Episodi

  • Hundreds of Super Glue Tubes: The Doctor Who Amputated Healthy Legs

    Hundreds of Super Glue Tubes: The Doctor Who Amputated Healthy Legs
    Aug 24 2026
    Hundreds of Super Glue Tubes: The Doctor Who Amputated Healthy Legs

    Amazement and dread collide: investigators found hundreds of tubes of super glue next to blood-soaked mattresses, surgical instruments, vials of anesthetic, and videotapes of surgeries performed inside a San Ysidro apartment - surgeries done outside any licensed hospital. How did an MD who graduated in 1947 come to amputate a healthy 79-year-old’s leg in Tijuana, with the patient dead the next morning?

    In this episode, we tell the documented story of John Ronald Brown and of Philip Bondy and Gregg Furth, two men with Body Integrity Identity Disorder who traveled seeking a surgeon willing to perform elective amputations; we trace Brown’s rise from a legitimate MD to a controversial outsider surgeon and ask how medical boundaries were crossed.

    Person: John Ronald Brown
    Person: Philip Bondy
    Person: Gregg Furth
    Date: 1947 (medical degree)
    Event: Elective amputation of a healthy leg in Tijuana leading to patient’s death the following morning

    - Investigators found hundreds of tubes of super glue inside Brown’s San Ysidro apartment.
    - Brown earned his MD from the University of Utah School of Medicine in 1947.
    - Brown claimed to have performed approximately 600 gender reassignment procedures in the 1970s.
    - Brown’s California medical license was revoked in 1977 on six grounds including gross negligence and moral turpitude.
    - Philip Bondy was 79 years old in spring 1998 when he sought Brown for an elective amputation.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    29 min
  • The Hotel Amputation: How a Retired Engineer Died in Tijuana

    The Hotel Amputation: How a Retired Engineer Died in Tijuana
    Aug 23 2026
    The Hotel Amputation: How a Retired Engineer Died in Tijuana

    Fear and fascination meet at the border: a 79-year-old retired satellite engineer crossed into Tijuana to have a healthy limb removed and was dead the next morning in a National City hotel room-his left leg amputated the day before by a surgeon whose license had been revoked in 1977. How did a man with a lifetime of precision end up under the knife of a doctor known as "Butcher Brown," and what single decision at a hotel doorway decided who lived and who died?

    In this episode, we tell the story of Philip Bondy, the surgeon John Ronald Brown, and Gregg M. Furth, and we follow the events from Bondy’s years-long search for amputation to the crossing into Tijuana and the aftermath found in San Ysidro. What did investigators discover that linked the operation to death, and what was seen at the threshold that stopped one man from entering?

    Person: Philip Bondy
    Age: 79
    Person: John Ronald Brown
    Date: May 10, 1998
    Location: National City, California

    - Bondy’s left leg was amputated in Tijuana the day before he was found dead on May 10, 1998.
    - John Ronald Brown had his California medical license revoked in 1977 for gross negligence and related charges.
    - Police searching Brown’s San Ysidro apartment found blood-soaked towels, sheets, and a mattress saturated with blood.
    - Investigators also found anaesthetizing drugs, surgical instruments, videotapes of operations, and hundreds of tubes of super glue.
    - Gregg M. Furth, who traveled with Bondy and also sought amputation, turned back because he saw an assistant carrying a large knife into the operating room.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    28 min
  • invisible pharmacology at a public event

    invisible pharmacology at a public event
    Aug 22 2026
    invisible pharmacology at a public event

    Calmness can be manufactured: a cardiac drug patented in 1962 and approved in 1964 was later found to concentrate in the brain up to 33 times more than in blood, altering memory, fear and performance in ways no regulator had anticipated. How did a medicine meant for failing hearts become an invisible influence on minds and public life?

    In this episode, we trace the history, chemistry and unexpected journeys of propranolol from its invention to widespread use, and ask where medicine ends and other forms of control begin.

