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Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine
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Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine

Author: Justin McElroy, Dr. Sydnee McElroy

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Join Dr. Sydnee McElroy and her husband Justin McElroy for a tour of all the dumb, bad, gross, weird and wrong ways we've tried to fix people.
555 Episodes
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Sawbones: Dr. Asher

Sawbones: Dr. Asher

2025-09-1639:561

Another episode in the Sawbones multiverse, Dr. Sydnee and Justin resist Dr. Richard Asher, who is the person who coined Munchausen Syndrome. Dr. Aster was a prominent physician and critical thinker whose medical contributions included noting the dangers of bed rest and naming the "seven sins of medicine." His children also had notable music careers.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/Equality Florida: https://www.eqfl.org/
With all the changes going on in the CDC, Dr. Sydnee and Justin check back in with an update on vaccines and vaccine mandates, as well as dispelling some common vaccine myths that unfortunately come up again and again.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/Equality Florida: https://www.eqfl.org/
There are many eponymous disorders and diseases, but Munchausen is an interesting case of a disease named after a character who is based on a real person. Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about Hieronymus Karl Friedrich von Münchhausen and how his fantastic stories became stuck to his name forever.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/World Central Kitchen: https://wck.org/
Sawbones: Lisztomania

Sawbones: Lisztomania

2025-08-1941:433

Before the hysteria of Swifties and Beatlemania, people were getting hype over the handsome pianist Franz Liszt.  Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about what exactly about this artist made regular fandom escalate into a mania and what this medical condition actually meant.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/World Central Kitchen: https://wck.org/
Before everyone hits the back-to-school grind, we’ve got a fun episode about Freddy Pharkas. A historical figure of frontier medicine? No, a video game character from 1993. Justin and Dr. Sydnee talk about how a farmer-cist was made, as well as the real and fake medicine Freddy doled out on the frontier.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/World Central Kitchen: https://wck.org/
We're bringing the heat with listeners' weird medical questions! Are the hot parts of the body the only Sweaty parts? Is spicy food spicier some days more than others? Is there any benefits to extra things in glasses lenses? And if your stomach can expand, why not your bladder?Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/Immigrant Defenders Law Center: https://www.immdef.org/
Sawbones: King of Sting

Sawbones: King of Sting

2025-07-0838:075

A dovetail from last week’s episode, Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about the official pain scale of insect stings, all compiled by Justin O. Schmidt. So who was this Justin, how did his research contribute to science, and did he really get stung by all these insects to make a non-objective scale? (Answer: yes).Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/Immigrant Defenders Law Center: https://www.immdef.org/
Sawbones: Wasps

Sawbones: Wasps

2025-07-0141:335

After an unfortunate and painful encounter with an angry flying insect, Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about wasps: how their stings work, and a journey into the science behind some folk remedies.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/Immigrant Defenders Law Center: https://www.immdef.org/
It used to be that if you needed to get to the hospital quickly, you would call the herse – because it had the space to transport a person who was lying down. Well, all of that changed in Columbus, OH, with the Heartmobile, known as the first ambulance. Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about its development, implementation, and the thrilling end of its ambulatory adventures.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/Transgender Law Center: https://transgenderlawcenter.org/
Sawbones: MAHA Mess

Sawbones: MAHA Mess

2025-06-1742:072

Dr. Sydnee and Justin said they'd talk about when the US Health Department replaced the vaccine council . . . well, it's happened. But to EVERYONE'S surprise, it's more of a mess than a triumph. Dr. Sydnee talks about all the changes going on, the motive behind them, and why some good intentions can lead to dangerous outcomes.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/Transgender Law Center: https://transgenderlawcenter.org/
Just in time for The Prom season, Justin and Dr. Sydnee bring your weird summer medical questions! Do other citrus fruits affect medication, or is it really just grapefruits? Why do hiccups happen so sporadically? Do carrots actually give you good vision? Can a broken finger fully heal by itself? Plus, an update on vaccines in the United States.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/Transgender Law Center: https://transgenderlawcenter.org/
Sawbones: Sex Chocolate

