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A cheerful bedside smile is supposed to mean safety. That’s why the case of Jane Toppin, nicknamed “Jolly Jane,” still hits like a gut punch more than a century later. We walk through how a Boston woman born Honora Kelly could become one of America’s earliest notorious female serial killers while working as a nurse, using charm as cover and exploiting the gaps of late-1800s medical oversight.

We trace her early life through poverty, loss, institutionalization, and being indentured as a child in the Toppin home where she’s even given a new name. Then we follow her into nursing, a profession that gave her something she craved: access, authority, and trust. From there, the story turns dark fast, with discussions of morphine and atropine poisoning, her reported fascination with convulsions, and how patients who were elderly or isolated could become targets with few questions asked. We also talk through her arrest, her unnerving candor, and the trial that ends with an insanity verdict that sparks strong reactions.

Subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review, then tell us: what systems would you want in place to catch the unthinkable sooner?

RESOURCES:

Advanced Science News 

ETH zurich 

Schecter, Harold. “Fatal: The Poisonous Life of a Female Serial Killer.” HarperCollins, 1992.

McBrayer, Mary Kay. “America’s First Female Serial Killer: Jane Toppan and the Making of a Monster.” Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.

Morbid Podcast, “Jolly Jane” two-part series. https://morbidpodcast.com/

Boston Daily Globe archives, 19th century reporting on Jane Toppan.

Taunton Insane Hospital records, Massachusetts Archives.

Bartleby Criminal History Resources: https://www.bartleby.com/docs/crime/jane-toppan.html

Early 20th-century nursing journals, Massachusetts Historical Society archives.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0d59e7wjlo?fbclid=IwY2xjawQZaIFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFGUTJJTnlIT2NsOWl0cDV5c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPNTE0NzcxNTY5MjI4MDYxAAEeqUsexdQ7RbTKwNCzwYMUuDQO8nAuaBuswgDSk-4QUG7wZAyuKO9-BbcQcp8_aem__FfHeNBO0Ae9MHK1WWD5RQ 

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A checklist that claims to measure danger. A hospital that tried to manufacture empathy with LSD and isolation. A courtroom that treats a number like destiny. We dive into the strange power of labels by tracing the psychopathy story from Oak Ridge’s “total encounter capsule” to Robert Hare’s PCL-R and the very real ways scores still steer sentencing, parole, and civil commitment.

We unpack the seductive clarity of risk tools—and the trouble that follows when dimensional traits are forced into binary verdicts. Tony’s story from a UK high-security hospital lays bare the diagnostic double bind: calm becomes “shallow,” protest becomes “manipulative,” and every reaction confirms the label. We contrast that with emerging neuroscience that finds differences in fear and emotion processing rather than emotional emptiness, and with longitudinal evidence that context and early intervention can shift traits over time. The point isn’t to deny danger; it’s to question certainty.

Then we pivot to medicine’s own reckoning with bias and overconfidence. In our chart note, pediatric clinicians and engineers use 3D CT and finite element modeling to interpret infant skull fractures, replacing gut feel with measurable patterns. The lesson carries back to courts and clinics alike: a red flag should prompt slower thinking, not shortcut it. We close with a gripping ER story from a listener in recovery whose pain was sidelined by an old label until one doctor listened, ordered the right tests, and changed the trajectory of the night. Across psychiatry, law, and emergency care, the throughline is clear: tools help, but certainty can harm. Let numbers inform judgment, not replace it.

If this sparked thought, share it with a friend, follow Doctoring the Truth, and leave a quick review—what’s one label you think we overtrust?

REFERENCES

The Psychopath Test, by Jon Ronson: panmacmillan.com

www.hare.org

Hare, R. D. (1998). The Hare PCL-R: Some issues concerning its use and misuse. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 3(Part 1), 99–119. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8333.1998.tb00353.x

cdn.waterstones.com

Ruiz-Maldonado et al., Pediatric Research (2023): 231 CT 3D reconstructions; age/height/surface effects on fracture complexity.

Hirst et al., Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology (Published Jan 18, 2025): FE fracture simulation + ML; impact site prediction stronger than height prediction.

