Podcasts · Comedy · Health & Fitness
Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine
Justin McElroy, Dr. Sydnee McElroy
300 episodes
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 page 3 of 6
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Sawbones Classic: Chocolate
To coincide with the opening of Justin and Sydnee's stage production, we bring to you a classic episode about the medicinal history of chocolate! This week on Sawbones, Dr. Sydnee and Justin take a sunrise and…
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Sawbones: Willy Wonka
There are different versions of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory exploits, but all of them involve strange things happening to children who misbehave. But from a biological standpoint, what does that look like? Dr.…
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Sawbones: Do You Know How Italian I Am?
Hot time, summer in the city, time for listener Sawbones questions! Questions like: Why is blood sticky? Why does skin itch when it grows back? Might my twin reject my organs? And should I bring my own speculum to an…
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Sawbones: Hydrogen Water
Dr. Sydnee has ruined her TikTok algorithm for the listeners once again and came across something called "Hydrogen Water." Similar to alkaline water, hydrogen water goes through an ionization process that leaves it…
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Sawbones: Plexus
In a collaboration of medical fads and brands, Dr. Sydnee and Justin dive into the confusing MLM called Plexus. The company started as a seller of the Breast Chek [sic] Kit but has since branched out into wellness and…
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Sawbones: Vampire Facials
You may have seen some celebrities or influencers on social media getting something called a Vampire Facial. It's exactly what it sounds like: blood spread on the face like a cream mask. But why would anyone do this…
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Sawbones: CPR
Squishing someone’s heart and blowing air into them to bring them back to life seems so basic, so why weren’t we able to agree on it for the past few hundred years? This week on Sawbones, Dr. Sydnee gives an overview…
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Sawbones: Lazarus Syndrome
What if someone was declared dead . . . only for their heart to start beating again? This is a phenomenon sometimes called "Lazarus Syndrome" or "auto resuscitation after failed pulmonary resuscitation". Dr. Sydnee and…
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Sawbones: Sea Moss
Another day, another fad superfood on social media! Sea moss, or carrageenan or Irish moss, has historically been used for ulcers and sore throats, but does it actually have any proven medical use? Well, no, but it’s…
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Sawbones: Interpreting Research
With so much medical research out there on internet, how can you sort through what's based in science and what's just three people in a room? Dr. Sydnee discusses the all the different factors to think about when…
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Sawbones: Gamer Pills
If you want to Get Good at video games quickly, are there any magic pills you can take? Well, there are people trying to sell them to you. Justin and Dr. Sydnee look at some supplements that claim to give gamers better…
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Sawbones: Can You Lick the Capsaicin Patch?
Dr. Sydnee and Justin are welcoming in the spring and allergy season with listeners' strangest medical questions! Why do some people get goosebumps when they do alcohol shots? Does baking soda work for bug bites? Do…
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Sawbones: Bad Bugs
There are many ways people get sick, but sometimes diseases are carried to people by insects. Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about the top ten "bad bugs" including mosquitoes, ticks, assassin bugs, and some beetles that…
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Sawbones: IVF
Started in the 1930s by scientist Dr. Miriam Menkin, in vitro fertilization is a medical procedure to help with fertility that took until the 1970s to have results in humans. With some drastic misunderstandings going…
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Sawbones: Knock Knock Hi
Justin and Dr. Sydnee are joined by parallel-universe versions of themselves, The Glaucomfleckens! The two doctor-spouse duos talk about Will and Kristen Flanary's journey into podcasting, including serious medical…
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Sawbones: Tongue Ties
A tongue tie is not just a turn of phrase, it's a medical condition in which the frenulum under your tongue is too thick and restricts your lingual movement. For a long time, a procedure to cut it has been done as a…
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Sawbones: Aquatofana
Normally Sawbones talks about medical cures, whether real or fake, but today Dr. Sydnee and Justin are diving into the opposite. There was a time when women in bad marriages and needed a way out could turn to Julia…
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Sawbones: Gallstones
Do you even know where your gallbladder is? Maybe it's not so surprising that millions of Americans don't know they have a gastrointestinal disorder caused by gallstones. Dr. Sydnee and Justin go through the history of…
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Sawbones: Dr. Scholl's
In a continuation from last week, Dr. Sydnee and Justin are focusing on a particular Doctor Brand: Dr Scholl's. Who was Dr. Scholl, what was his medical training, and why was he so interested in fixing feet? Music:…
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Sawbones: Doctor Brands
A lot of brands name themselves "doctor" – but how many of them are named after actual medical doctors? Justin takes the wheel with a little quiz for Dr. Sydnee and the listeners on Dr. Pepper, Doc Martens, Dr. Teal,…
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Sawbones: Home Alone 2
What would really happen to someone stuck in all of Kevin McCallister's traps? Dr. Sydnee and Justin return to discuss the even more outrageous and even more dangerous injuries the Sticky Bandits sustain in Home Alone…
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Sawbones: Why Don’t Americans get De-Wormed?
Shrug off that winter chill with a warm bowl of listener-submitted medical questions. Questions like: Am I giving away my immunity with a blood donation? Can antibiotics make colds worse? Can you cough while sleeping?…
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Sawbones: Pepto Bismol
Many of us know all the catchy jingle that lists all the things that Pepto Bismol is supposed to be good for. However, that ubiquitous pink medicine is maybe not so ubiquitous everywhere. How did this chalky liquid…
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Sawbones Classic: Santa is Sick
To get you through that holiday slog, we're re-releasing our classic holiday episode all about the ailments Santa could possibly have. It's Candlenights 2016, and that can only mean one thing: Dr. Sydnee is trying to…
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Sawbones: Dr. Willard Bliss
It was probably the destiny of Dr. Doctor Willard Bliss to become a medical professional, although his career was a real rollercoaster of beliefs and practices. But he obtained the most notoriety for bringing his…
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Sawbones: The Ejaculation Panic
In the 1800s, there was a growing concern about spermatorrhea, a condition that involves involuntary and excessive semen leakage or discharge. Some doctors (and people who claimed to be doctors) were quick to come up…
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Sawbones: The Intimate Side of a Woman’s Life
What was some of the outdated (though subtly subversive) medical advice given to cisgendered women of the 1930s? Dr. Sydnee and Justin aim to answer that with The Intimate Side of a Woman’s Life by Leona W. Chalmers,…
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Sawbones: The Tea That Doesn’t Cure Cancer (and Might Make It Worse)
Often cure-alls cure nothing (and do nothing), but other times they may actually hurt. Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about the Essiac tea formula, which claims to cure cancer while preventing people from seeking actual…
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Sawbones: Pineapple
There is a claim on the internet that when you eat pineapple, it eats you back. This is actually true! Or more accurately, pineapple contains an enzyme that breaks down tissue. Dr. Sydnee and Justin dive into exactly…
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Sawbones: Why Do I Always Burp Next to My Wife?
