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  • The Doctor Who Secretly Hastened a King's Death at Sandringham

    The Doctor Who Secretly Hastened a King's Death at Sandringham
    2026/10/31
    The Doctor Who Secretly Hastened a King's Death at Sandringham

    Mercy or media-one man's private diary reveals that the king’s last breath was not entirely natural, and that a doctor timed a fatal injection so the death could make the morning papers; why would a physician end a life with the press in mind?

    In this episode, we tell the episode’s story using the contemporary records and the physician’s own diary to outline what happened at Sandringham on the night of January 20, 1936, and explore the single question that changes the meaning of a public funeral.

    Person: George V
    Date: January 20, 1936
    Location: Sandringham House, Norfolk
    Person: Lord Dawson of Penn
    Event: Fatal injection recorded in diary

    - At 11:55 p.m. on January 20, 1936, George V stopped breathing at Sandringham.
    - Lord Dawson wrote a public bulletin at 9:25 p.m. saying "the king's life is moving peacefully to its close."
    - Two and a half hours after that bulletin, the king was dead at 11:55 p.m.
    - In his private diary, Dawson recorded injecting morphine and cocaine into the king’s jugular vein with the purpose of hastening death.
    - Dawson wrote he administered the overdose partly so the death could be announced in the morning papers rather than the evening journals.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    23 分
  • Awake on the Table: When a Heart Patient Overhears Murder Plans

    Awake on the Table: When a Heart Patient Overhears Murder Plans
    2026/10/30
    Awake on the Table: When a Heart Patient Overhears Murder Plans

    Fear that the people you trust will choose your death over your life - a heart transplant patient lies fully conscious yet immobile while his surgeon discusses how he will die. One in 700 patients is the film's figure for anesthesia awareness, but advocates say the true rate may be higher; who in the room really decides a patient's fate?

    In this episode, we follow the case and the film that put anesthesia awareness at the center of a surgical thriller. We cover the patient’s experience, the people around him, and the disputed statistics that framed the controversy - and ask who, if anyone, in the operating room could have carried out the plan Clay overheard.

    Person: Clay Beresford Jr.
    Person: Dr. Jack Harper
    Person: Lilith Beresford
    Person: Samantha Lockwood
    Event: Heart transplant operation at 12:11 AM

    - The film Awake was released on November 30, 2007.
    - The film cited anesthesia awareness occurring in one in 700 patients undergoing general anesthesia.
    - Clay and Samantha were married in a private ceremony on the night of the operation.
    - The operating room scene described occurs at eleven minutes past midnight.
    - Dr. Jack Harper had four malpractice suits recorded in his history.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    24 分
  • When Medicine and Neglect Both Pointed to Silence: Who Stole Andrew's Hearing?

    When Medicine and Neglect Both Pointed to Silence: Who Stole Andrew's Hearing?
    2026/10/29
    When Medicine and Neglect Both Pointed to Silence: Who Stole Andrew's Hearing?

    The idea that a single syringe could change a child's life is terrifying: a prescribed 10,000 units of intrathecal penicillin became roughly 300,000 units, and by Christmas Eve the boy was profoundly and permanently deaf. Which was responsible - the overdose everyone admitted, or the pneumococcal meningitis that is a well-documented cause of hearing loss - and who, if anyone, can be held to account?

    In this episode, we tell the case of Andrew from the first GP prescription through his hospital treatment, the admitted dosing error, and the years of legal struggle that followed, asking whether medicine's uncertainty could answer the courtroom's question.

    Person: Andrew
    Date (admission of error): 29 November
    Diagnosis: Pneumococcal meningitis
    Dose prescribed: 10,000 units intrathecal penicillin
    Dose administered: approximately 300,000 units intrathecal penicillin

    - The syringe contained roughly thirty times the prescribed intrathecal dose on 29 November.
    - The hospital admitted the overdose without contest to the courts.
    - Laboratory confirmation of pneumococcal meningitis was received on 29 November.
    - By 24 December (Christmas Eve) Andrew was discharged with profound bilateral permanent deafness.
    - A comprehensive literature search found no recorded case of intrathecal penicillin overdose causing deafness, while many sources documented hearing loss from pneumococcal meningitis.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    22 分
  • How a Father's Grief Spawned a Dangerous Cancer Myth

    How a Father's Grief Spawned a Dangerous Cancer Myth
    2026/10/28
    How a Father's Grief Spawned a Dangerous Cancer Myth

    Fear of betrayal by medicine: a grieving father's certainty turned into a system that told patients chemotherapy was lethal and radiologists were wrong - and a six-year-old with a Wilms tumor went from a 90% survival chance to 10%. How did CT scan artifacts, forged confirmations, and a revoked medical license become a doctrine that cost lives?

