Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine

What question would you ask a doctor if you were sitting next to them? That’s what the goal is today on Sawbones, where “we”, mostly Sydnee, answer listeners’ most pressing weird medical questions. Questions about cool things like ear gauges, absinthe, the strength of car doors, self-advocacy, hydration, and the hole that is your belly button.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

Benjamin Franklin: Prolific writer. Founding Father. Inventor. Creator of a killer instrument? The Glass Armonica, more or less a series of singing water bowls with haunting melody, became a popular instrument for a very short amount of time. But by 1830,  it ceased being played entirely. Was it because its strange harmonics were making people ill? Or maybe it was just very fragile and hard to carry around? Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

Work culture often lauds the idea that you should go to work even if you’re sick. This is true among a lot of occupations, but the self-declared worst offenders are doctors and other health professionals. Dr. Sydnee explains from her own experience and that of others why it is often the case that doctors are reluctant to become patients.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

This episode of Sawbones is a little lighter, and what’s lighter than pink? Nothing, especially when we’re talking about Baker-Miller Pink, a hue theorized to calm people down, quell violence, and maybe even influence muscle strength. It wasn’t the first color thought to have an effect on people’s behavior, and it’s EXACTLY as affective.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

After a week of working on the hospital floor, Dr. Sydnee discusses her personal experience with the current state of the health care system and what the experts say the omicron variant might mean for the future of the COVID-19 pandemic.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

Have you ever had the sudden urge to go to the bathroom while browsing in a TJ Maxx or a book store? Well, apparently many people have. This phenomenon was first mentioned by Mariko Aoki to a Japanese magazine in 1985, and has recently made its way to TikTok. Dr. Sydnee and Justin investigate some different theories and philosophies around the sudden need to poop while book shopping.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

The song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" sounds like an extravagant and generous cavalcade of gifts. But what if your true love had less than pure intentions? Justin and Dr. Sydnee go through each present and speculate what deadly diseases they could potentially give you. Not hard to theorize, considering these gifts include two dozen birds.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

We're re-releasing our classic holiday episode all about Home Alone.For your listening edification, Dr. Sydnee McElroy and her lovely assistant Justin McElroy are delighted to present a full accounting of the injuries likely sustained by the Wet Bandits.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/

We're warming the December chill with another Sawbones Q+A, answering all the weird medical questions that can only be answered publicly, on a podcast. Questions about milk and lost limbs, mole hair, spontaneous UTIs, dead germs, where does the vaccine go, and sexy sneezing.

Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a LEGACY it is. Welcome back to Justin McElroy’s Medical Brand Hall of Fame, where we can put aside questions of science and efficacy and focus on what really matters: How Juliana Marguiles’ dad wrote a jingle that was hidden for 20 years before it changed the world.