Don't Look Under the Med: Macabre Medical Stories

Welcome to the last stop of Season 2! Thank you so much for joining us on this ride. 

Today, Ashley and Sara will be discussing Nellie Bly, an American journalist who went undercover to one of New York’s most notorious mental health asylums, the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island, in 1887. The subsequent expose of her 10-day ordeal, called “Ten Days in a Mad-House” provided a first-hand account of the deplorable conditions and treatment of patient’s at the asylum leading to important healthcare changes. 

If you are enjoying Don’t Look Under the Med, please help us out and leave a five-star review! And make sure you follow the podcast on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode.

Books:

Bly, N. (2017). Ten Days in a mad-house: Illustrated and annotated: A first-hand account of life at Bellevue Hospital on Blackwell’s Island in 1887. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 

Articles:

National Women’s History Museum- Nellie Bly, by Arlisha R. Norwood

The Biography.com website- Nellie Bly - Story, Timeline & Facts, by Biography.com Editors

Podcast Art By: Irit Mogilevsky

Happy New Year! Thank you for being a part of our journey this year. We are looking forward to sharing more medical misadventures with you in 2024. 

Today Sara and Ashley discuss the deadliest fire in Boston’s history and how its aftermath influenced the way hospitals treat burn victims and respond to mass casualties.

If you are enjoying Don’t Look Under the Med, please help us out and leave a five-star review! And make sure you follow the podcast on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode.

Books:

Pletcher, L. (2017). Massachusetts Disasters: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival. Globe Pequot.

Articles:

Bench Press- How the Cocoanut Grove Fire Changed Burn Care at Mass General and Beyond, by Andrew Glyman

Academic Articles:

Saffle JR. The 1942 fire at Boston's Cocoanut Grove nightclub. Am J Surg. 1993 Dec;166(6):581-91. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9610(05)80661-0. PMID: 8273835.

Podcast Art By: Irit Mogilevsky

Welcome to the conclusion of our discussion of Dr. Harry Bailey and his controversial practice of deep sleep therapy.

If you are enjoying Don’t Look Under the Med, please help us out and leave a five-star review! And make sure you follow the podcast on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode.

Books:

Ramsland, K.M. (2007). Inside the Minds of Healthcare Serial Killers: Why They Kill. Praeger Publishers.

Articles:

Australian Dictionary of Biography: Harry Richard Bailey, by Stephen Garton

Wikipedia: Sodium Bromide

Mayo Clinic: Drugs and Supplements: Barbiturate

WebMD: Barbiturate Misuse, by WebMD Editorial Contributors

Scientific American: What Is A Medically Induced Coma and Why Is It Used?, by David Biello

Mad In America: Deep Sleep “Therapy” in Australia in 1960s & ‘70s: Could Something Like This Happen Today?, by Phillip Hickey, Ph.D., August 27, 2020

Youtube Videos:

John Edginton Documentaries: Deep Sleep: Killer Doctor’s ‘Experimental’ Treatment

Podcast Art By: Irit Mogilevsky

Dr. Harry Bailey was once a prominent name in the psychiatric community, but his reputation now is far from respected. This is due to his practice of Deep Sleep Therapy in the 1960s and ’70s at Chelmsford Hospital. This controversial treatment involved administering patients with medication to heavily sedate them, at times to the point of a comatose state. The treatment was frequently used to treat psychiatric conditions like depression, but patients were referred to Dr. Bailey to undergo this “therapy” for anything from obesity to headaches. Unfortunately, the treatment led to the death of several individuals under Dr. Bailey’s care.

If you are enjoying Don’t Look Under the Med, please help us out and leave a five-star review! And make sure you follow the podcast on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode.

Books:

Ramsland, K.M. (2007). Inside the Minds of Healthcare Serial Killers: Why They Kill. Praeger Publishers.

Articles:

Australian Dictionary of Biography: Harry Richard Bailey, by Stephen Garton

Wikipedia: Sodium Bromide

Mayo Clinic: Drugs and Supplements: Barbiturate

WebMD: Barbiturate Misuse, by WebMD Editorial Contributors

Mad In America: Deep Sleep “Therapy” in Australia in 1960s & ‘70s: Could Something Like This Happen Today?, by Phillip Hickey, Ph.D., August 27, 2020

Youtube Videos:

John Edginton Documentaries: Deep Sleep: Killer Doctor’s ‘Experimental’ Treatment

Podcast Art By: Irit Mogilevsky

Join Ashley and Sara for today’s episode in which they discuss the dark history of Metropolitan State Hospital and learn how it earned the ominous nickname “The Hospital of Seven Teeth.”

If you are enjoying Don’t Look Under the Med, please help us out and leave a five-star review! And make sure you follow the podcast on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode.

Books:

Rebello, Tammy & L.F. Blanchard (2016). Abandoned Asylums of Massachusetts. Arcadia Publishing. 

Articles:

The Burlington Free Press: Dismembered Body Found at State Hospital, 1980

Boston Globe: Body Found in 3 Graves, A Patient Arraigned, 1980

World Abandoned: Metropolitan State Hospital

Atlas Obscura: Metropolitan State Hospital

Go Xplr: Metropolitan State Hospital

Opacity: Metropolitan State Hospital

Podcast Art By: Irit Mogilevsky

While the hospital is a place of science and medicine, this does not keep our human tendency to be superstitious at bay. In today’s episode we will be exploring a few of the most common hospital superstitions, their origins, and if there is any scientific evidence to support them.

If you are enjoying Don’t Look Under the Med, please help us out and leave a five-star review! And make sure you follow the podcast on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode.

Articles:

ABC: Friday the 13th and Emergency Departments, by Oliva Willis for Sum of All Parts

Fusion Medical Staffing: Top 5 ER Superstitions, by Megan Bebout

Healthline: How Does a Full Moon Affect Our Physical and Mental Well-Being?, by Rebecca Joy Stanborough, MFA

The Washington Post: Friday the 13th: Things You Should Know, by Valerie Strauss

CNN: Why is Friday the 13th Unlucky? The Cultural Origins of An Enduring Superstition, by Christobel Hastings

Academic Articles: 

Wu YW, Lai WS, Chen YC. [Superstitious Beliefs Among Healthcare Providers: A Concept Analysis]. Hu Li Za Zhi. 2023 Jun;70(3):85-93. Chinese. doi: 10.6224/JN.202306_70(3).11. PMID: 37259654.

Johnson G. The Q**** Study – basic randomised evaluation of attendance at a children's emergency department. Emergency Medicine Journal 2010;27:A11.

Zargar M, Khaji A, Kaviani A, Karbakhsh M, Yunesian M, Abdollahi M. The full moon and admission to emergency rooms. Indian J Med Sci. 2004 May;58(5):191-5. PMID: 15166467.

Lo BM, Visintainer CM, Best HA, Beydoun HA. Answering the myth: use of emergency services on Friday the 13th. Am J Emerg Med. 2012 Jul;30(6):886-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2011.06.008. Epub 2011 Aug 19. PMID: 21855260.
Podcast Art By: Irit Mogilevsky

We are back today with two more haunted hospital locations! 

In this series we share ghostly tales and eerie happenings in the world’s creepiest hospitals, asylums, and other medical establishments. While this episode may be lighter on our usual cold, hard facts, you know we can’t resist sharing a bit of history along the way!

If you are enjoying Don’t Look Under the Med, please help us out and leave a five-star review! And make sure you follow the podcast on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode.

Articles:

US Ghost Adventures - Royal Hope Hospital

Film School Rejects - Digging up the Problem of the Indian Burial Ground Trope

Trolley Tours - Spanish Military Hospital Museum

US Ghost Adventures - Old Tooele Hospital

TV Episodes: 

Travel Channel - Ghost Adventures, Tooele Hospital - S18, Ep5 - Aired: 05/27/2011

Travel Channel - Ghost Adventures, Asylum 49 - S18, Ep5 - Aired: 07/15/2017

Podcast Art By: Irit Mogilevsky

It’s that time of year, y’all! To kick off October, our favorite month of the year, Ashley and Sara will be launching a new series called Haunted Hospitals. In this series we will share ghostly tales and eerie happenings in the world’s creepiest hospitals, asylums, and other medical establishments. While this episode may be lighter on our usual cold, hard facts, you know we can’t resist sharing a bit of history along the way!