Sawbones: Sex Chocolate

2025-05-2741:402

It's a Sawbones grab-bag, featuring some pop-sci mythbusting around MSG, a reality check into current events around vaccines, and a fun new questionable product bringing chocolate to the bedroom.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/Center for Reproductive Rights: https://reproductiverights.org/
With all the news around fluoride, we bring the classic Sawbones episode about the benefits of fluoride in drinking water, because the science has not changed.This week, Dr. Sydnee and Justin explore a medical mystery: Why, for a town in Colorado, was having brown teeth a sign of great tooth health?Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/Center for Reproductive Rights: https://reproductiverights.org/
Sawbones: Dr. Pope

Sawbones: Dr. Pope

2025-05-1339:157

There was a time when Popes had secondary careers (or primary ones) on to of their Papal one. This includes Pope John XXI, the only Pope to have also been a physician. Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about this non-traditional Pope and his contribution to medicine in the 12th century.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/Center for Reproductive Rights: https://reproductiverights.org/
Sawbones brings you a studio version of the show at the ye olde Harmony House Renaissance Faire. Justin and Dr. Sydnee talk about how medicine evolved in the Renaissance beyond what passed for scientific theories during the middle ages including the four humours, alchemy, and the real cause of syphilis (insulting the sun god).Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/Center for Reproductive Rights: https://reproductiverights.org/
Sawbones: Tetanus

Sawbones: Tetanus

2025-04-2947:542

It's a myth that tetanus is only found on rusty metal. What really matters is that a wound that is a dirty, deep puncture wound could to introduce the bacteria into the body. Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about the long history of humans and tetanus, what it does to a body, and why maybe it's not a great idea to garden barefoot.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/National Immigration Project: https://nipnlg.org/about/who-we-are
The Medical Freedom or the Health Freedom Movement is not new, but it is currently gaining more traction and attention under RFK, Jr. On its face, it is a political movement that distrusts pharmaceutical companies and government regulations for supplements. But Dr. Sydnee talks about its history and roots in strange conspiracies and biases from the 1950s – and what the movement means for us today.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/"The John Birch Society" by The Chad Mitchell Trio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWCYSVZhPoUNational Immigration Project: https://nipnlg.org/about/who-we-are
TikTok has become enthralled with the idea of Thalassotherapy... which is basically going to the ocean to feel better. Dr. Sydnee talks about the history of this "sea cure" and Dr. Richard Russell, the man who popularized it in the second half of the eighteenth century.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/National Immigration Project: https://nipnlg.org/about/who-we-are 
Justin has gathered all the strangest listeners (questions) to quiz Dr. Sydnee with all of your weird and fun medical questions! Is Gatorade actually salty and NOT sweet? Are people with cat allergies allergic to big cats? Can you fart and spread norovirus? Can a fetus taste? And the most important question of all: who are Justin and Dr. Sydnee's favorite fictional doctors?Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/National Immigration Project: https://nipnlg.org/about/who-we-are
What medical drama does a doctor on a cruise ship get involved in? Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about Dr. Odyssey: Shark Attack!, and the follow-up,  Dr. Odyssey: Shark Attack! Part 2: Orca. It's a wild ride, but some of the medical beats are surprisingly accurate.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/Harmony House: https://harmonyhousewv.com/
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Comments (693)

Willow Frederick

Msg is in so many classic American chips like doritos. Who still thinks it is unsafe?!

Sep 9th
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Tammy Buchanan

Dear me, people, can we stay on the theme of this podcast? Our hosts put so much effort and vulnerability into this artform. If you wanted to help instead of simply inciting, you would direct your passion and efforts to platforms where it can hopefully make a difference.

Sep 5th
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Tammy Buchanan

I know you and your family deserve a life, but I really wait with bated breath for your take on the letter to the c. D what you think will happen since I cannot. As a healthcare worker working with the elderly going from home to home like typhoid mary cannot get the vaccine unless I can pay three hundred and fifty dollars

Sep 5th
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Chesney Migl

I can't hear fictitious disorder without thinking of Maya Kowalski. How many people suffer because someone got lazy or jaded? It still takes as average of *years* to get an endometriosis dx. Heaven help you, if you actually have something rare, or non-textbook, or have difficulties communicating because it ND. I was told I must be a drug addict because I was tired. I'd have to be awake to seek drugs, not sleeping 12+ hours a day. Turns out hyperthyroid can present as textbook hypo. Why?!

Aug 26th
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Drew de la Cruz

Should one want to read more on this subject, it is important that one reads the book "The Sting of the Wild" by Justin O Schmidt, and not "The King of Sting" by Coyote Peterson, who is at best a cheap wannabe.

Jul 10th
Reply (1)

Tammy Buchanan

Clapping from home Justin. Maybe spelled it right? Cincinnat'a girl here. 30-year-old kid (PhD) with no cavities and bougie molar coatings (My method was just to tell her she probably wouldn't like it for a few minutes and held her hand). God bless flouride. luvu both

May 22nd
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Tammy Buchanan

I'm getting a little bit frustrated crazy about the uncured meat in the deli. It says on the label that you have to keep it under 40° at all times, yet anyone packing their lunch is not going to do that. I parallel that with the unpasteurized milk phase. Those deli products are REPLACING the ones that I used to find of value in my lunchbox providing OT home health. In New Orleans Louisiana all the gel ice in July/Aug in the best ice chest/camping store does NOT maintain 40 degrees or below.

May 10th
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Tammy Buchanan

My medical training 2017, I was low titers on MMR. Opportunity! Free vaccines from employee health: both Hep's, flu 1/yr, shingles series ( I get "cold sores")pneumonia and titers every yr. I remember my cousins, me, Mom, Aunt, sitting in those plastic 70's colors chairs at health center. Have my small pox scar. Mom was not not swayed by the "natural" 70s crowd but didn't shun them (a toke occasionally). Rest in peace Mom not afraid to trust my MD. You're a vaccine pioneer woman rock star.

May 10th
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pepsifester

mmmmmm apples and bacon

Apr 23rd
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ID19619055

I’m old…they weren’t supposed to be asking relationship questions back then…but every single program asked me whether my husband would move. I was married to a woman. Every.time.

Apr 14th
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BC

I'll slap on a mask as soon as any pollen kicks up because I forgot to buy Claritin at Costco every time I've gone, but I have masks at work.

Mar 28th
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Sheena Martin Svitich

what a powerful episode

Mar 4th
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Andi-Roo Libecap

This was a much-needed and extremely hopeful episode during these very dark days. I'm so grateful for the creators and influencers using their platforms to speak out on important issues like healthcare, trans awareness, vaccines, racism, etc.

Mar 3rd
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Tammy Buchanan

Oh, and, our Louisiana state surgeon general is ending vaccination stations even for those who wish to receive vaccinations.

Feb 23rd
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Tammy Buchanan

Louisiana just enacted policy to remove public recommendations to vaccinate. This is going to be a cultural disaster that will take perhaps generations to correct. No public service announcements, no posters or recommendations from school counselors, no posters at public health and benefits locations. from what I see now, schools do have minimal vaccination requirements, but the opt out on these have become so flimsy as to make them laughable.

Feb 23rd
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ID19619055

Thank you for highlighting the attacks on the trans community.

Feb 22nd
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Shanonymous

Holy fuck, the husband is AGGRAVATING. Just let Sydney talk! I'm more than halfway in and they haven't said ANYTHING about the topic. This guy is the WORST, and the way this episode is heading (if anywhere) remains to be seen.

Feb 18th
Reply (2)

WolfG4M3r

I missed this one. Glad I listened. My brothers didnt wanted vaccines for family during covid. Even tho I still don't agree, I can sympathized when considering their family. I hope Americans view on plubic health policies can be more supported when science can help show why they can help.

Feb 1st
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Jochen Granja

Yg7jod no gssse

Nov 17th
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ID19619055

HEY!! What happens in fight club STAYS in fight club!!!

Oct 24th
Reply