    Person: James W. Black
    Date: 1962 (patent), 1964 (approval)
    Location: Alderley Park, Cheshire
    Topic: Propranolol pharmacokinetics and uses
    Event: 1964 Tokyo pistol shooting (arm stillness observed)

    - Propranolol was patented in 1962 and approved for human use in 1964.
    - The drug was marketed under the trade name Inderal one year after approval.
    - Only about 25% of an oral dose survives first-pass metabolism to circulate systemically.
    - Propranolol accumulates in the brain at 15 to 33 times the concentration found in blood.
    - In a single year it reached number 69 on the US prescription list and was dispensed over nine million times.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    28 min
  • A blood pressure pill stripped an Olympic athlete of two medals in Beijing 2008

    A blood pressure pill stripped an Olympic athlete of two medals in Beijing 2008
    Aug 21 2026
    A blood pressure pill stripped an Olympic athlete of two medals in Beijing 2008

    Fear and fascination collide: a common blood pressure drug, propranolol, taken by millions, silenced the physical tremors of performers and quietly altered how traumatic memories are stored - and it cost an Olympic shooter his medals in Beijing. How did a heart medicine become a disqualifying performance aid and a tool to soften trauma?

    In this episode, we trace the journey of propranolol from James Whyte Whyte’s lab to the Olympic podium and to studies of memory reconsolidation. We explain what the drug does in the body and brain, why it steadied hands for musicians, and how that same effect led to Kim Jong-su losing two Olympic medals - and we ask what this means for medicine, sport, and memory.

    Person: Kim Jong-su
    Event: 2008 Olympic Games
    Medals: Silver (10m air pistol), Bronze (50m pistol) - subsequently stripped
    Drug: Propranolol
    Scientist: James Whyte Whyte

    - Propranolol reached the market in the early 1960s under the brand name Inderal.
    - By 1977, 27% of surveyed UK performers had used beta blockers before performances.
    - Propranolol’s brain-to-blood ratio can be as high as 15:1 to 33:1, far higher than atenolol’s ~0.2:1.
    - James Whyte Whyte received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1988 in part for developing propranolol.
    - Memory reconsolidation is a roughly six-hour window after an experience during which norepinephrine is required to stabilize memories.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    27 min
  • The Heart Drug That Quieted Fear - And Shocked the World

    The Heart Drug That Quieted Fear - And Shocked the World
    Aug 20 2026
    The Heart Drug That Quieted Fear - And Shocked the World

    Fear feels conquerable when the body stops betraying you: a heart-slowing tablet from 1964 eventually reached 9 million dispensings in the U.S. and the WHO Essential Medicines List - yet its most startling effect was discovered in the brain. How did a drug meant for failing hearts come to erase the physical signature of fear, and what did that mean for athletes, performers, and medicine?

    In this episode, we trace the drug's path from Alderley Park labs to global use, describe its mechanism in heart and brain, and unpack the clinical and ethical questions that emerged as propranolol spread into new indications and public life. What happens when a cardiovascular medicine also quiets the body's alarm system?

    Person: James W. Black
    Date: 1962 (patent filed), 1964 (approval), 1965 (market)
    Location: Alderley Park, Cheshire, England
    Topic: Propranolol mechanism and clinical history
    Event: 1987 study by the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians

    - Propranolol was patented in 1962, approved for medical use in 1964, and marketed as Inderal in 1965.
    - By 2023, propranolol had been dispensed more than 9,000,000 times in the United States.
    - Propranolol reaches the brain at 15 to 33 times its blood concentration, versus atenolol at roughly 0.2 times.
    - The molecule blocks beta-1 receptors in the heart and beta-2 receptors in the airways, interrupting the adenylate cyclase → cAMP → protein kinase A → calcium influx cascade.
    - A 1987 study by the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians reported a relevant finding involving performance and propranolol with a 27% figure mentioned.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    25 min
  • The Accidental Birth Control: How a Testosterone Mistake Changed Medicine

    The Accidental Birth Control: How a Testosterone Mistake Changed Medicine
    Aug 19 2026
    The Accidental Birth Control: How a Testosterone Mistake Changed Medicine

    A single lab error in 1938 produced a molecule that doctors prescribed to women for sixty-one years and that helped make oral hormone therapy possible - but it was born from a mistaken aim and carried a hidden chemical tension that later shaped contraception. How did a tweak meant to make testosterone swallowable become a progestogenic drug that fueled the contraceptive revolution?

    In this episode, we trace the creation, commercial rollout, and clinical use of ethisterone, from the four chemists who synthesized it at Schering AG to the dosing and potency issues that revealed its androgenic origins - and we ask how that molecular accident changed medical practice and contraception.

