This was an interesting podcast that I listened to in a day. The topic was interesting but I do wish there had been a few more psychologists involved in discussing the topic addressed in this podcast. I think the last episode was my favorite not just because of the nuanced conclusion but the story about the orcas.

Great storytelling, incredibly interesting subject matter.

Most doctors subscribe to the idea, that if they can’t figure out whats wrong with someone with the very limited knowledge they actually have of the mysterious human body and this world, especially women’s bodies, they blame it on psychological reasons in the patient or gaslight women. It’s a super easy way to say, not my problem, it’s yours. I’m a great doctor, it’s just in your head. It’s just as likely that the girls suffered from some undiscovered ailment, than from what I would call, let’s blame the patients mental health. There’s literally no blood test or black & white proof that it was the patients mental health (conversion), none. Why is conversion the obvious conclusion, it’s just as obvious as any other unknown possibility. Conversion is just the “easy” answer for doctors who can’t stand that they “failed”, that their knowledge is actually extremely limited. Instead, the humble answer is, we don’t know what happened.

This podcast is so well done. The editing is fantastic and I love the way he explores the different threads and theories. Great storytelling. Sometimes thing like the pronunciation debate and the jello salad bits bother me too much, but I think he pulled them off for the most part.