podcast image for Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine
Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine
Description

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
  • 2025 / 2 / 11
    Sawbones: Frostbite

    It's been bitterly cold in our region lately and that's got Dr. Sydnee thinking about frostbite. This week, we'll gain a better understanding of this malady and even stage a brief theatrical selection about...

  • 2025 / 2 / 4
    Sawbones: Science Updates

    There has been a lot going on in the United States in the last few days that might affect what's going on with health, medicine, and other sciences. Dr. Sydnee talks about the implications of all of these now...

  • 2025 / 1 / 28
    Sawbones: Whooping Cough

    Depending on where you live, you might be hearing a lot lately about Pertussis or Whooping Cough, even in Dr. Sydnee and Justin’s home county. Dr. Sydnee talks about the long history of this disease, its...

  • 2025 / 1 / 21
    Sawbones: Physicians' Unions

    Imagine if your doctor could go on strike in the middle of a treatment. That’s the most popular argument against physicians’ unions, but there’s a lot more to the issue. Dr. Sydnee talks about the process of...

  • 2025 / 1 / 14
    Sawbones: Seven-Second Poop Trick

    It's a real medical (with a lower-case m) mystery, as Dr. Sydnee tries to find the source of a trick on TikTok that reportedly helps alleviate constipation. Join Sydnee on her surprisingly difficult journey...

  • 2025 / 1 / 8
    Sawbones: Book Club

    Dr. Sydnee and Justin are easing back into the swing of things after the holidays by discussing what they’ve been reading, both apart and together. So cozy up with some tea to hear some good book...

  • 2024 / 12 / 24
    Sawbones Classic Double-Feature: A Medicine Called Christmas 1 & 2

    Happy Candlenights! We've got for you a double-feature of the original A Medicine Called Christmas 1 and 2.Medicine Called Christmas: Live from Candlenights 2018, we're so proud to present a staged reading of...

  • 2024 / 12 / 17
    Sawbones: How's My Lump Doing?

    As a gift to the audience, we have another Sawbones Q and A, answering strange questions submitted by listeners! How does a menstrual disk work? How should we ACTUALLY clean our ears? Are cat biscuits bad for...

  • 2024 / 12 / 10
    Sawbones: Walking Pneumonia

    It’s nearly winter, which means the return of mycoplasma or “Walking Pneumonia” on this hemisphere. This week Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about how this infection was discovered, the questionable way it was...

  • 2024 / 11 / 26
    Sawbones: Tesla Medbed

    Somehow the Tesla medical bed, or Tesla Biohealing Wellness Hotel and Resort is not related to Elon Musk. It is also not really related to actual medical care. Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about another...

  • 2024 / 11 / 19
    Sawbones: Project 2025

    Needless to say it’s going to be a long four years for the United States. This week’s episode of Sawbones offers some guidance on what we might expect for medicine and health care going forward and what...

  • 2024 / 11 / 5
    Sawbones Classic: History of Abortion

    It's Election Day in the United States of America, and so we present this Sawbones episode on the history of abortion from May 2022. Go vote!With the recent news about Roe v. Wade, it’s important to talk...

  • 2024 / 10 / 29
    Sawbones: John Green and Good.Store

    Dr. Sydnee and Justin are joined by John Green to talk about the still-prevalent disease of tuberculosis and how his company Good.Store is using coffee and tea to eradicate it in one African country.Music:...

  • 2024 / 10 / 22
    Sawbones: Doctor Odyssey

    There's a new medical show in town, and Sawbones is all here for it. Dr. Sydnee goes through some of the highlights of the medical emergencies above the cruise ship in Doctor Odyssey and their plausibility...

  • 2024 / 10 / 15
    Sawbones: Brazilian Butt Lift

    Some cosmetic surgeries include adding silicon or plastic to enhance the figure. But what if the extra fat came from your own body? Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about the fraught and history of the Brazilian...

  • 2024 / 10 / 8
    Sawbones: Can Doritos Make Skin See-Through?

    Bring on the fall weather and bring on the listeners’ weird medical questions! Dr. Sydnee and Justin answer listeners’ strangest queries and maybe learn a thing or two themselves. Is Shy Bladder a real thing?...

  • 2024 / 10 / 1
    Sawbones: Kegels

    No matter the body parts, strengthening your pelvic muscles is generally good for you. But who were they named after, and most importantly, who introduced them? Dr. Sydnee and Justin go on a journey through...

  • 2024 / 9 / 24
    Sawbones: Exploding Teeth

    Canonically, Dr. Sydnee doesn’t know much about teeth, but there are several cases in dental journals about teeth that spontaneously exploded. Dr. Sydnee tries to make sense of a few mysterious account of...

  • 2024 / 9 / 17
    Sawbones: Superman

    It’s a bird! It’s a podcast! It’s Justin’s superhero anatomy textbook to the rescue! What is the medical and scientific explanation of how Superman’s powers work? Batman has thoroughly analysed his Justice...

  • 2024 / 9 / 3
    Sawbones: Triple E and Public Health in 2024

    A rare but deadly mosquito-born illness called Eastern equine encephalitis is prompting some local governments to limit evening play for kids. But after the COVID public health crisis, the discussion about...

  • 2024 / 8 / 27
    Sawbones: Fentanyl and the ONEbox

    If you haven’t already been personally affected by a fentanyl overdose, you likely know someone who has. This week on Sawbones, Dr. Sydnee explores the rapid rise of fentanyl as a lethal street drug and what...

  • 2024 / 8 / 20
    Sawbones: The Doctor Patient

    Dr. Sydnee goes through her own story of a routine mammogram and its follow up: how the experience is different coming in as a doctor, the advantages and the disadvantages of trying to doctor yourself, and...

  • 2024 / 8 / 13
    Sawbones: Mushrooms

    It wouldn't be Twenty Fungalore without talking about the alleged medicinal properties of mushrooms, which are a fungus and not a plant at all. Justin and Dr. Sydnee talk to Cleveland about common fungi used...

  • 2024 / 8 / 6
    Sawbones: Medical Jewelry

    Magnetic bracelets, immortality rings . . . the internet is full of wearables that are sold for their medicinal properties as if they’re equipment in Baldur’s Gate. Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about the...

  • 2024 / 7 / 23
    Sawbones: Mechanical Heart Pump

    Sometimes the cities we visit on tour have some historical medical mess-ups, but not Detroit! Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about Forest Dewey Dodrill, who performed the first successful heart surgery (with a...

  • 2024 / 7 / 16
    Sawbones: Tampons

    You may have heard that a new study showed tampons contain traces of metals. Dr. Sydnee and Justin go through the history of tampons, why they might contain metal, and what we still need to find out about the...

  • 2024 / 7 / 9
    Sawbones: Human Tricks

    Can you touch your tongue with your nose or wiggle your ears? Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about the science and studies behind weird little tricks some bodies can do, or "stupid human tricks." Can you flare...

  • 2024 / 7 / 2
    Sawbones: A Couple of Boob Questions

    Sawbones listeners just have so many strange medical questions! Questions like: Why do I sneeze at dark chocolate? Does Diet Coke actually relieve nausea? Why does saliva get thicker while exercising? And you...

  • 2024 / 6 / 18
    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...

  • 2024 / 6 / 11
    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...

  • 2024 / 6 / 4
    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...

  • 2024 / 5 / 21
    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...

  • 2024 / 5 / 7
    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...

  • 2024 / 4 / 30
    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...

  • 2024 / 4 / 23
    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...

  • 2024 / 4 / 16
    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....

  • 2024 / 4 / 9
    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,...

  • 2024 / 4 / 4
    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...

  • 2024 / 3 / 28
    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...

  • 2024 / 3 / 19
    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...

  • 2024 / 3 / 12
    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...

  • 2024 / 3 / 5
    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...

  • 2024 / 2 / 27
    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...

  • 2024 / 2 / 13
    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...

  • 2024 / 2 / 6
    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...

  • 2024 / 1 / 30
    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...

  • 2024 / 1 / 23
    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...

  • 2024 / 1 / 16
    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,...

  • 2023 / 12 / 19
    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...

  • 2023 / 12 / 12
    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...