131 episodes

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.

The History of Medicine Kirby Gong

    • History
    • 4.9 • 29 Ratings

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.

    6.1 - Papyrus and Paralysis

    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!

    • 9 min
    Returning to the Show

    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 current plan is to ease my way back into making episodes, probably with one a month for a few months, and then meander my way back to biweekly or weekly episodes. I'm excited to bring new episodes back, and I hope you are too. Thank you for listening, and I hope the wait will be worth it.

    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

    • 42 sec
    Extending Hiatus More

    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 planning should calm down in the next month or so as we get all of our vendors lined up. Thank you for your patience, and I hope the wait will be worth it. 

    • 36 sec
    Extending Hiatus

    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 Covid, but we're getting some help with that soon and so I hope to be back to our regular weekly schedule in several weeks. Thank you for listening, and I hope that the wait will be worth it. 

    • 1 min
    5.20 - The Future

    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!

    • 7 min
    5.19 - Options Outside of Opioids

    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!

    • 8 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
29 Ratings

29 Ratings

yayaono987 ,

Favorite podcast!

I listen to this podcast every night. Kirby is funny and keeps each episode interesting. Glad to see him back!

ChaboiTroy ,

A solid podcast

It’s a quality podcast that I’ve been looking for. It’s hard to find another podcast to surpass this one in terms of medical history. Kirby does a great job at framing these stories to keep them informative and engaging. Along with thorough research and consistent quality, the man has a voice like butter that makes listening every week something I look forward to. THERE aren’t many podcasts I stick to but this is one of them.

Rohbhat ,

Educational & Entertaining

This podcast is very well researched, with a lot of lesser-known medical history presented in short, digestible episodes. Each season focuses on a specific topic, and goes through the history of how modern medicine has developed. The host is entertaining without being overbearing, and keeps the focus on the presentation - easy to binge through, or listen to episodes as stand-alone.

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