coleman (operating room tech, former NFL defensive lineman) DR BEN AND FRIENDS PODCAST: This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound. Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends.  Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence.  See you next time! Team Dr Ben SUPPORT THE SHOW: Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends! Support the show Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio! Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode! DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories.  We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.   This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice. If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional.  Your health?  That's on you.  We'll stick to the punchlines.

  5. Oct 6 ·  Video

    Big Herb Tackles a 7-Centimeter Aneurysm

    He’s deadlifting 600lbs, training like a machine, and then one day his body hits a wall.  Herb Coleman thought he was just getting older until a routine check uncovered something that could have ended everything without warning: a thoracic aortic aneurysm measuring about seven centimeters, plus a leaking valve.  What happens next moves fast, from echocardiogram to an urgent call back to the hospital to emergency open heart surgery. We sit down with Herb, a former NFL defensive lineman drafted by the San Francisco 49ers who now works as an operating room technician, to talk about both worlds. He shares what it’s like to be in the OR when severe trauma rolls in, how surgical teams stay locked in, and why small moments with nervous patients matter.  Then he walks us through the day he was told he was “a bag of groceries away from dropping,” the reality of getting your chest opened, and the fix that saved his life: a mesh repair on the aorta and a bovine valve replacement. Herb has a strong sense of perseverance and comedy helps him celebrate his wins.  We celebrate Herb with comedian, actress, and writer Marianna Barksdale for the other side of the show’s mission: putting the med in comedy. We get into how comics build material, the art of delivery, crowd work when the room goes sideways, and why Marianna avoids roasts because she thinks she’s “too mean.”  Along the way, we make space for the real takeaways: don’t ignore shortness of breath, chest symptoms, sudden weakness, or a drop in exercise tolerance, and don’t let Google videos replace an actual medical evaluation. If you like true medical stories, healthcare heroes, and funny conversations with real stakes, subscribe to Dr. Ben And Friends, share this with a friend, and leave a review. What’s the biggest health warning sign you’ve ever talked yourself out of? THANKS TO OUR GUESTS: Marianna Barksdale (Comedian, Actor, Writer, Stuntwoman) Instagram: @itsmariannabarksdale https://linktr.ee/mariannabarksdale Herb Coleman (operating room tech, former NFL defensive lineman) DR BEN AND FRIENDS PODCAST: This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound. Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends.  Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence.  See you next time! Team Dr Ben SUPPORT THE SHOW: Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends! Don't stress! Get him a Volleybird golf gift box. Golf gift boxes full of gear, apparel, wellness he'd never find on his own Support the show Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio! Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode! DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories.  We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.   This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice. If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional.  Your health?  That's on you.  We'll stick to the punchlines.

  6. Oct 5 ·  Video

    Emotional Support Hammer And Other OR Mysteries

    Knock knock, howdy folks, we’re bringing the operating room to the mic, one weird term at a time. Dr. Ben is joined by his teammate in surgery and OR tech Herb Coleman plus the wildly multi-talented comedian, writer, actress, and stunt double Marianna Barksdale for a game we call “What The Heck?”  The rules are simple: we hand Marianna real surgical and medical field vocabulary, she takes her best swing, and then we reveal what it actually means. First up, “surgical count” sounds harmless until you realize it’s one of the biggest patient safety guardrails in the OR. We talk through how teams count sponges and instruments before, during, and after a procedure, why emergency trauma cases can turn the pace into fast motion, and what happens when the numbers don’t match including the very real possibility of bringing in X-ray to confirm nothing was left behind. Then we tackle “laminar airflow,” the behind-the-scenes engineering that helps protect the sterile field. Herb breaks down how one-direction airflow reduces contamination and why controlling particles matters when you’re trying to keep pathogens away from an open surgical site. We wrap with “instrument set,” the curated sterile tool kits that make each specialty run, plus the chaos a missing screw can cause and, yes, a debate about mallets and an emotional support hammer. If you like smart comedy, real hospital stories, and practical insight into how surgery actually works, hit play, subscribe, share this with a friend who loves medical facts, and leave us a review with the strangest healthcare term you’ve ever heard. THANKS TO OUR GUESTS: Marianna Barksdale (Comedian, Actor, Writer, Stuntwoman) Instagram: @itsmariannabarksdale https://linktr.ee/mariannabarksdale Herb Coleman (operating room tech, former NFL defensive lineman) DR BEN AND FRIENDS PODCAST: This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound. Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends.  Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence.  See you next time! Team Dr Ben SUPPORT THE SHOW: Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends! Support the show Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio! Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode! DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories.  We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.   This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice. If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional.  Your health?  That's on you.  We'll stick to the punchlines. Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends! Support the show Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio! Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode! DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories.  We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.   This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice. If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional.  Your health?  That's on you.  We'll stick to the punchlines.

  7. Sep 30 ·  Video

    Two Peas And A Lung

    A pea plant grew inside a man’s lung, and that sentence is not a punchline.  Our friends kick things off with a round of Headline Or Hoax, putting two outrageous-sounding “medical headlines” in front of Marianna Barksdale and Herb Coleman and asking them to trust their gut, their brain, or both. You get to play along too, and the twist is a reminder that real life medicine can be stranger than anything you see on your feed. Once we reveal the real story, we dig into the how: inhaling a seed, why the lungs can mimic other scary conditions, and how symptoms like coughing and trouble breathing can send someone down the path of scans, surgery, and big questions. It is equal parts hilarious and unsettling, and it highlights why case reports and credible sources matter when you are trying to separate fact from internet fiction. Then we shift to a very modern kind of health misinformation: the social media trend claiming beer on your skin leads to a better, safer tan by “activating melanin.” We explain why there is no scientific support for beer as sunscreen, what UV exposure actually does to your skin, and why influencer-style “proof” can be so convincing. If you care about skin health, sunscreen safety, and spotting viral medical myths before they spread, this one is for you. Subscribe for more games, laughs, and practical science, then share this with a friend who loves a good headline. After you listen, leave a review and tell us: which “headline” would you have believed first? THANKS TO OUR GUESTS: Marianna Barksdale (Comedian, Actor, Writer, Stuntwoman) Instagram: @itsmariannabarksdale https://linktr.ee/mariannabarksdale Herb Coleman (operating room tech, former NFL defensive lineman) DR BEN AND FRIENDS PODCAST: This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound. Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends.  Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence.  See you next time! Team Dr Ben SUPPORT THE SHOW: Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends! Support the show Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends! Support the show Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio! Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode! DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories.  We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.   This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice. If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional.  Your health?  That's on you.  We'll stick to the punchlines.

  8. Sep 28 ·  Video

    PATIENT CHAMPION

    He chased quarterbacks for a living, then he switched careers and started protecting patients instead.  Herb Coleman joins us in Nashville to talk about the real work of an operating room tech, what it means to be a “patient champion,” and how an OR runs on trust, preparation, and tight teamwork long before the surgeon makes the first cut.  If you’re curious about behind-the-scenes healthcare jobs, patient safety, or how surgical teams stay coordinated under pressure, you’ll get a clear, honest look at the machine that makes surgery possible. We also hang with comedian, actress, and writer Marianna Barksdale, who’s adding stunt work to her already fearless comedy life. That sparks a fun and surprisingly thoughtful comparison between performing on stage and taking hits on set, plus a reminder that bodies have limits and orthopedic reality always shows up eventually. Along the way, we swap stories about injuries, surgeries, and the kinds of medical moments that make even tough people go pale. Herb shares how the NFL affected his body, what he misses, and what helped him after retirement, including the simplest advice that’s also the hardest to follow: keep moving. We get into football film study, life “in the trenches,” and why his favorite OR cases feel like being a mechanic with power tools. We even hit diet and the shock of going from 7,000 to 8,000 calories a day to learning “pushbacks” from the table. If you laugh, learn, or both, subscribe to Dr. Ben and Friends, share it with a healthcare hero or sports fan in your life, and leave a review so more people can find the show. THANKS TO OUR GUESTS: Marianna Barksdale (Comedian, Actor, Writer, Stuntwoman) Instagram: @itsmariannabarksdale https://linktr.ee/mariannabarksdale Herb Coleman (operating room tech, former NFL defensive lineman) DR BEN AND FRIENDS PODCAST: This episode was produced by Angie Debelak with post-production editing by Ben Hill Sound. Thanks for listening to Dr Ben and Friends.  Laughter is the best medicine...unless you're treating bowel or bladder incontinence.  See you next time! Team Dr Ben SUPPORT THE SHOW: Share a message with Dr Ben and Friends! Don't stress! Get him a Volleybird golf gift box. Golf gift boxes full of gear, apparel, wellness he'd never find on his own Support the show Follow and listen for free on Dr Ben and Friends website, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio! Fan of the show? Record yourself! on Dr Ben's website and YOU could be featured on the next episode! DISCLAIMER: Dr Ben and Friends Podcast Quick heads-up folks: Dr Ben and Friends is your weekly dose of laughs and stories.  We celebrate healthcare heroes and pro comics.   This is infotainment-- think popcorn, not prescriptions or medical advice. If you're feeling funky, see your medical professional.  Your health?  That's on you.  We'll stick to the punchlines.

See All (46)

5
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

Jump into Nashville's ultimate healthcare comedy podcast where Dr Ben celebrates healthcare heroes AND comedians!  No waiting, no Co-Pay.  Dr Ben is putting the MED in COMEDY!  

Information

  • Creator
    Team Dr Ben
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    46
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Dr Ben Comedy
  • Show Website
    Dr Ben and Friends

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