Medical Media Mixer: The Perfect Cocktail

This week we're mixing up The Reanimator — a jet-black, charcoal-stained cocktail that turns electric green before your eyes — while we dig into Guillermo del Toro's Oscar-winning 2025 adaptation of Frankenstein, streaming now on Netflix, and the classic Mary Shelley novel and 1931 Boris Karloff film that inspired it. Then we bring it back to real medicine with a deep dive into face and limb transplants: what vascularized composite allotransplantation actually involves, who qualifies, why rejection is the field's biggest hurdle, and what the data says about the risks and life-changing rewards for the small number of patients who undergo it. This episode contains discussion of trauma, chronic illness, and suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by call or text. Sources Frankenstein (2025 film) — IMDb Frankenstein (2025 film) — Wikipedia Frankenstein (novel) — Wikipedia Frankenstein (1931 film) — IMDb Frankenstein (1931 film) — Wikipedia https://d1pv6k8x0ig2x3.cloudfront.net/worlds-first-face-double-hand-transplant/ https://projects.nj.com/stranger/ Siminoff LA, et al. "Vascularized composite allotransplantation: Knowledge and attitudes of a national sample of organ procurement organization professionals." Clinical Transplantation. 2020. doi:10.1111/ctr.14071 Khalifian S, et al. "Facial Transplantation: The First 9 Years." Lancet. 2014. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(13)62632-X Hernandez JA, et al. "OPTN/SRTR 2024 Annual Data Report: Vascularized Composite Allograft." American Journal of Transplantation. 2026. doi:10.1016/j.ajt.2026.05.726 Cavaliere A, et al. "Long-Term Outcomes and Future Challenges in Face Transplantation." JPRAS. 2024. doi:10.1016/j.bjps.2024.02.064 Shores JT, et al. "Hand and Upper Extremity Transplantation: An Update of Outcomes in the Worldwide Experience." Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 2015. doi:10.1097/PRS.0000000000000892 Wells MW, et al. "Two Decades of Hand Transplantation: A Systematic Review of Outcomes." Annals of Plastic Surgery. 2022. doi:10.1097/SAP.0000000000003056 Laspro M, et al. "Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation of the Hand: A Systematic Review of Eligibility Criteria." Annals of Plastic Surgery. 2023. doi:10.1097/SAP.0000000000003659 Lantieri L, et al. "First Human Facial Retransplantation: 30-Month Follow-Up." Lancet. 2020. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32438-7 Knoedler L, et al. "A Systematic Review of Treatment Strategies to Combat Acute and Chronic Rejection Episodes in VCA." Frontiers in Immunology. 2026. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2026.1733221 Tchiloemba B, et al. "Long-Term Outcomes After Facial Allotransplantation." Transplantation. 2021. doi:10.1097/TP.0000000000003513 Diaz-Siso JR, et al. "Initial Experience of Dual Maintenance Immunosuppression With Steroid Withdrawal in VCA." American Journal of Transplantation. 2015. doi:10.1111/ajt.13103 Lemogne C, et al. "Psychological and Psychiatric Aspects of Face Transplantation." Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2019. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2019.02.006 Tasigiorgos S, et al. "Five-Year Follow-up after Face Transplantation." NEJM. 2019. doi:10.1056/NEJMc1810468 Blankenstein AP, et al. "Psychological Outcomes of Facial Transplantation." Annals of Plastic Surgery. 2025. doi:10.1097/SAP.0000000000004487 Leonard DA, et al. "The United Kingdom Hand and Upper Limb Transplantation Service: First Twelve Years." JPRAS. 2025. doi:10.1016/j.bjps.2025.05.001 Episodes every Monday  ⭐️ Subscribe, Rate and Review! 🍸 Recipes drop on socials  Discounts: 15% off Comfrt apparel Purple Carrot: 40% off your first box ClassPass: 2 weeks free 15% off non-alcoholic spirits at The Zero Proof 💳 Support us on Patreon | ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee  Contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

On Oct. 16, 2010, Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand made a kickoff-coverage tackle against Army and didn't get up. He'd fractured his C3 and C4 vertebrae, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down, and his mother was told he had a 0% to 5% chance of walking again. The next day, he mouthed three words to her: "I'll be back." This week, over a Cold Fashioned — a coffee-forward Old Fashioned that nods to LeGrand Coffee House and his Kentucky straight bourbon — we trace his story from the field to the ventilator to the sideline, then go deep on spinal cord injury itself: why "C3, 4, 5 keeps the diaphragm alive," the autonomic complications most people have never heard of, what the ASIA scale really predicts, and how rehab and neuroplasticity shift the odds. We close with the research horizon, from riluzole and anti-Nogo-A antibodies to epidural spinal cord stimulation that has helped completely paralyzed patients stand and step again. Tonight's Cocktail The Cold Fashioned — Mr Black recipe Media Referenced This Episode Believe: My Faith and the Tackle That Changed My Life — Amazon Believe: The Victorious Story of Eric LeGrand (Young Readers' Edition) — Amazon State of Play: Broken (HBO Sports, 2014) Mission Possible with Eric LeGrand — IMDb Mission Possible with Eric LeGrand — full YouTube playlist Building LeGrand — YouTube A Cup of Believe — podcast Eric LeGrand Eric LeGrand — Wikipedia LeGrand Coffee House Eric LeGrand Bourbon Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation Eric LeGrand on X Medical References Li M, et al. Peer-Supported Interventions for People With Spinal Cord Injury. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024. McDonald JW, Sadowsky C. Spinal-Cord Injury. Lancet. 2002. GBD Spinal Cord Injuries Collaborators. Global, Regional, and National Burden of Spinal Cord Injury, 1990–2019. Lancet Neurol. 2023. Schroeder GD, Vaccaro AR, Welch WC, et al. Best Practices Guidelines: Spine Injury. American College of Surgeons. 2022. Ropper AE, Ropper AH. Acute Spinal Cord Compression. N Engl J Med. 2017. Chiles BW, Cooper PR. Acute Spinal Injury. N Engl J Med. 1996. Rupp R, et al. International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury: Revised 2019. Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil. 2021. Yelamarthy PKK, et al. Radiological Protocol in Spinal Trauma. Eur Spine J. 2020. Freund P, et al. MRI in Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury. Lancet Neurol. 2019. Picetti E, et al. Early Management of Adult Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury in Patients With Polytrauma. World J Emerg Surg. 2024. Hassankhani A, et al. ACR Appropriateness Criteria: Acute Spinal Trauma, 2024 Update. J Am Coll Radiol. 2025. Krueckel J, et al. Clinical Recommendations for the Acute Care of Patients With Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2025. Zeller SL, et al. Critical Care of Spinal Cord Injury. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. 2024. Baroudi M, et al. Management of Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury: A Current Concepts Review. Injury. 2024. Lambrechts MJ, et al. Updates in the Early Management of Acute Spinal Cord Injury. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2023. Failli V, et al. Experimental Treatments for Spinal Cord Injury: What You Should Know. Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil. 2021. Zipser CM, et al. Cell-Based and Stem-Cell-Based Treatments for Spinal Cord Injury. Lancet Neurol. 2022. Kirshblum S, et al. Characterizing Natural Recovery After Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury. J Neurotrauma. 2021. Khorasanizadeh M, et al. Neurological Recovery Following Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Neurosurg Spine. 2019. Stenimahitis V, et al. Long-Term Outcome and Predictors of Neurological Recovery in Cervical Spinal Cord Injury. Sci Rep. 2024. Zadra A, et al. Life Expectancy and Long-Term Survival After Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury. Eur J Phys Rehabil Med. 2024. Emerging Therapies and Neuromodulation Pedro KM, et al. Riluzole as a Pharmacological Therapy for Spinal Cord Injury. Curr Opin Neurol. 2025. Zhou LY, et al. Riluzole Promotes Neurological Function Recovery in Rats Following Spinal Cord Injury: A Meta-Analysis. J Neurochem. 2019. Zarei H, et al. The Neuroprotective Role of Riluzole in Spinal Cord Injury. Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg. 2025. Fehlings MG, et al. Safety and Efficacy of Riluzole in Acute Spinal Cord Injury Study (RISCIS). J Neurotrauma. 2023. Fehlings MG, et al. Riluzole Improves Outcome After Acute Spinal Cord Injury: RISCIS Reanalysis. EBioMedicine. 2025. Fehlings MG, et al. A Randomized Controlled Trial of Local Delivery of a Rho Inhibitor (VX-210). J Neurotrauma. 2021. Forgione N, Fehlings MG. Rho-ROCK Inhibition in the Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury. World Neurosurg. 2014. Fehlings MG, et al. A Phase I/IIa Clinical Trial of a Recombinant Rho Protein Antagonist in Acute Spinal Cord Injury. J Neurotrauma. 2011. Khavandegar A, et al. RhoA/ROCK Inhibition and Locomotor Recovery After Spinal Cord Injury. Spinal Cord. 2025. Watzlawick R, et al. Effect and Reporting Bias of RhoA/ROCK-Blockade Intervention. JAMA Neurol. 2014. Weidner N, et al. Intrathecal Antibodies to Nogo-A in Acute Cervical Spinal Cord Injury (NISCI). Lancet Neurol. 2025. Scheuren PS, et al. Enhanced Clinical Trial Stratification in Spinal Cord Injury: The Value of Electrophysiology. Brain. 2026. Maynard G, et al. Soluble Nogo-Receptor-Fc Decoy (AXER-204) in Chronic Cervical Spinal Cord Injury. Lancet Neurol. 2023. Hachmann JT, et al. Epidural Spinal Cord Stimulation for Motor Recovery After Motor Complete Spinal Cord Injury. J Neurophysiol. 2021. Rowald A, et al. Activity-Dependent Spinal Cord Neuromodulation Rapidly Restores Trunk and Leg Motor Functions After Complete Paralysis. Nat Med. 2022. Chalif JI, et al. Epidural Spinal Cord Stimulation for Spinal Cord Injury in Humans: A Systematic Review. J Clin Med. 2024. Mansour NM, et al. Advances in Epidural Spinal Cord Stimulation to Restore Function After Spinal Cord Injury. J Neurotrauma. 2022. James ND, et al. Neuromodulation in the Restoration of Function After Spinal Cord Injury. Lancet Neurol. 2018. Tajali S, et al. Modulations in Neural Pathways Excitability Post Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation. Front Neurosci. 2024. Benavides FD, et al. Cortical and Subcortical Effects of Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation in Tetraplegia. J Neurosci. 2020. Alawieh H, et al. Spinal Cord Stimulation Accelerates Brain-Computer Interface Skill Learning. PNAS. 2025. Ribeiro BF, et al. Cell Therapies for Spinal Cord Injury: A Review of the Clinical Trials. Brain. 2023. Ahuja CS, et al. Emerging Neuroprotective and Neuroregenerative Cell-Based Therapies for Spinal Cord Injury. Stem Cells Transl Med. 2020. Mu Z, et al. Stem Cells and Epidural Electrical Stimulation in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation. Sci Rep. 2024. Ralph PC, et al. Regenerative Medicine Approaches for Spinal Cord Injuries. Acta Biomater. 2024. Fischer G, et al. Advancements in Neuroregenerative and Neuroprotective Therapies for Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury. Front Neurosci. 2024. Hejrati N, Fehlings MG. Emerging Neuroprotective and Neuroregenerative Therapies in Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury. Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2021. Episodes every Monday  ⭐️ Subscribe, Rate and Review! 🍸 Recipes drop on socials  Discounts: 15% off Comfrt apparel Purple Carrot: 40% off your first box ClassPass: 2 weeks free 15% off non-alcoholic spirits at The Zero Proof 💳 Support us on Patreon | ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee  Contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

In 2019, Olympic dressage trainer Michael Barisone shot his student Lauren Kanarek at his Hawthorne Hill farm in Long Valley, New Jersey. In 2022, a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity. Inspired by Netflix's "Untold: The Shooting at Hawthorne Hill," Tara and Nicole explain what the insanity defense actually means medically and legally. They cover how states define legal insanity, why the defense succeeds far less often than people think, and why "not guilty" doesn't mean walking free. The hosts also revisit the cases that shaped public perception: Lorena Bobbitt, John Hinckley Jr. and Andrea Yates. They also touch on Lindsay Clancy, whose postpartum psychosis defense ended in a mistrial last month. Grab a Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity cocktail and join us for this one. Sources: Untold: The Shooting at Hawthorne Hill – Netflix Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity – US Law Explained Insanity Defense – Wikipedia Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity – Psychology Today Michael Barisone and Lauren Kanarek Tell Their Sides – People 5 Unsettling Details About the Attempted Murder of Lauren Kanarek – Primetimer Famous Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity Cases – Legal Clarity Cases Where Insanity Defenses Have Been Successful in the US – New York Post Lindsay Clancy Trial: How the Insanity Defense Differs in Mass. – Northeastern Global News Judge Declares Mistrial in Lindsay Clancy's Murder Case – NPR   Episodes every Monday  ⭐️ Subscribe, Rate and Review! 🍸 Recipes drop on socials  Discounts: 15% off Comfrt apparel Purple Carrot: 40% off your first box ClassPass: 2 weeks free 15% off non-alcoholic spirits at The Zero Proof 💳 Support us on Patreon | ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee  Contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

This week, we're pouring "The Ebola" — a five-spirit pitcher pour that's not for the faint of heart — and revisiting Wolfgang Petersen's 1995 thriller Outbreak, starring Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo and Morgan Freeman, as our jumping-off point for a real deep dive into Ebola virus disease. We trace the virus from its 1976 discovery near the Ebola River through the devastating 2013–2016 West Africa outbreak, and walk through how it actually spreads, what it does to the body, how it's diagnosed, and the treatments and vaccine that have genuinely changed the odds of survival in the last decade. We also round up a few other Ebola-adjacent films and documentaries worth knowing about — including one we went looking for and simply couldn't find streaming in the U.S. Sources & further reading Outbreak (1995) — Wikipedia Outbreak (1995) — IMDb Orphans of Ebola — TMDB E-bola (2015) — IMDb Movies About Ebola & Disease History — Borgen Project Duke Global Health — Ebola Film Series The Ebola cocktail recipe — Cocktail Builder About Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers Medical & scientific references Malvy D, McElroy AK, de Clerck H, Günther S, van Griensven J. "Ebola Virus Disease." The Lancet, 2019. Moso MA, Lim CK, Williams E, et al. "Prevention and Post-Exposure Management of Occupational Exposure to Ebola Virus." The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2024. Letafati A, Salahi Ardekani O, Karami H, Soleimani M. "Ebola Virus Disease: A Narrative Review." Microbial Pathogenesis, 2023. Umar SK, Diggle MA. "The Ebola Virus — Going Beyond the Bleeding Edge." Journal of Medical Microbiology, 2025. Meakin S, Nsio J, Camacho A, et al. "Effectiveness of rVSV-ZEBOV Vaccination During the 2018–20 Ebola Virus Disease Epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Retrospective Test-Negative Study." The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2024. Feldmann H, Sprecher A, Geisbert TW. "Ebola." The New England Journal of Medicine, 2020. Kuehn R, Ryan H, Okwaraeke KC, et al. "Vaccines for Preventing Ebola Virus Disease." The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2024. Choi MJ, Cossaboom CM, Whitesell AN, et al. "Use of Ebola Vaccine: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, United States, 2020." MMWR Recommendations and Reports, 2021. Mukadi-Bamuleka D, Bulabula-Penge J, De Weggheleire A, et al. "Field Performance of Three Ebola Rapid Diagnostic Tests Used During the 2018–20 Outbreak in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo." The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2022. Wonderly B, Jones S, Gatton ML, et al. "Comparative Performance of Four Rapid Ebola Antigen-Detection Lateral Flow Immunoassays During the 2014–2016 Ebola Epidemic in West Africa." PLoS One, 2018. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Clinical Guidance for Ebola Disease." 2026. El Ayoubi LW, Mahmoud O, Zakhour J, Kanj SS. "Recent Advances in the Treatment of Ebola Disease: A Brief Overview." PLoS Pathogens, 2024. Rojek A, Fieggen J, Apiyo P, et al. "Ebola Disease: Bridging Scientific Discoveries and Clinical Application." The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2025. Bahadir Z, Narayan P, Wolters R, et al. "Monoclonal Antibodies for Pediatric Viral Disease Prevention and Treatment." Pediatrics, 2025. Kallay R, Doshi RH, Muhoza P, et al. "Use of Ebola Vaccines — Worldwide, 2021–2023." MMWR, 2024. Muyembe JJ, Pan H, Peto R, et al. "Ebola Outbreak Response in the DRC with rVSV-ZEBOV-GP Ring Vaccination." The New England Journal of Medicine, 2024.   Episodes every Monday  ⭐️ Subscribe, Rate and Review! 🍸 Recipes drop on socials  Discounts: 15% off Comfrt apparel Purple Carrot: 40% off your first box ClassPass: 2 weeks free 15% off non-alcoholic spirits at The Zero Proof 💳 Support us on Patreon | ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee  Contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

This week, Tara and Nicole dig into the psychology of stalking — starting with the Hulu docuseries Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror, which follows a woman held captive in a soundproof box by the man who pursued her for more than a decadebefore she found a way to escape and had to decide whether to pursue lesser charges or fight for full justice against her captor. They trace the same fixation across pop culture — Netflix's Baby Reindeer, the 2007 documentary Crazy Love, Netflix's You, and the 2025 film Obsession — before pulling back to the clinical picture: what stalking actually looks like, how often it happens, and why it's so often minimized. On the medical side, they break down the CDC's data on stalking as a public health issue, including how common covert surveillance tactics like tracking and monitoring really are, and the mental health toll on survivors — PTSD, hopelessness, anxiety. They also revisit the 1989 murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer, whose case helped create the first U.S. anti-stalking laws, and close with the real story behind Baby Reindeer as told by creator Richard Gadd. Cocktail this week: The Celery Stalker. hulu Sources & further reading: Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror (Hulu) Stalking Samantha (Disney+) Baby Reindeer — Wikipedia Crazy Love (2007 film) — Wikipedia Obsession (2025 film) — Wikipedia The True Story Behind Baby Reindeer — People Stalking — Office for Victims of Crime Stalking — CDC Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Stalking — Psychology Today Eva LaRue on Surviving Stalking Rebecca Schaeffer — Wikipedia Rebecca Schaeffer's Murder — All That's Interesting Celery Stalker cocktail inspiration — Epicurious Episodes every Monday  ⭐️ Subscribe, Rate and Review! 🍸 Recipes drop on socials  Discounts: 15% off Comfrt apparel Purple Carrot: 40% off your first box ClassPass: 2 weeks free 15% off non-alcoholic spirits at The Zero Proof 💳 Support us on Patreon | ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee  Contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.