It’s time for us to answer some more listener medical questions, if “us” means “Dr. Sydnee McElroy.” Questions like: can you cook dirt enough to make it clean? What is Gaze-Evoked Tinnitus? Why do we rub our eyes when…
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Sawbones: Marvel Anatomy: Endgame
Justin returns to quiz Dr. Sydnee for the third and final analysis of the official Marvel Anatomy book. All will be revealed! Where does Colossus get his steel skin? How does Mystique turn into other people? And why…
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Sawbones: Carpet Python Parasite
Sometimes respiratory and GI distress can be treated with antibiotics; other times it turns out there’s a live carpet python parasite in the brain. Dr. Sydnee discuss this rare case from a few years ago, the history of…
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Sawbones: Alpha-Gal Syndrome
That thing where you get bitten by ticks and can't eat meat, is that real? Yes, it's real, and it's called Alpha-Gal Syndrome. Dr. Sydnee dives into the fascinating story of how we found out that sometimes, if you get…
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Sawbones: Blood Glucose Tolerance Test
If you’ve ever been pregnant or pregnant-adjacent, you may have heard of the blood glucose test to check for gestational diabetes. Many pregnant people find the process unpleasant and gross — which has prompted some…
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Sawbones: Mamajuana
One of the national drinks of the Dominican Republic, Mamajuana has a long history as an enjoyed alcoholic beverage . . . and a medicine. Dr. Sydnee and Justin go over the backstories of this beverage and the various…
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Sawbones: Leprosy in Florida
Florida has a sudden uptick in cases of leprosy – but isn’t that just a weird Biblical disease? It’s real, it’s just fairly rare. Justin and Dr. Sydnee bring the history of leprosy from a 2014 episode, in addition to…
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Sawbones: Railway Madness
Trains are statistically one of the safest ways to travel, but please mind the vibrations. Dr. Sydnee talks about the brief period in the 1800's when men kept going wild on trains. Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers…
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Sawbones: Borax
You'll never believe what people are doing on TikTok now. Borax is a salt you might have in your home: it's an active ingredient in many contact solutions, so it doesn't sound especially good to eat. Dr. Sydnee talks…
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Sawbones: Patents vs. Life-Saving Drugs
John Green recently made a video asking Johnson & Johnson not to extend their patent on a tuberculosis drug, which would keep it exclusive and expensive. Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about how drug patents work, the…
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Update: Malaria
Now that there have been malaria cases popping up in the United States, we bring the full episode about the disease from 2015. So learn all about malaria in the past, and Dr. Sydnee will have an update about malaria in…
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Sawbones: Harmonic Egg
Sound can sometimes be therapeutic, like listening to white noise to help fall asleep. But can a big egg-shaped hut use the theory of quantum realms and vibrations to cure everything with love and frequencies? Um . . .…
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Sawbones: What's the Point of Soup?
Start the summer off smarter with the answers to listener medical questions! What old-timey diseases should I worry about if I time travel? Are meat sweats a real thing? Is there any risk in being exposed to drugs in…
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Sawbones: Fournier's Gangrene
Most people have probably heard of gangrene, a condition that causes tissue to become necrotic. But Fournier’s Gangrene is a more . . . targeted version, specifically affecting the perineum, or taint. Justin and Dr.…
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Sawbones: Xylazine
Sometimes Sawbones covers timely topics, like the latest adulterant in a substance people like to put in their bodies. Xylazine, or “tranq,” is the new one exacerbating the opioid crisis. Dr. Sydnee talks about the…
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Update: Blood Donation
Recently, the FDA has updated their guidelines on who can donate blood and when – an update that has long been demanded. So we bring the full episode about Dr. Charles Drew and the history of blood donation, along with…
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Sawbones: King Tutankhamun
Live from Columbus, Ohio, home of the first Wendy's, and also COSI, the Center of Science and Industry! Justin and Dr. Sydnee bring forward one of the world's oldest medical mysteries: what happened to King Tut?…
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Sawbones: Hepatitis C
The third Hepatitis to be discovered, appropriately named Hepatitis C, is an infection that primarily affects the liver, but often has non-specific symptoms. Dr. Sydnee and Justin trace the strange history of this…
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Sawbones: Marvel Anatomy: Infinity War
Justin takes the wheel as he once again brings out the official Marvel Anatomy book to discuss the science of comic book superpowers. He and Dr. Sydnee discuss the feasibility of abilities in characters like Daredevil,…
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Sawbones: Gender-Affirming Care for Minors
Recently a number of states have passed restrictions for gender-affirming care for those under 18, but shouldn't it be medical professionals, not states, whose expertise should be considered? Dr. Sydnee goes through…
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Sawbones: Going Grey
Why do people start losing the pigment in their hair as they grow older? Well, it might be one of those things that we don't entirely understand, though there are some new studies that offer some ideas. But that didn't…
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