Doctor John and Doctor Guy chit chat about the great Ambroise Pare.  The French Barber Surgeon whose tight fades and man perms could only be out done by his battlefield surgical prowess and ingenious prosthesis designs.  This rousing episode includes lots of amputations, some essential oils, ligatures, and a guest appearance by everyone's favorite magical stone. 

Doctor John and Doctor Guy discuss Chagas Disease and the "Kissing Bug."  Nothing says "I love you" like a parasitic infection caused by a bug that defecates near your mouth after it kisses (bites) you.  

The honorable doctor John and less honorable doctor Guy bask in the greatness of Doctor Daniel Hale Williams, the only African-American selected as a charter member to the American College of Surgeons and the man, the myth, the legend, credited with performing the first successful open heart surgery.  All he needed were his bare hands, a scalpel, and a wooden stethoscope.

Oh... and a pair of really big beach balls.  
 

The honorable Doctor John and Doctor Guy discuss their 5th favorite Olympic sport... Polio, as well as the worlds last great vaccination victory.  Virus eradication is sweet!  (Iron Lungs... less sweet)  

Doctor John and Doctor Guy roll their wagon wheel along the Oregon Trail as they describe the dangers and maladies of the 2170 mile long journey as well as the unfortunate paucity of medical interventions available to the average traveler.  It was a magical place where Arrows, lightening strikes, mule kicks, and  a plethora of diseases awaited the weary settlers... all of whom were probably treated with enemas.  

Ox wanders off.  Loose 2 days.  Savannah has typhoid.  Tommy has dysentery.  Miss Tina has exhaustion.  (Personally, I never made it to Oregon)

The honorable doctor John and the less honorable doctor Guy dive into one of the classic medical history origin stories, that of the great William Stewart Halsted.  One of the original Johns Hopkins "Big Four," a visionary surgeon and reformer of surgical training in the United States, and... a functional cocaine addict (aka. a rainbow sniffer, a snowblower, a real crack o'lantern).  Everyone has a skeleton in their closet or a monkey on their back, but not everyone rises victoriously like a Halsted (or a phoenix...).  Happy Holidays everyone!

Doctor John and Doctor Guy wade into a swampy mosquito infested marsh to discuss plasmodium falciparum and malaria in all its historical glory.  Damn you mosquitos, you could have spread something good, like "the word" or even "Christmas Cheer" but all you've done is given us the gift of Malaria!   With that said, any disease that led to the creation of the Gin and Tonic can't be all that bad... unless you get it.  then it is all that bad.

Doctor John and Doctor Guy attempt to navigate the strange world of Mass Hysteria.  The discussion of the now antiquated term, Hysteria, begins with its misogynistic past and will finish with some of the more bizarre cultural examples of how fear, stress, and the mind worked together to entrap the masses... because hysteria loves company.  (And no... this podcast will not cause Koro.)   Happy listening!