This week, Tara and Nicole pour a Hypnosis (vodka, Hpnotiq, and Squirt) while diving into one of the strangest true-crime-meets-medicine stories out there: Florida high school principal Dr. George Kenney, who wasn't a licensed hypnotherapist but ran one-on-one hypnosis sessions with more than 70 students over five years — three of whom (Marcus Freeman, Wesley McKinley, and Brittany Palumbo) died within weeks of each other in 2011. The hosts break down what actually happened, what the SundanceTV docuseries Look Into My Eyes revealed, and then pivot to the clinical side: what legitimate, licensed clinical hypnosis actually looks like, what it can and can't do, and why "who's holding the reins" matters so much when it comes to a technique that alters consciousness.

Sources referenced in this episode:

What does Spielberg's 1975 blockbuster Jaws have in common with the real-life story of teenage surfing champion Bethany Hamilton? More than you'd think — and the medicine in between is worth every minute. In this episode, Tara and Nicole pair two very different shark stories to explore what actually happens to the human body during a shark attack, how trauma surgery has evolved over the past 50 years, and why the antibiotic you reach for in the ED could make or break a marine wound. We cover the epidemiology of shark attacks worldwide (yes, Florida leads the U.S. — surprise), the injury patterns surgeons see most often, the critical rule against closing marine wounds right away, the marine microbiome that makes these infections unlike any other bite wound, and the often-overlooked psychological toll on survivors and witnesses. Plus: how a surfboard leash tourniquet saved Bethany Hamilton's life, why Quint never stood a chance, and what 'You're gonna need a bigger antibiotic regimen' actually means in clinical practice.

Pop Culture & Cocktail

Jaws (1975) — Wikipedia

Soul Surfer (2011) — Wikipedia

Shark Attack Cocktail Recipe — Play Party Plan

Peer-Reviewed Literature

Cyclosporiasis cases have surged past 3,000 across at least 31 states this summer, with Michigan alone reporting more than 1,500 cases since late June — roughly 25 times its typical annual total. In this episode of The Shot, Tara breaks down what's driving the surge, why cases are concentrated in southeast Michigan, and what's still unconfirmed about the source. She also covers the clinical picture clinicians need to recognize, the testing pitfall that causes cases to be missed and the current treatment protocol.

Links

What do Kanye West, Mariah Carey, Carrie Fisher, Demi Lovato, and Brian Wilson all have in common? They’ve all lived — and created — with bipolar disorder. In this episode of Medical Media Mixer, Tara and Nicole pour the Bipolar Christy (a tart, jewel-toned vodka and pomegranate cocktail as mood-shifting as the condition itself) and dive deep into one of the most misunderstood mental health diagnoses of our time. They break down the clinical realities of bipolar I and II — mania, hypomania, depressive episodes, and everything in between — while exploring the complicated, often controversial relationship between bipolar disorder and creative genius. From Kanye’s documented four-month manic episode to Mariah Carey’s years of living in denial, to Carrie Fisher’s lifelong advocacy for mental health awareness, the stories of these artists humanize a condition that still carries enormous stigma. Tara and Nicole discuss what “mood episodes” actually look like clinically, how misdiagnosis remains a widespread problem, and what effective, evidence-based treatment looks like today — because recovery is possible, and productivity doesn’t require suffering.

Sources:

In Episode 78, Tara and Nicole use the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club as a lens to explore one of the most consequential medical crises in modern history: the HIV/AIDS pandemic. From the 1981 CDC reports of a mysterious illness decimating a community to the 2024 IAS-USA guidelines recommending single-pill daily ART, this episode traces the full arc — the science of HIV pathogenesis, the evolution of antiretroviral therapy, the lifesaving frameworks of PrEP, PEP, and U=U, and the patient activism that reshaped FDA drug approval forever. Ron Woodroof's buyers club was an act of desperation. The medicine that followed was a triumph.

Sources:

FDA Orange Book — Approved Drug Products — https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/ob/index.cfm

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This week MMM hits the road for a Making Rounds episode, broadcasting live from Bellemara Distillery in Hillsborough, NJ — New Jersey's first single malt distillery, where every spirit is made grain-to-glass on-site. Sipping on their craft cocktails, Tara and Nicole dig into a stacked lineup: the Netflix dark comedy Sirens, where a sister's intervention unravels a cult-like world of wealth and control; the British psychological thriller Unchosen, exploring life inside a high-control religious community and the psychology of a dangerous awakening; the true crime documentary The Murder of Rachel Nickell, unpacking the controversial child-interview techniques used on Rachel's young son and the offender-profiling missteps that derailed the investigation for years; and a lighter palate cleanser with Jury Duty / Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat, looking at how a hidden-camera show finds and builds its real-life "heroes." Cheers to a packed episode, on location at Bellemara.

SHOW NOTES

What happens when the algorithm becomes your therapist, your confidant, and your reality? In this episode, Tara and Nicole use Brilliant Minds Season 2, Episode 13 — "The Rabbit Hole" — as a launchpad into one of the most urgent and underexamined mental health crises of the AI era: chatbot psychosis. When a patient arrives at Dr. Wolf's neurology unit in a full mental health break driven by her relationship with an AI chatbot, the show mirrors something clinicians are actually seeing right now. Tara and Nicole break down the clinical picture of AI-induced delusional amplification, why these chatbots are uniquely dangerous for vulnerable users, what psychiatry is doing to catch up, and what all of us — clinicians and patients alike — need to understand about this moment.

Sources:

This week on Medical Media Mixer, we're pairing a sunrise in a glass with one of the most raw and courageous documentaries in recent memory. We're watching Introducing, Selma Blair (2021, Discovery+) — a film that follows actress Selma Blair through a years-long diagnostic odyssey, a harrowing stem cell transplant, and the daily reality of living with multiple sclerosis. Blair, best known for Legally Blonde and Cruel Intentions, went public with her MS diagnosis in 2018 after her symptoms were dismissed for years as stress and postpartum depression. This week, we break down what MS actually is, why it takes so long to diagnose — especially in women — and how a procedure that requires wiping out your entire immune system can be someone's best shot at a better life. We're sipping the Mountain Sunrise cocktail, a drink literally created to raise money for the National MS Society. Orange is the MS awareness ribbon color, and this drink earns its place on the table.

Sources & Further Reading

What does a mob boss in a bathrobe, a serial killer faking split personalities, and a bartender with a fabricated cocktail story all have in common? A great performance changes everything. In Episode 75, Tara and Nicole break down malingering and factitious disorder — two conditions where people fake, exaggerate, or manufacture illness — and why the distinction matters enormously in clinical and legal settings. Anchored by Primal Fear and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the episode explores real-world cases that read like fiction: Kenneth Bianchi's MPD charade exposed by forensic psychologist Dr. Martin Orne, and mob boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, who wandered Greenwich Village in a bathrobe for 30 years to dodge prosecution. Even the cocktail, the Seelbach, came with a completely invented origin story. This one has layers.

Sources:

** TRIGGER WARNING FOR SA**

Episode Summary: