Your Doctor Has Questions

We take a deep dive into incarceration in the US, starting with the question "What's the difference between jail and prison?" Because Chris can't help himself, we also explore the unspeakable injustice of our justice system, and our government's routine victimization of incarcerated people. This episode includes discussion of violence and sexual violence. Sources:America's Jails: The Search for Human Dignity in an Age of Mass Incarceration, Derek JeffreysThe New Criminal Justice Thinking, Edited by Sharon Dolovich and Alexandra NatapoffDOJ Inspector General's Report on California prisons Bureau of Justice Statistics Department of Justice overview of criminal procedure Cornell Legal Information Institute: Criminal Procedure

An episode all about . . . LINES! I promise, it's more exciting than it sounds. We draw a through-line (get it?) from the Mason Dixon Line to Caesar to nuclear testing to swimwear to waxing to post-punk feminist music to phone phreaking to Rick James. Bam.Show Notes:Phone Trips: http://www.wideweb.com/phonetrips/Wiki: Mason Dixon LineWiki: Penn–Calvert boundary disputeWiki: Twelve-Mile CircleWiki: Delaware WedgeWiki: Cresap's WarWiki: Bikini waxingWiki: BikiniWiki: Bikini AtollWiki: History of the bikiniWiki: Bikini KillWiki: Vietnamese Demilitarized ZoneWiki: Military Demarcation LineWiki: Transatlantic telegraph cableWiki: PhreakingWiki: 2600 HertzWiki: Blue boxNYT: Off-the-Cuff Obama Line Put U.S. in Bind on SyriaNational Geographic: Word in the News: Red Line

He's bad. It's New Orleans. YDHQ delves into the Werner Herzog oddity Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, a neo-noir crime drama (black comedy?) starring Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, and Xzibit, along with Val Kilmer, Michael Shannon, and national treasure Jennifer Coolidge. We have questions, starting with "Why the shit is the title so long?"Show Notes:NYTimes: Thousands of Mice Swarm Parts of Western Australia in a ‘Mouse Plague’

What's up with all these spies? Did they really love me? Have we no sense of decency?The history of Russian espionage in the west, and especially "Illegals"--spies who operated without diplomatic cover. We get into Kim Philby and the Cambridge Five, Klaus Fuchs, the Rosenbergs, Hanssen and Ames, and the more recent clown shows. Sources:A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal, Ben MacintyreBridge of Spies: A True Story of the Cold War, Giles WhittelThe Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB, Christopher Andrew, Vasili MitrokhinWiki - Robert HanssenWiki - Aldrich AmesWiki - Julius and Ethel RosenbergWiki - Klaus FuchsWiki - Illegals Program

What is a high pressure injection injury, and is it bad? (Spoiler: Yes. It's very bad). Following our quinquepisodinal* tradition, Kacy explains high pressure injection injuries. You might have heard them called "grease gun injuries." In short, it's when a high pressure fluid squirts with such force that it cuts into your body and shoots that fluid into you. It's nowhere near as sexy as it sounds. *I'm making this a word now. Sources:M.C. Cejin, A. Koyfman, B. Long, High risk and low incidence diseases: high-pressure injection injury, Am J Emerg Med, 88 (2025), pp. 120-125NYTimes: 3 Hikers Dead After Volcano Erupts in Indonesia

Finally! The Fed!Top 3 friend of the pod Jamisen joins us to explain what the Fed is, what it does, and why we should care. What is a central bank? What's fractional reserve banking? What's the interest rate that everyone cares about? Should we audit the Fed? And, like, what is money anyway?We answer some of these questions on this show.Sources:Ben Bernanke, 21st Century Monetary Policy: The Federal Reserve from the Great Inflation to COVID-19Alan Blinder, A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States, 1961–2021

YDHQ takes on the 2016 glitzy, arthouse oddity, The Neon Demon and somehow lives to tell about it. The Neon Demon is the tenth movie by Danish weirdo, Nicolas Winding Refn, who's probably most known for his 2011 film, Drive, starring a young and taciturn Ryan Gosling. Demon stars Elle Fanning and features some truly awkward performances by Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reaves, Jenna Malone, and a couple of hungry Australians.

Who was Ned Kelly? Was he a sheep? Why did he wear a helmet? Could he read?"Yes!" Is the answer to at least one of these questions.We dive deep-ishly into the history of perhaps Australia's most iconic figure: Ned Kelly. Bushranger. Bareknuckle Boxer. Hero? Who can say.Sources:Where is the Green Sheep?Wiki: Ned KellyWiki: Armour of the Kelly GangWiki: Redmond BarryWiki: Convicts in AustraliaAn article comparing Ned Kelly to Jesus

Outwit. Outlast. Outlisten.Whence came all that awful not-at-all-real reality television in the 2000s, anyway?Chris walks through the history of reality television, all the way back to hidden microphone shows on radio in the 1940s, through Chuck Barris' reign of outre gameshows and political assassination (!?!) in the 1960s, An American Family on PBS in 1970, the Real World, and the explosion of reality shows as we crested the new millennium.**UPDATE: We had some issues with the audio file initially. Should be fixed now!**Sources:Cue the Sun, Emily NussbaumWiki: Chuck BarrisWiki: Allen FuntWiki: Mark BurnettNYTimes: Huge Snowball Fight in New York Escalates After Police ArriveNYTimes: D.A. Rejects Assault Charge Against Man Who Threw Snowballs at Officers

BONUS TRACK: This is just a monster cut of every time I agreed with Kacy Jo on our most recent episode. I think it really shows off how smart I am.

