Toxic History! is a narrative medicine lecture series where medical experts tell you stories from the history of poison. Human beings have known about poison – substances that harm and even kill– for thousands of years. Poisons have been seen as mysterious, supernatural, and enigmatic. What are these plants, mixtures, and elements with such powerful properties? It is only in the past century that science has begun to demystify these chemicals and explain how they work. Still, the impact they ...
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Throughout history, women have sought to control their fertility with substances that “regulate” menstruation, terminate pregnancies, or induce labor. Teas, concoctions, and medicinal compounds containing pennyroyal, rue, artemsia, ergot, cohosh, quinine, and lead have caused significant toxicity and death when taken as abortifacients. In this talk…
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This is the story of Dr. Leslie Keeley and his gold cure elixir. His Keeley Institute in a small midwestern town was perhaps the most widely recognized alcohol treatment program in the United States in the 1890s. Although his elixir may have been no more than snake oil his treatment program foreshadowed treatment as we know it today.…
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State-sponsored poisoning and assassination is deeply ingrained in Russian politics. You’ve heard of Alexander Litvinenko, but where was the poison and delivery plan developed? And who were the other victims of Moscow’s poison laboratory?
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Drinkers asked for a bigger and more stable head and the brewers came up with a novel solution. The heaviest drinkers that couldn’t even afford a cup to pour their beer into and see a head started to mysteriously die of heart failure. An investigation begins!
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The Thalidomide Tragedy and a Path to Safer Drugs
16:30
16:30
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16:30
As one of the largest man made disasters in public health history, the discovery and realization of the disastrous effects of thalidomide in pregnant patients has paved a way to safe medication discovery and utilization. From this tragedy in modern medicine led new regulatory pathways, transparency in drug development, and expanded procedures to en…
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Our long history of attempting to find a treatment for botulism is a winding road of discovery, setbacks, and the constant challenge of balancing risk and benefit. Through major outbreaks that seized the nation’s attention and the disruption of major wars, however, the spirit of science and humanity prevailed, bringing us a therapy to help us in ou…
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Beyond Bicycle Day: The Story of Albert Hofmann and the Discovery of LSD
18:11
18:11
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18:11
This talk will describe the early career of Albert Hofmann, his accidental discovery of the hallucinogenic properties of LSD-25, his legendary bicycle ride home from work during an LSD trip, and the legacy of his discovery.
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Did psychedelics fuel the space race? Counter culture, the occult, and mind-altering before LSD
14:05
14:05
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14:05
The discovery of LSD and the subsequent psychedelic renaissance of the mid-20th century hold ample space in history books, but Albert Hofmann didn’t discover the first mind-altering chemical. At the turn of the 20th century, natural psychedelics’ ancient power crossed continents to shape both cultural and technological development.…
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Want to know what toxic medicine has killed thousands of people? Why outbreaks keep happening? And how it started the modern FDA? Listen Dr. Prosser's Toxic History episode to find out!
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In the 1920s and 1930s, radium was an exciting new material. It was used to illuminate watch dials in the dark, treat tumors, and also as a primary ingredient in quack medical remedies. This is the story of Radithor, a fake medicine containing radium.
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The Salem Witch Trials and the Ergot Hypothesis
19:40
19:40
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The Salem witch trials of the early 1690s were the most notorious and lethal witch hunt in American history. At the heart of the trials, the Village of Salem was a town at its boiling point, but the complex political and social factors at play still seem insufficient to explain the happenings that ultimately transpired. Could it be that the afflict…
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Bringing Deadly Sleepe: A Review of Selected Pre-1900s Toxicology Literature
23:14
23:14
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23:14
Toxicology is full of treatments which are poorly supported by literature. Many of those treatments originated over 100 years ago. If you think data are bad now, we invite you to see what treatments were like in the past – drawn from the pages of multiple historical toxicology textbooks.
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Dioxin and the Poisoning of Viktor Yushchenko
18:52
18:52
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Dioxins are a category of persistent organic pollutant (POP), with a long history of human exposure and serious adverse health and environmental effects. Where did this forever chemical come from, and how did it end up in the dinner of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko in 2004? Join us as we discuss the long-lasting legacy of this class of comp…
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Springtime at the turn of the 20th century promised rebirth, hope, and prosperity in America. But in northern Michigan, a twisted nightmare was consuming an idyllic community. An infant was found deceased in a crib, the mother succumbing within the next hour, and the father only days later. Some feared a curse, others speculated a contagion. An int…
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The Birds and The Brains: Domoic Acid Poisoning
17:38
17:38
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17:38
Join Dr. Marlis Gnirke on a “trip” to 1960s California discussing a different kind of acid, one at the intersection of human toxicology, veterinary toxicology, and classic cinema.
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Dr. Sukhi Atti discusses the history of the release of nerve agent VX in Skull Valley, Utah.
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Dr. Laurén Murphy discusses the history of physostigmine - from bean to medicine.
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The mysterious intermittent history of the fentanyl epidemics
16:47
16:47
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Dr. Stephanie Weiss describes the history of the fentanyl epidemics in the USA.
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Dr. Peter Akpunonu discusses the history of the toxic grain disaster in Iraq.
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Dr. Alan Woolf discusses the toxicological history of the Chicago Tylenol Murders.
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Dr. Alex Harding describes the history of "The Toxic Woman."
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Dr. Sing-Yi Feng discusses the toxic history of classical music with guest host Dr. Keahi Horowitz.
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Dr. Joshua Bloom tells the history of the Nobel-prize winning research that led to the cure for Beri Beri.
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Dr. David Loughran discusses the history of the Angel Makers of Nagyrev
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The Antarctic Adventure of Douglas Mawson
18:58
18:58
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Dr. Zane Horowitz tells the toxic history of the Antarctic Adventure of Douglas Mawson
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Dr. Noah Berland discusses the history of the Minamata Bay Disaster.
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Dr. Anita Mudan tells the history of the Teacup Poisoner.
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Dr. Joseph Clemons tells the history of the The Goiânia Incident.
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Dr. Laurén Murphy tells the toxic history of King Mithradates.
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Dr. Courtney Temple discusses the history of the Yew Tree.
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Dr. Keahi Horowitz tells the history of the Oregon State Hospital Disaster of 1942.
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