    Person: Hans Herloff Inhoffen, Willy Logemann, Walter Hohlweg, Arthur Serini
    Date: 1938 (synthesis); 1939 (Proluton C); 1945 (Pranone US)
    Location: Schering AG, Berlin
    Topic: ethinyltestosterone / ethisterone oral progestogen
    Period: 1938-late 20th century clinical use

    - The molecule synthesized in 1938 was named ethinyltestosterone and later renamed ethisterone.
    - Ethisterone bound to progesterone receptors with roughly 44% of the affinity of natural progesterone.
    - To produce progestogenic effects physicians prescribed between 200 and 700 milligrams of ethisterone over 10-14 days.
    - Tablets were manufactured in 5, 10, and 25 mg; capsules reached 50, 100, and 250 mg strengths.
    - Norethisterone, the later replacement, proved approximately 20 times more potent than ethisterone.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    26 min
  • The Forgotten Pill That Began the Birth-Control Revolution-One Atom Away

    The Forgotten Pill That Began the Birth-Control Revolution-One Atom Away
    Aug 18 2026
    The Forgotten Pill That Began the Birth-Control Revolution-One Atom Away

    A tiny chemical tweak in a Berlin lab in 1938 produced an oral hormone that erased the need for injections-and yet the molecule that opened the door, ethisterone, vanished from medicine's memory decades later. How did a drug prescribed under multiple brand names from 1939 to 2000 persist without scandal and then disappear so completely, and what changed when a single carbon atom was removed to create its more famous successor?

    In this episode, we tell the story of four chemists at Schering AG whose routine modification of testosterone accidentally created the first orally active progestogen, and follow that compound's journey from Proluton C/Pranone across continents and decades. What did ethisterone actually do in patients, why did dosing vary so widely, and how did one atom make the difference between a footnote and a revolution?

    Person: Hans Herloff Inhoffen, Willy Logemann, Walter Hohlweg, Arthur Serini
    Date: 1938 (synthesis), 1939 (appearance in Germany), 1945 (arrived in United States), 2000 (off market)
    Location: Berlin, Germany
    Compound: Ethisterone (marketed as Proluton C and Pranone)
    Dose range: 5 mg, 10 mg, 25 mg; full course 200-700 mg over 10-14 days

    - Ethisterone was synthesized in 1938 by four chemists at Schering AG in Berlin.
    - The compound reached the German market in 1939 and the U.S. market in 1945 under the name Pranone.
    - Tablets were produced in 5 mg, 10 mg, and 25 mg strengths with full endometrial courses of 200-700 mg over 10-14 days.
    - Ethisterone bound progesterone receptors at roughly 44% of progesterone's affinity.
    - Ethisterone remained on the market until the year 2000, forty-three years after its successor had arrived.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    26 min
  • The Pill That Wasn't: How a Testosterone Mistake Made Birth Control Possible

    The Pill That Wasn't: How a Testosterone Mistake Made Birth Control Possible
    Aug 17 2026
    The Pill That Wasn't: How a Testosterone Mistake Made Birth Control Possible

    A single lab accident in 1938 produced the first orally active progestogen, turning a failed testosterone experiment into a quiet revolution that let women take hormone therapy at home instead of getting injections. How did a molecule that began as a testosterone derivative become the swallowable precursor to modern oral birth control, and what limits did its chemistry impose?

    In this episode, we trace the path from a Schering AG bench in Berlin to clinics around the world, following the chemists who ethynylated testosterone and unexpectedly created an orally active progestogen; we explore its clinical uses and the chemical ceiling that shaped subsequent developments and asks what that ceiling meant for doses, side effects, and future drugs.

    Person: Hans Herloff Inhoffen, Willy Logemann, Walter Hohlweg, Arthur Serini
    Date: 1938
    Location: Schering AG, Berlin
    Event: Creation of ethisterone (first orally active progestogen)
    Status: Introduced to German clinics in 1939 as Proluton C

    - Progesterone became available by injection in 1934 and degraded when taken orally due to stomach acid and liver enzymes.
    - The ethynyl modification at C-17 alpha had previously produced orally active ethinylestradiol.
    - Schering’s compound was introduced in Germany in 1939 as Proluton C and reached the U.S, by 1945 as Pranone.
    - The molecule was sold under at least eight brand names across France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S.
    - Ethisterone had 44% binding affinity at the progesterone receptor compared to progesterone and was about 20 times less potent than the compound that later replaced it.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    27 min