2019 was the year I discovered podcasts. I’m not alone – it’s estimated that there are currently 800 000 podcasts, an increase of 250 000 since the middle on 2018. Here, I share some of my favourites. While most of these aren’t targeted specifically at health or psychology audiences, they all tackle events or issues likely to appeal to people working or studying in these areas, including everything from healthcare scandals to recorded counselling sessions.
This was the most shocking podcast I listened to in 2019. It charts the story of Christopher Duntsch, a US neurosurgeon who claimed to be the best in Dallas. He has since been convicted of maiming one of his patients and sentenced to life imprisonment. Altogether, he is thought to have caused the death and maiming of 33 patients. The show has been criticised for sensationalising the story for entertainment and is certainly not told in the style of a documentary. However, for anyone interested in healthcare safety, it’s a horrifying, absorbing cautionary tale on what can happen when adequate safeguards are not in place to ensure professional standards. From Wondery, Dr Death is hosted by Laura Beil and is available to download from Apple podcasts and Spotify.
If you’ve ever wondered how you can improve your commitment to exercise, eat less chocolate, persuade others of your viewpoint or make yourself more attractive to others, PsychCrunch is for you. From the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, each episode is around 15-20 minutes long and features interviews with experts on different topics. The podcast is published quarterly and is presented by Dr Christian Jarrett, Ginny Smith and Ella Rhodes. It’s snappy, informative and evidence-based – an easy and engaging way to keep up with developments across psychology. Psychcrunch is available to download on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.
From ABC Audio, The Drop Out explores the story of Elizabeth Homes and her company, Theranos. Holmes’ goal was to create the first blood test which could provide multiple test results using only a drop of blood – the amount that would result from a pin-prick. This technology would make testing cheaper and more convenient and was widely described as ‘revolutionary’. Her idea drew enormous investment and made her the youngest self-made female billionaire. The only problem was that it was never more than an idea: Holmes’ company Theranos did not even manage to produce blood testing devices which were as accurate as machines already on the market, using the standard amount of blood required. For anyone working in healthcare, the story is an insight into the world of healthcare technology innovation: how it can happen, and where it can go wrong. From a psychological perspective, it considers the mind and motivations of someone dedicated to a goal, regardless of the situation and the cost. The Drop Out is available to download from Apple Podcasts, Google podcasts and Spotify.
Where Should We Begin? With Esther Perel
Esther Perel is a Belgian-born couples therapist whose podcast episodes are unscripted, one-time counselling sessions. The names of the couples have been changed to help provide anonymity, but the voices and conversation are real. Perel now has a huge library of previous sessions, covering relationship challenges ranging from impotence too infidelity. Perel initially trained in psychodynamic therapy before training in family systems therapy. Her website states that she offers training in ‘psychodynamic, attachment, and systemic theories, as well as sex therapy, psychodrama, and body-oriented approaches’. In truth, as a UK-based, CBT-trained Clinical Psychologist, I’m not sure exactly what her approach is or how it is supposed to work, but it certainly makes for a good podcast. I’d recommend this show for anyone interested in relationships, the concept of one-time counselling sessions or the use of therapeutic models for couples therapy. From Audible, Where Should We Begin? can be downloaded from Spotify, Stitcher and Apple podcasts.
From BBC Radio 1, this podcast covers 27-year-old Alice’s experience of hearing voices. Alice has multiple voices, each of which has a different personality and may be more likely to occur in relation to different events that happen. For example, there is one set of voices that she only hears when she is cooking and another that occurs after she has self-harmed. Each episode is brief, lasting less than 10 minutes, and explains one of these voice-hearing personalities. The series is told entirely from Alice’s perspective and provides a window into what life is like when you hear voices which can be hard to ignore. Alice’s insight and perception into her own experiences are utterly illuminating for anyone working in mental health or psychology – highly recommended. I Hear Voices is available to download from BBC Sounds and Apple podcasts.
In the US, stem cells are big business. Touted as the cure-all for everything from joint aches to Parkinson’s, they can now be purchased in the form of non-controversial birth stem cells (taken from the umbilical cord blood of live born babies) and injected by medical professionals for just $5000 a pop. Bad Batch focuses on this industry, highlighting the lack of evidence to support the lofty claims made by stem cell distributors. It also highlights the risks, focusing on one company, Liveyon, which distributed stem cell vials which led to a group of treated patients falling gravely ill. They also happened to contain almost no active stem cells. Laura Beil, host and reporter, delivers some compelling insights into the factors which have enabled such an industry – and such a patient safety debacle – to occur. First, she highlights inadequate regulation of stem cells, as they are not treated as drugs by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Second, she highlights the nature of the profit-based US healthcare system, where treatments are marketed directly to patients using flashy advertising. For anyone interested in healthcare systems, it’s an engrossing insight into the problems that come when healthcare becomes a marketable commodity. From Wondery, Bad Batch is available to download from Spotify, Stitcher, Podtail and Apple podcasts.
Jon Ronson’s podcast, The Last Days of August investigates the death by suicide of porn star August Ames. Ames was aged just 23 at the time, and her death immediately followed a social media ‘pile on’ regarding a comment she made on Twitter. Ronson has long been interested in the effects of public shaming, and his investigation begins there. However, before long he moves away from viewing the Twitter storm as the main reason for Ames’ death. His investigation leads him to explore her childhood, adolescence, marriage to 43-year old porn producer, Kevin Moore and a recent traumatic film shoot she was involved in. As a Clinical Psychologist with a PhD in suicide research, I was a little frustrated that Ronson didn’t include any interviews with experts in suicide, which could have informed his investigation and provided a framework to put the puzzle pieces together. Despite this, it’s a deeply engaging podcast. Sensitively handled by Ronson and his producer Lina Misitzis, it had me gripped to the end. This podcast is likely to be of interest to anyone with a background in mental health or suicide research. It suitably comes with a warning at the start of every episode though – listeners should be warned that it contains bad language and frequent sexual references, in addition to covering an extremely sensitive topic. From Audible, The Last Days of August is available to download from Stitcher, Apple podcasts, PlayerFM and Podbay.
From Bloomberg and Wondery, The Shrink Next Door tells the story of the relationship between Marty Markowitz and his therapist, Dr. Isaac Herschkopf. The story is told by long-time journalist Joe Nocera. Nocera had a house in the Hamptons and believed for years that the neighbouring house was owned by Herschkopf. He was invited to house parties by Herschkopf, who also happened to have his name on the mail box. Herschkopf was affluent enough to employ a handyman, whom Nocera regularly saw taking care of the pool and back garden when the Herschkopfs were not staying there. The first twist, of course, is that the house was never owned by Herschkopf: it was owned by Markowitz, who was also mistaken for being the handyman. The Shrink Next Door explores the progressively controlling, isolating and unhealthy ‘therapeutic relationship’ between Herschkopf and Markowitz which gradually saw Herschkopf taking control of Markowitz’s relationships, finances and business. As a mental health professional, this story made my jaw drop. I once agonised over whether it was appropriate to accept the gift of a DVD from a client who wanted to say ‘thank you’ at the end of therapy; the concept that a therapist could break every professional boundary going was utterly astounding to me. This podcast will interest anyone with a background in mental health or a concern for the oversight of therapeutic relationships in health systems. The Shrink Next Door is available to download from Stitcher, PlayerFM and Apple podcasts.