ScienceDirect (2025): suture/fontanelle morphological variability affects biomechanics; accessory sutures influence fracture propagation. 

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A bright green room. No clocks. No privacy. And a radical promise: strip away the mask and rebuild empathy from the inside out. We follow that promise from a cryptic book that landed in mailboxes worldwide to the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R) and then into Oak Ridge’s notorious Total Encounter Capsule—where encounter therapy, humiliation, and even LSD tried to force transformation. The footage looked convincing; the results, years later, were devastating. When “healing” teaches people to mimic remorse, are we improving safety or upgrading manipulation?

This story isn’t tidy, and that’s the point. Tools help, but they cannot replace judgment, transparency, and safeguards. Press play for a sharp, humane look at psychopathy, the Oak Ridge experiment, and the high stakes of getting certainty wrong. If the episode sparks you, share it with a friend, hit follow, and leave a review—your support helps us bring more evidence-driven stories to your feed.

Resources:

The Psychopath Test, by Jon Ronson

Court decision: Barker v. Barker (2020 ONSC 3746)

Primary-source paper: “The Total Encounter Capsule” (Barker & McLaughlin, 1977)

Outcome study: Rice, Harris & Cormier (1992), Law and Human Behavior
  Government/period document: Canadian Penitentiary Service report on visits to the STU (Oak Ridge) (1978)

 Mark Bourrie, By Reason of Insanity: The David Michael Krueger Story (1997) 

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/endometriosis

https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2025/214846s012lbl.pdf?u

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A patient under anesthesia is supposed to be safe. What we uncovered is what happens when that safety is only assumed. We dig into the case of Cody Alan Stolfa, a dental assistant in Stillwater, Oklahoma, who pled guilty to 33 felonies for sexually assaulting sedated patients—crimes revealed not by a complaint, but by a dark‑web video that set off a digital breadcrumb trail. It’s a story about power, access, and how easily abuse hides in the gaps of outpatient care.

From there, we widen the lens. We talk victim psychology when trauma exists without a narrative, why disclosure still matters, and the concrete policies every clinic should adopt: two-person minimums in sedation rooms, auditable monitoring, tighter hiring standards, and transparent patient education. We also press pause on hype with a reality check on the viral “Russian cancer vaccine”—what therapeutic mRNA vaccines can promise, what current evidence can’t, and how to separate hope from headlines without losing either.

If you care about patient safety, medical ethics, true crime in healthcare, and critical thinking in the face of sensational claims, this one will stay with you. Listen, share with someone who books dental surgery, and tell us: what safeguard would you insist on before consenting to sedation? Subscribe, leave a rating and review, and send us your story ideas—we’re listening.

Resources: 

https://www.facebook.com/TheDemandProject/posts/sensitive-content-warning-aggravated-sexual-assault-in-stillwatera-position-of-t/1344754514361968/ 

https://www.newsnationnow.com/crime/former-dental-assistant-pleads-guilty-to-sex-crimes-with-sedated-patients/ 

Cancer breakthrough

 ​KOCO

Dr. Bicuspid   

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rPPlKPDNs6I 

https://www.fox23.com/news/stillwater-man-expected-to-plead-guilty-in-sexual-assault-case/article_055c6fc3-e35b-4025-aa16-be8f1051aab4.html 

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Stay safe, and stay suspicious...trust, after all, is a delicate thing!

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A phone buzzes, a DNA app refreshes, and a life story tilts. We follow the chain reaction from a single “close relative” match to a web of half-siblings who piece together the sordid truth. What starts as an ancestry curiosity becomes a reckoning with consent, identity, and the limits of the law.

We also zoom out to the legal and medical landscape. Why did prosecutors reach for obstruction instead of charging the underlying deception? How did advocacy push Indiana to create one of the first fertility fraud statutes, with criminal penalties and civil remedies for families and donor-conceived children? And where does healthcare go from here—toward better consent, transparent record-keeping, and an accountability culture that treats trust like the clinical vital it is?

Light banter and listener stories frame the heaviness of the topic, but the heart of this episode is clarity: consent isn’t a technicality, genetic truth matters for health and identity, and technology can pry open what institutions would rather keep closed. If this conversation moved you, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review telling us what protections you think every state should adopt. Your voice helps push this story—and the laws—forward.

