Did President Franklin Delano Roosevelt truly have polio, or is an alternate diagnosis more likely? Over time, some narratives in medical history become regarded as settled truth, despite being a great deal more nuanced. Saying that Edward Jenner “invented vaccines” or that penicillin was the “first antibiotic” isn’t false so much as it’s incomplete. OnContinue reading “Episode 131: A President’s Polio”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
130 – The Simp with Dr. Roshan Sethi
The Curious Clinicians were thrilled to have Dr. Roshan Sethi, a practicing radiation oncology physician, television and film screenwriter, director, producer and novelist on the show. Roshan’s incisive, hilarious, insightful, and extraordinarily honest debut novel The Simp, which takes a hard look at the underbelly of Hollywood culture, was published in July 2026. In ourContinue reading “130 – The Simp with Dr. Roshan Sethi”
Episode 129: Ironing Out More Platelets
Why does iron deficiency cause thrombocytosis? The differential for thrombocytopenia, or low platelets, is a classic. Are all the cell lines down? Usually bone marrow suppression due to anything from leukemia to Lyme disease. Is there new, severe thrombocytopenia and anemia? Make sure to rule out a microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (MAHA). Is there portal hypertensionContinue reading “Episode 129: Ironing Out More Platelets”
128 – After Shock with Dr. Rana Awdish
Hannah and Avi sat down with Dr. Rana Awdish, a pulmonary/critical care physician and author of a powerful new memoir about her recovery from critical illness called After Shock: Learning to Reinhabit My Body After Illness. In our conversation with Rana, we discussed what it truly means to heal, how she found her authorial voiceContinue reading “128 – After Shock with Dr. Rana Awdish”
Episode 127 – ACHOO! (The Sunlit Sneeze)
Why can sunlight exposure induce sneezing? Achoo! Ever thought about why you sneezed when you stepped into sunlight? Well, this same question plagued even Aristotle himself, so much so that in The Book of Problems, he asked, “Why is it that one sneezes more after one has looked at the Sun?” His answer was thatContinue reading “Episode 127 – ACHOO! (The Sunlit Sneeze)”