If you are enjoying Don’t Look Under the Med, please help us out and leave a five-star review! And make sure you follow the podcast on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode.

Articles:

Rolling Hills Asylum - History

Step Out Buffalo - Rolling Hills Asylum

Weird NJ - The Haunting of Rolling Hils Asylum 

US Ghost Adventures - St. Ignatius Hospital

Moscow-Pullman Daily News - Perfect space for ‘too many ideas’

The Spokesman Review - St. Ignatius in Colfax finding new life as a haunted hospital

Spokane Historical - St. Ignatius Hospital

TV Episodes:

Travel Channel - Ghost Adventures, Rolling Hills Asylum - S4, Ep2 - Aired: 09/24/2010

YouTube - Ghost Files - The Nightmare Nuns of St. Ignatius - S1, Ep3 - Aired: 10/07/2022

TLC - Paranormal Lockdown - St. Ignatius Hospital - S2, Ep4 - Aired: 01/06/2017

Travel Channel - Ghost Adventures - St. Ignatius Hospital - S21, Ep18 - Aired: 06/15/2019

Podcast Art By: Irit Mogilevsky

Welcome to Part 3, the final installment in our series on Dr. Jack Kevorkian! In today’s episode Ashley and Sara will discuss the systems Dr. Kevorkian utilized to attempt to evade legal repercussions and meet his own moral and ethical standards, the events that led Michigan lawmakers to create a bill outlawing assisted suicide in 1993, and the case that would end it all.

If you are enjoying Don’t Look Under the Med, please help us out and leave a five-star review! And make sure you follow the podcast on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode.

Articles:

The New England Journal of Medicine- Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in Michigan, by Bachman, Doukas, Lichtenstein, and Alcser

PBS: Frontline- Memorandum Regarding Investigation Into the Death of Hugh Gale, by Carl J. Marlinga, Prosecuting Attorney

Books:

Brovins, Joan M., and Thomas H. Oehmke (1993). Dr. Death: Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s Rx: Death. Lifetime Books. 

Podcasts:

Court TV Podcast - Judgement of Dr. Jack Kevorkian

Youtube:

60 Minutes Archives: An Interview with Dr. Jack Kevorkian

CNN: 2010: Kevorkian Admits to Helping Dozens Die

Resources:

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or a crisis, please reach out immediately to the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. Find out more information here.

Today, in part 2 of our series on Dr. Jack Kevorkian Ashley and Sara will discuss Kevorkian’s early career as a self-proclaimed obitiatrist, or practitioner of physician-assisted death. We will also be discussing Kevorkian’s early legal troubles and his path to becoming one of the most controversial individuals in medical history.

If you are enjoying Don’t Look Under the Med, please help us out and leave a five-star review! And make sure you follow the podcast on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode.

Articles:

CNN- Physician-Assisted Suicide Fast Facts, by CNN Editorial Research Staff

Death With Dignity - Medical Aid in Dying As And End-Of-Life Option Offers Death With Dignity, by Chris Haring

TMZ- Zac Bagans: I Bought Dr. Kevorkian’s DEATH MOBILE

The New York Times - Dr. Jack Kevorkian Dies at 83; A Doctor Who Helped End Lives, by Keith Schneider

The New York Times - Doctor Tells of First Death Using Suicide Machine, by Lisa Belkin

Books:

Brovins, Joan M., and Thomas H. Oehmke (1993). Dr. Death: Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s Rx: Death. Lifetime Books. 

Podcasts:

Court TV Podcast - Judgement of Dr. Jack Kevorkian

Other:

Picture of the Thanatron/Mercitron

1992 Michigan Law that banned assisting suicide

Resources:

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or a crisis, please reach out immediately to the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. Find out more information here.