Sources

Our Father (Netflix, 2022)
https://www.netflix.com/title/81347338

CBS News — “Fertility doctor who secretly used his own sperm avoids jail time”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-cline-fertility-doctor-who-lied-about-using-his-own-sperm-avoids-jail-time/

The Atlantic — “The Fertility Doctor Who Used His Own Sperm”
https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/05/fertility-doctor-donald-cline-netflix-our-father/629778/

The New York Times — “Fertility Doctor Used Own Sperm, Prosecutors Say”
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/us/fertility-doctor-indiana-sperm.html

ABC News — “How a DNA Test Exposed a Fertility Doctor’s Secret”
https://abcnews.go.com/US/fertility-doctor-used-sperm-patients-children/story?id=41938693

Indiana Senate Bill 174 (2018)
https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2018/bills/senate/174

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Stay safe, and stay suspicious...trust, after all, is a delicate thing!

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A candle crackles, a brown residue appears, and someone swears their sinuses feel clear. It looks convincing—until you test the physics, check the anatomy, and tally the injuries. We pull back the curtain on ear candling with an audiologist’s eye: what the cones are made of, how they’re used, the sweeping claims from “wax removal” to “brain detox,” and the simple reason the residue you see isn’t coming from your ear. We trace the marketing myth of ancient origins, the Hopi tribe’s explicit rejection, and why a modern wellness product was dressed up as tradition to make it feel trustworthy.

We also talk about what does work. Ears are self-cleaning, Q-tips push wax deeper, and safe options include softening drops, professional irrigation, and clinician-performed removal. Plus, a powerful listener story about a child’s head injury reminds us how subtle warning signs can mask serious problems—and why trusting your gut and returning for care can be lifesaving.

If you care about ear health, evidence-based wellness, and spotting medical misinformation before it harms, this conversation equips you with clear answers and safer choices. Subscribe, share with a friend who swears by ear candles, and leave a review to help others find the show. Your hearing—and your safety—deserve more than smoke and mirrors.

Resources: 

clinicsinsurgery 

https://www.drugs.com/fda-consumer/don-t-get-burned-stay-away-from-ear-candles-125.html 

globalscience 

https://www.homeopathicpluscentre.com/ear-candling-2/ 

Livescience 

https://quackwatch.org/related/candling/ 

Support the show

Don't miss a (heart) beat! Check out our Instagram @doctoringthetruthpodcast and email us your Medical Mishaps at [email protected]. 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!

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Hope is powerful—but in the wrong hands, it becomes a sales tactic. We’re celebrating one year together by pulling back the curtain on stem cell scams: how slick marketing borrows the language of science, why “FDA registered” is not the same as FDA approved, and where vulnerable patients get hurt most—from cash-only clinics to medical tourism that ends in sepsis or even blindness.

Why do smart people fall for this? Because these schemes weaponize urgency, testimonials, and the feeling of being unseen by the system. We offer practical safeguards you can use now: how to check the FDA’s cellular therapy approvals, verify studies on clinicaltrials.gov, and spot red flags like guaranteed results, one-size-fits-all claims, and large upfront cash demands. We also share a quick “chart note” on AI’s push into health features and a wry listener mishap that reminds us how fragile trust can be when a single sensor sticker slips.

If a treatment were truly safe and effective, it wouldn’t need a passport, a waiver, or a seminar. It would have data. Subscribe to stay sharp on medical myths, share this with someone considering a “regenerative” fix, and leave a review to help more listeners find candid, evidence-first conversations.

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Don't miss a (heart) beat! Check out our Instagram @doctoringthetruthpodcast and email us your Medical Mishaps at [email protected]. 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!

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A trusted OB carved his initials into a new mother’s abdomen—and the room stayed silent. That chilling moment became a case study in how personal trust, professional boundaries, and institutional oversight can all fail at once. We walk through Liana Geds’ experience, the legal strategy that separated malpractice from battery, and the bizarre Pick’s disease defense used to argue away intent. The outcome? A plea to second-degree assault, light institutional fines, and a five-year licensing bar that raises more questions than it answers.