Not that you'd want to. Kacy explains why a person might ask a surgeon to cut their finger cut off, why removing a whole finger can sometimes be better than keeping a bit of one, what the procedure looks like, and what happens after. Gripping stuff (har har). Sources:Years of med school, residency, fellowship, and practice.Tubin' Toobin's article about Gambling GoldsteinSerious Trouble: Lemon Law (including discussion of Goldstein case near the end)NYTimes: JD Booed at Opening Ceremony

Give me a Y! Give me a D! Give me an H! Give me a Q! What's that spell?Your Doctor Has Questions takes on the Vietnam War. Why did we go there? What happened before we did? Who was involved?From around 1958 to 1975, the US fought a bloody and violent war against a good chunk of the Vietnamese people, ostensibly to avoid Asia turning red. We take a look at what happened in Vietnam and around the world that led us there. Sources:Country Joe & the FishHanoi's War: An International History of the War for Peace in Vietnam, Lien-Hang T. NguyenEmbers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam, Fredrik Logevall

Arts festivals! Gorgeous beaches! Fruchocs! Large mounds of brown fibreglass! What can't Adelaide do?In this incredibly special episode--recorded in Chris' mum's living room in the Adelaide Hills--we sit down with noted expert in pretty much everything, Jon Tickle, to discuss the finest and funniest parts of South Australia's best capital city: Adelaide. Jon runs us through a bit of history, a lot of culture, and near-endless miscellany. Notes:South Australian Museum's Land AcknowledgmentABC coverage of Gina Rinehart's portraitPaywalled article of SA's tattoo blokeWiki: Magic MountainWiki: Big Rocking HorseAdelaide Airport's Press Release on Direct Flights

Ever since I can remember, I always wanted to have a podcast.Your Doctor Has Spoilers! We play our favourite road trip game: Tell me the entire plot of a movie. Chris walks Kacy Jo through the entire plot of Martin Scorsese's 1990 gangster classic, Goodfellas.

What's up with class actions? What are they for? What do they do? Why do I keep getting letters in the mail telling me I'm entitled to a $5 coupon because a laptop I bought eight years made a funny noise?We're thrilled to be joined by friend of the pod and respected plaintiffs' lawyer Jamisen Etzel, who walks Kacy Jo through the whys and wherefores of class action litigation. Chris . . . uhhhh . . . participates, with increasing seasonal jollity. Sources:Mostly just Jamo's years of experience, but you can also check out Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23.Serious Trouble has run a few great episodes discussion Tom Girardi and Michael Avenatti.

Our very first fifth episode! In this special, bonus episode (featuring friend of the pod, Jamisen Etzel), Kacy Jo explains carpal tunnel syndrome, plus she gets grilled about what it's like to cut into a person. Sources:Just years and years of school and training. Decades. It's a miracle we survived.

Back with a splash! We delve into the science and history of tea, doing our best to answer the important questions: What is it? Where does it come from? Why does it taste like that? How racist is it, really?Mentioned in the episode: Porto Rico Importing Co. and at 210 Bleeker St. in Manhattan if you're ever in the neighborhood. Well worth a visit!Sources:Three Basic Teas and How to Enjoy Them, Virginia Utermohlen LovelaceA Thirst for Empire: How Tea Shaped the Modern World, Erika RappaportWikipedia: Boston Tea PartyWikipedia: East India Company

How cold is it there? Are there people? How did they get there and what are they up to? Are they eating the dogs?Pretty farkin'. Yes. Mostly ships. Mostly research. Not any more.But we dive much deeper into Antarctica we get into in this episode, including some truly macabre history and some downright chilly meteorology. Sources:All wikipedia this timeAntarcticaHeroic Age of Antarctic ExplorationFar Eastern PartyDiscovery ExpeditionDouglas MawsonAmundsen's South Pole expeditionErnest ShackletonFridtjof NansenResearch stations in AntarcticaAmundsen–Scott South Pole StationReligion in AntarcticaReligion in spaceHistory of AntarcticaMount Erebus disaster

What's up with Ponzi schemes?We delve into a little of history of Ponzi schemes, plus some details on the more notable ones with--as always--some worthwhile distractions. Sources:Websites:How a Top Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission Into North Korea Fell ApartNYT: Trump Tests the Limits of His Power With a New AirstrikeSEC: Ponzi SchemeWikipedia:Recursive islands and lakesPonzi SchemeList of Ponzi schemesCharles PonziSarah Howe (fraudster)Towers Financial CorporationSaradha Group financial scandalMadoff investment scandal

In our inaugural episode, Kacy asks "What are the important volcanoes I should know about?" The question that inspired our podcast!Chris walks through a little background on volcanoes--What they are, how they work, what happens when they go boom--and then we dive into seven of the most interesting volcanoes in human history. Sources:Books:The Path Between the Seas, David McCulloughWebsites:US Geological Survey: About VolcanoesWikipedia:VolcanoSupervolcanoEruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD1815 eruption of Mount Tambora1883 eruption of Krakatoa1902 eruption of Mount Pelée1980 eruption of Mount St. HelensArmero Tragedy2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull