M⁴: Medicine, Mystery, Mayhem... and Sometimes Murder

What if your imagination didn’t come with pictures? In this episode of Medicine, Mystery, Mayhem & Murder (M⁴), we explore aphantasia — a fascinating neurological condition where the mind’s eye just... doesn’t open.Join us as we dive into what life is like without mental imagery — where people know what an apple looks like, but can’t see it in their heads.Through real research and relatable stories, we’ll unravel how imagination works, what happens when it doesn’t, and why it might not be such a bad thing after all.Is aphantasia a medical mystery, a scientific marvel, or simply another creative twist of the human brain?From lab tests that measure how your pupils respond to imagined light, to people who describe “thinking in words instead of pictures,” this episode shines a bright (and picture-free) light on how our minds make meaning — even without the visuals.Sources:Dawes, A. J., Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2020). Quantifying aphantasia through drawing: Perception and memory in the absence of imagery. Cortex, 135, 159–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2020.11.005Dutta, N. (2022, March 8). What it’s like to be “mind blind”: Aphantasia, or mind blindness, refers to an inability to visualize imagery. TIME. https://time.com/6155443/aphantasia-mind-blind/Kay, L., Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2022). The pupillary light response as a physiological marker of mental imagery strength. eLife, 11, e72484. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.72484Milton, F., Zeman, A., & Pearson, J. (2021). A systematic review of aphantasia: Concept, measurement, neural basis, and theory development. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 720870. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.720870University of New South Wales Newsroom. (2025, January). Mind blindness decoded: People who can’t see with their mind’s eye still activate their visual cortex. https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2025/01/mind-blindness-decoded-people-who-cant-see-with-their-minds-eye-still-activate-their-visual-cortexWicken, M., Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2021). Visual imagery vividness and emotional reactivity: The role of mental imagery in emotion. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 288(1953), 20210267. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.0267Zeman, A., Dewar, M., & Della Sala, S. (2015). Lives without imagery – Congenital aphantasia. Cortex, 73, 378–380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2015.05.019

Jane Toppan’s story is one of the most chilling chapters in American criminal history. Known as “Jolly Jane,” she was a seemingly cheerful and devoted nurse who used her position of trust to carry out a string of calculated poisonings that stunned the nation. Beneath her pleasant demeanor lurked a dark obsession with control, life, and death. Her patients—many of whom trusted her completely—became unsuspecting victims of her deadly experiments with morphine and atropine. Toppan’s crimes blurred the line between medicine and murder, leaving a haunting legacy that continues to fascinate true crime and medical historians alike.

In February 1959, nine experienced hikers set out into Russia’s Ural Mountains—only to vanish into a snowstorm and legend. When rescuers finally reached their camp, they found something no one could explain: a torn-open tent, bare footprints in the snow, bodies scattered through the forest—some missing eyes and tongues, others with injuries more like a car crash than hypothermia.In this chilling episode, we unravel one of the most haunting mysteries in modern history. Was it an avalanche, military testing, radiation exposure, or something even stranger? We dive into the autopsies, forensic inconsistencies, and medical evidence that have fueled decades of speculation. With our nursing backgrounds guiding the analysis, we separate fact from folklore to explore what really could have happened on that frozen slope.Join us as we trek through the snow, sift through the science, and confront the enduring question: what terrified nine hikers so badly that they ran barefoot into the night?

In this episode, we unravel the extraordinary life of Jean Hiller—a story woven with resilience, intrigue, and the kind of twists that make truth stranger (and more fascinating) than fiction. Jean’s tale is as much about grit as it is about grace.Join us as we explore the pivotal chapters of her journey, uncover the mysteries that surrounded her, and reflect on the ripple effects of an accidental miracle. Whether you know her name or this is your first introduction, Jean Hiller will leave you questioning what you thought you knew—and marveling at the unexpected.Not just history. Not just mystery. This is Jean Hiller.

Not your average block party.In the summer of 1518, the streets of Strasbourg erupted into an eerie spectacle—dozens of people dancing for days on end, unable to stop. Some collapsed from exhaustion, others met even grimmer fates. Was it mass hysteria, a mysterious illness, ergot poisoning… or something stranger still? In this episode, we step into the heart of one of history’s most baffling medical mysteries, tracing its rhythm through fact, theory, and legend—without missing a beat.