If you care about patient safety, medical ethics, and real transparency, this conversation will leave you informed and fired up. Tap play, subscribe for more stories that expose and educate, and leave a review so others can find the show. What would true accountability look like to you?

Resources: 

NY times 

CBC 

capecode times

CBS news 

patientsafety.com 

medicalbag.com 

cracked.com

News BBC  

NY times 

clinician.com 

congress.gov 

Appliedclinicaltrialsonline

exdensurhcp  

https://www.npdb.hrsa.gov/resources/complianceStatus.jsp 

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/subtitle-A/subchapter-A/part-60/subpart-A/section-60.3 

Support the show

Don't miss a (heart) beat! Check out our Instagram @doctoringthetruthpodcast and email us your Medical Mishaps at [email protected]. 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!

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A face cream that blinds a mother. A washing machine that spreads mercury vapor to kids’ bedding. The story unfolds from two devastating cases and pulls back the curtain on a larger problem: toxic skin lightening products hiding in plain sight, fueled by colorism and weak enforcement, and sold with claims that work fast enough to silence doubt. We unpack how mercury suppresses melanin, bioaccumulates in the brain and kidneys, and contaminates homes through laundry and air—often without appearing on any label.

The heart of the episode is both urgent and hopeful: change is possible when awareness, policy, and culture move together. If beauty asks your body to pay up front for speed, it isn’t beauty worth buying.

Listen now, share this with someone who needs it, and help us spread the word. Subscribe for more stories that inform and empower, and leave a review to support the show. Your voice helps protect others.

https//www.Zeromercury.org/pojects/mercury-added-skin-lightening-creams-campaign-database

Minnesota Mother loses peripheral vision from apparent exposure to mercury in beauty creams - Hiiraan Online

thebeautywell.org

minnpost.com

Skin Products Containing Mercury and/or Hydroquinone | FDA

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012).
Mercury exposure among household users and nonusers of skin-lightening creams produced in Mexico — California and Virginia, 2010. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 61(2), 33–36.
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6102a3.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019).
Notes from the field: Methylmercury toxicity from a skin-lightening cream obtained from Mexico — California. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 68(50), 1133–1134.
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6850a4.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020).
Biomonitoring summary: Mercury.
https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/Mercury_BiomonitoringSummary.html

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2023).
Banned and restricted ingredients in cosmetics.
https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-ingredients/banned-restricted-ingredients-cosmetics

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. (2024).
Health department warns New Yorkers about dangerous mercury levels in some skin-lightening products.
https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/about/press/pr2025/health-department-warns-new-yorkers-about-skin-lightening-products.page

Texas Department of State Health Services. (2023).
Skin creams containing dangerous levels of mercury.
https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/skin-creams-containing-dangerous-levels-mercury

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Don't miss a (heart) beat! Check out our Instagram @doctoringthetruthpodcast and email us your Medical Mishaps at [email protected]. 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!

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A teenage girl crosses a border for a chance at life—and loses it to a mistake so basic it should have been impossible. We dive into the case of Jesica Santillán, the 17-year-old who received an incompatible heart-lung transplant, and trace how a single missed safeguard exposed cracks across donor services, hospital protocols, and communication chains. This isn’t a story about rare complications or experimental risk; it’s about the simplest check in medicine—blood type matching—and how failing it changed transplant safety nationwide.

If the episode moved you, share it with a friend who works in healthcare, leave a review to help others find the show, and follow us for more cases that challenge and change the way we think about medicine.

Resources: 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/anatomy-of-a-mistake-04-09-2003/ 

https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMp030033?download=true 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25077248/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesica_Santillan 

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3528375?read-now=1&seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents 

https://www.wral.com/10-years-later-questions-surround-jesica-s-hope-chest-charity/12997462/ 

https://corporate.dukehealth.org/news/duke-releases-letter-unos-concerning-jesica-santillan 

https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/23/us/girl-in-transplant-mix-up-dies-after-two-weeks.html 

Support the show

Don't miss a (heart) beat! Check out our Instagram @doctoringthetruthpodcast and email us your Medical Mishaps at [email protected]. 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

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