While bidets have been all the rage for years around the globe, they never really caught on in the U.S. What part of their seedy history kept them out of American homes? And what (if any) are their health benefits? We’ve got all that and more on the new Sawbones!

While bidets have been all the rage for years around the globe, they never really caught on in the U.S. What part of their seedy history kept them out of American homes? And what (if any) are their health benefits? We’ve got all that and more on the new Sawbones!

Would it surprise you to learn that people with too much money are flocking to “IV bars” and paying hundreds of dollars for intravenous cocktails of vitamins that are supposed to treat every malady under the sun but do absolutely nothing except risk serious infection?

This week on Sawbones, we’ve got a no-panic-allowed history of coronavirus along with a guide to the current strain that has held the headlines in a stranglehold in the past weeks.

This week on Sawbones, things are getting hot! Well, no, come to think of it, they’re doing the opposite. They’re getting colder. And by “they” we mean “we.” We’re getting colder, all of us. Probably. What should you do about it? Nothing. For now, you’ll just have to — wait for it — chill.

This week on Sawbones, it’s the truly embarrassing story of why we spent several centuries thinking it was important for us to make wounds as pus-filled as possible. There’s no nice way of saying it folks: This is a gross one.

We love grave robbers on Sawbones and … well, that came out wrong. We don’t have a particular affinity for today’s grave robbers, but they’ve played an important role in medical research and … we’re still defending grave robbers, aren’t we? OK, listen. Let’s start over. This is an episode about a really bad grave robber.

For reasons we assume you can guess, we’re discussing the history of quarantine, and how its historical misuse should make you particularly alert in the days and weeks to come as the world continues to combat COVID-19.

This week on Sawbones, it’s the story of how Yellow Fever killed 10 percent of Philadelphia, destroyed the government and made everyone rethink their collection of decorative standing water.

Once again, we’re putting Justin at peril of being supremely yucked out by your weirdest medical queries: Should your pee smell so good? Why is your earwax that color? Why did your mom choose the name Fred for that blood-filled lump on her leg? Yup, it’s a weird one, folks.

Surprise! This week our medical history podcast is about the biggest medical history event in any of our lifetimes. Let’s talk about home testing! Social distancing! And some reflections from Sydnee after a week at the hospital.

The COVID-19 outbreak has recently pushed masks and other protective equipment into the forefront of the global conversation, especially as a shortage threatens medical professionals on the front lines. This week on Sawbones, how masks changed the world of medicine, and what happens when there aren’t enough to go around.

This week on Sawbones, it’s the fascinating, inspiring and infuriating story of Ignaz Semmelweis. You’ll learn how he discovered why it was so important for doctor’s to wash their hands and why it took so long for doctors to believe him.

There are some pushing hydroxychloroquine as a miracle treatment for COVID-19 in a way that should seem familiar (and a little scary) to long-time Sawbones listeners. This week, we’ll talk about the long history of this medicine and why promoting it as a COVID-19 cure is so dangerous to those who already depend on it for other (actual scientifically-proven) uses.

This week on Sawbones, we dive into the backstory of Dr. Anthony Fauci, a beacon of hope and reason for so many in these troubling days. In the back half of the show, we also talk about a bunch of coronavirus bulls**t that you knew was bulls**t but we’re gonna tell you anyway.

This week on Sawbones, we discuss Philadelphia’s disastrous Fourth Liberty Loan Parade that helped reignite the 1918 influenza epidemic in the region. We’ll also examine some other unnerving similarities between that century-old disaster and our current situation.

Two doctors made headlines this week by trying to construct the narrative that the COVID-19 pandemic has been overblown by the hospital system in pursuit of more profits. This week, Dr. Sydnee and Justin explain why their numbers don’t add up, and how you can combat this narrative if it, depressingly, sticks around.

Did you know that cabin fever isn’t just the cooped-up funk we all find ourselves in? It’s a real actual disease called typhus — or at least, it used to be. It’s confusing, we know, but this week we’re gonna walk you through all the extremely gross details.

It should come as no surprise that the Sawbones inbox has been chockablock with questions about the ongoing … unpleasantness. This week, we’re trying to group your COVID-19 queries in an orderly fashion and answer them to the best of our ability. Well, the best of Sydnee’s ability. Justin just talks about dandruff shampoo.

Fear that the government and doctors were allied in a grand conspiracy to oppress the populace was at a fever pitch. The people took to the streets to prove that they would not abide by quarantine, that they would defy the powers that be and go on about their daily lives. The year is 1831. The disease is cholera.

This week on Sawbones, we examine how Black Americans have received substandard care and fewer opportunities within the American medical system. Also, some guidance on how to protest as safely as possible in the face of COVID-19.

An introspective moment on Sawbones this week as we meet the doctor who devoted his life to discovering the weight of the human soul. NOTE: This episode contains discussions of mortality, both human and animal.

If you received the typical, white-centric education, you probably associate the Black Panthers only with violence and political protest. This week on Sawbones, we talk about their work in medical research advocacy and creating public health programs that sought to make life better for all black and oppressed people.

OK, yes, this is an episode about medical research, but it’s the sexiest medical research story you’re ever going to hear. It’s got scandal! It’s got a detective! It’s got a sentient robot equipped with anti-gravity technology! We’d type more here, but we have to assume you’re already listening.

