

Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine
Justin McElroy, Dr. Sydnee McElroy
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 25, 2021 • 39min
The Parasite Delusion
Last week, we talked about if eating papaya seeds could rid your body of parasites (spoiler: it can’t). But being concerned about having parasites is not new. We continue the conversation by looking into the phenomenon of Ekbom’s syndrome, or delusional parasitosis, a difficult disorder to both manage and treat.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

May 18, 2021 • 39min
Papaya Seeds and Parasites
TikTok is where the kids are getting all their information on new new wellness trends, so Dr Sydnee decided to check one that’s been popping up a lot: eating Papaya seeds. The main claim is that the seeds awesomely force parasitic worms out of your body – worms you didn’t even know you had! But is there a SEED of truth in these claims?Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

May 11, 2021 • 41min
Revenge of the Sawbones Quiz
Test your medical history knowledge from this past year’s episodes in the Super Secret Sawbones Quiz of Interesting Information to Inform and Enlighten and Entertain and Impress Your Friends 2021!Consider becoming a supporter of our show: www.maximumfun.org/join/Sad Trombone by Benboncan: https://freesound.org/people/Benboncan/Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

May 4, 2021 • 51min
Direct-to-Consumer Advertising
For MaxFunDrive 2021, Sawbones is talking about gross medicine of a different sort. In the United States (and New Zealand) we see a lot of those commercials for prescription medicines with jaunty names and a full minute disclaimer at the end. How they came to be the norm here is a complicated history of bad medicine and the shifting of credence among doctors, patients, and pharmaceutical companies.Consider becoming a supporter of our show: www.maximumfun.org/join/Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

Apr 27, 2021 • 42min
Chlorophyll
Along with Dr. Sydnee’s amazing videos, TikTok is also a host to an interesting wellness trend: chlorophyll. The green pigment that helps plants turn sunlight into food and oxygen has also been thought to boost your immune system and help with body odor. But chlorophyll as a health food is an idea that dates back to 1930, and spoilers ... it's just as effective now as it was then.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

Apr 20, 2021 • 52min
Vaccine Verification
About a year ago, Sawbones discussed what herd immunity was not. In this episode, we look at how we’ll get there, and what role vaccine verification will play. How has it impacted public health historically, and what can we anticipate in the near future?Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

Apr 6, 2021 • 39min
St John's Wort
A somewhat invasive plant with yellow flowers named after John the Baptist has been used for centuries as a kind of cure all. Dr. Sydnee will lead you through a history of its many applications, what it’s used for today, and explain what exactly is a wort.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

Mar 30, 2021 • 35min
Gamer Danger
When the Nintendo Wii was released, it also came with a warning about potential injuries, to yourself and to others. But are video games good or bad for your health? Justin takes the lead to educate, entertain and delight about both the medical harm and medical good that video games can do.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

Mar 23, 2021 • 36min
Blue Light Therapy
Have you ever noticed an old house house that has blue glass windows? It's pretty, sure, but it's also supposed to provide healing energy. You can thank a man who really liked growing, farming, and . . . colors for this bizarre but beautiful notion. We've got his story (and how his legacy endures) on this week's Sawbones.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

Mar 16, 2021 • 47min
COVID-19: One Year Later
It's been around a year since COVID-19 began to reshape America. On this week's episode of Sawbones, we look back at the past 12 months and examine what we've learned and what we've lost. We'll also take a look at the current state of vaccine rollouts and answer some of your questions.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers