Episode 111 with Karen Bloom Gevirtz, PhD, Author

In this episode, we sit down with Karen Bloom Gevirtz, PhD author of The Apothecary’s Wife, to explore the forgotten legacy of women in medicine. Drawing from her deep expertise in 17th- and 18th-century British literature and history, Gevirtz reveals how healing was once the domain of women, grounded in community knowledge and care, before being overtaken by professional—and profit-driven—medicine. We explore how early apothecaries and physicians used economic forces, public messaging, and rising capitalist structures to discredit female healers and turn medicine into a commodity. From the commercialization of care in the 1600s to modern Big Pharma, Gevirtz helps us trace a direct line between history and today's healthcare system. This conversation is a deep dive into the crossroads of gender, medicine, and capitalism—and how history can help us imagine a better way forward.