We’re being inundated by medical news in the face of COVID-19, but how is the layman supposed to make sense of all it? How can you tell a trustworthy report from simple clickbait? We’ll discuss on this week’s Sawbones (with a brief tangent about re-opening schools).

In what is perhaps the first and only example of the Fast and Furious franchise inspiring an episode of Sawbones, we’re diving into amnesia. We’ll see how media portrayals stack up to reality, look at modern therapy and explore the validity of the second bonk.

Yes friends, that’s the actual name of the U.S. government’s race to create a coronavirus vaccine. It’s either radical or a huge embarrassment, depending on which Sawbones co-host you are.

AOA is a medical honors society that’s supposed to separate top-tier medical students from the rest of the pack. It helps determine which doctors get the top jobs in the most competitive fields. The problem? There’s implicit racism in the way it chooses members, and fixing it may be a massive challenge.

Dr. Joycelyn Elders is an American hero who went from a sharecropper’s daughter to the first black Surgeon General of the United States. This is the story of her inspirational rise, her infuriating firing and her inability to stop doing good.

This week on Sawbones, we close out the #MaxFunDrive with a FAR too thorough examination of history’s only medical animated comedy in which Bill Murray barfs on Molly Shannon. Let’s talk about Osmosis Jones.

This week on Sawbones, we explore The Most Important Health Discovery Ever! We know it’s the The Most Important Health Discovery Ever because the book is called Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever. So there you have it.

Puzzled as to why a pillow peddler is pushing poison to the president to pacify a pandemic? Please press play.

For millennia, people with a vagina were told that there was something wrong with them (if they were even spoken about at all). Their vagina smelled wrong, looked wrong, it was too wet or not wet enough. This week on Sawbones, a reminder that your vagina is (almost always) just fine the way it is.

Lately, have you found yourself pining for a simpler time? An easier time? Maybe just, like, ANY time other than your current one? You may be experiencing nostalgia. This week on Sawbones, we’ll track its evolution from a clinical diagnosis to a possible healing tool.

You may have heard that just six percent of COVID-19 deaths are attributed to COVID alone. This statistic was based on death certificates. This week we explain, through the history of this odd document, why that’s a terrible idea.

Many were shocked to learn of allegations of forced sterilizations at an ICE facility. In this episode, we explore the long American history of this practice and the heartbreaking truth that this latest incident is just the latest in a long string of clinical genocide by those in power.

Horses? Majestic. Frogs? Maybe royalty. But have you taken a moment to reflect on the humble, half-billion-year old horseshoe crab that almost certainly saved your life with its incredible blood? If not, THIS is that moment.

Gather the family around, it’s time for our annual celebration of the flu shot! We got you the PERFECT gift: A bunch of answers to your flu shot quandaries, especially in the age of COVID-19. C’mon, the party’s starting!

Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.s) have been thrust into the spotlight recently when one was tasked with caring for the world’s most famous COVID-19 patient. Some even went so far as to dismiss the president’s D.O. for those two letters following his name. But is that fair? This week on Sawbones: Do D.O.s do what M.D.s do?

There’s been a lot of discussion about herd immunity in the face of COVID-19, but did you know that anyone who talks about achieving herd immunity without a vaccine (something humanity has never pulled off ever) is a big stinky liar goofball? We’ll explore that truth and so much more on this week’s episode of Sawbones.

If, by some set of unexplainable circumstances, you are still an undecided voter in the U.S. we’ve prepared something special for you in anticipation of next week’s presidential election on Nov. 3. If you’re not undecided, you’ll at least have a better understanding of how important this election is. We’ll be reviewing the major tenets of the healthcare plans of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Who will have the better plan? You’ll have to listen to find out. (It’s not Trump.)

On a chilly, rainy Civil War battlefield in Tennessee, soldiers started noticing something strange: Some of their wounds had begun … glowing. Stranger still: Those with the glow tended to fare better than their illuminated counterparts. The assumption? Angels were bringing them back from the brink. An incredible story. This week on Sawbones? You guessed it, Dr. Sydnee and her old buddy Science are gonna ruin the whole thing.

With news that a COVID-19 vaccine may be on the horizon and flu shot season in full swing, we take things back to basics with a history of the hypodermic needle and syringe. Also, a strangely large amount of car talk for you gear heads.

Is it possible for your medical questions to be … too weird? That’s a question you may be asking yourself on this latest Q&A episode of Sawbones, which explores the contents of poop and a secret button above your buttcrack that makes you pee.

Dr. Sydnee and Justin have turned themselves into lab rats as they join a COVID-19 vaccine trial. But how did humanity discover the practices and policies that guide these sorts of human experiments? Listen and find out!

Ivermectin is a fantastic, incredible miraculous drug that has recently been touted by some as a potent treatment for COVID-19, despite not having the research yet to back up the claims. This week, we’ll help you avoid stealing your dog’s worm medication in the hopes of fending off coronavirus.

Vaccines are here! Vaccines are here! But wait … aren’t they … rushed? Did you hear they might be … tainted? Do they give you … cheetah powers? Even if you believe in vaccines, it’s normal to have some questions about them. So this week we’ll be providing you with all the answers we have to your pressing queries.