    In this episode, we tell the sequence of events that produced Germanic New Medicine, tracing Ryke Geerd Hamer's biography, the origin shock in 1978, the diagnostic claim of the "Hamer Focus," and the consequences for patients such as a six-year-old Austrian girl - could a bereaved physician's conviction override established medical evidence?

    Person: Ryke Geerd Hamer
    Date: August 8, 1978
    Event: Shooting of Dirk Hamer and subsequent death on December 7, 1978
    Status: Medical license revoked in 1986 and reconfirmed in 2003
    Case: Olivia Pilhar, diagnosed with Wilms tumor in 1995

    - Hamer was born on May 17, 1935, and passed his state medical examination in April 1962.
    - Dirk Hamer was shot on a yacht off Cavallo on August 8, 1978, and died on December 7, 1978.
    - A Wilms tumor has a 90% survival rate with prompt treatment; Olivia’s survival probability dropped to 10% by the time surgeons operated.
    - German authorities revoked Hamer’s medical license in 1986 and reconfirmed the revocation in 2003.
    - Hamer served 12 months in prison after his 1997 arrest and then resumed practicing and running clinics across multiple European countries.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    24 分
  • How a Prescription Put a Child 'Presently at Risk of Sudden Death

    How a Prescription Put a Child 'Presently at Risk of Sudden Death
    2026/10/27
    How a Prescription Put a Child 'Presently at Risk of Sudden Death

    Fear that a single prescription could tip a child into "sudden death" - and that the clinic that wrote it kept operating - is the chilling fact at the center of this episode. We trace how a telemedicine service prescribing hormones to minors grew from a claimed "provider of last resort" into a practice entangled in suspensions, tribunal findings, and an offshore ownership swap that left oversight trailing behind. How did a decade of warnings and two removals from the medical register lead to a child being judged "presently at risk of sudden death"?

    In this episode, we outline the timeline, the people, and the regulatory decisions that shaped GenderGP's trajectory, and we ask whether gaps in the system enabled clinical decisions far outside specialist expertise. What does the record show about responsibility, oversight, and the risks created by rapid private expansion?

    Person: J
    Person: Helen Webberley
    Person: Mike Webberley
    Event: High Court ruling stating "presently at risk of sudden death" (May 2024)
    Event: Ownership transfer to Harland International (2019)

    - In May 2024 a judge in England's High Court wrote that a child known as J was "presently at risk of sudden death."
    - GenderGP was founded in 2015 by Helen and Mike Webberley as a UK telemedicine service for transgender youth.
    - The clinic operated on a "stage not age" philosophy, assessing readiness for hormones by puberty stage rather than chronological age.
    - The General Medical Council placed Helen Webberley under interim suspension in May 2017; Mike Webberley was placed under interim suspension in May 2019.
    - In 2019 ownership of GenderGP transferred to Harland International, a company registered in Hong Kong, while the clinic continued prescribing hormones to minors.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    24 分
  • The Clinic That Replaced Waiting Lists - A Child's Dangerous Dose

    The Clinic That Replaced Waiting Lists - A Child's Dangerous Dose
    2026/10/26
    The Clinic That Replaced Waiting Lists - A Child's Dangerous Dose

    Fear that a system built to save children instead exposed them to life‑threatening risk: a child with no prior testosterone exposure was put on the highest possible starting dose within days, and by May 2024 a consultant paediatric endocrinologist warned in court the child was "presently at risk of sudden death due to thromboembolic disease." How did a telemedicine clinic meant to bypass NHS waiting lists reach that point?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events that took a clinic from promise to scandal, describing the clinic's founding, its clinical practices, the regulatory responses and the undercover reporting that provoked public alarm - and we ask whether replacing one failing system created another riskier one.

    Person: Helen Webberley
    Person: Mike Webberley
    Event: The Telegraph undercover investigation, February 2021
    Date: May 2024 (High Court testimony)
    Location: London

    - A child with no prior testosterone exposure was prescribed the highest possible starting dose within days.
    - By May 2024 a consultant paediatric endocrinologist told a High Court judge the child was "presently at risk of sudden death due to thromboembolic disease."
    - GenderGP was founded in 2015 by GP Helen Webberley and operated as an online-only telemedicine clinic using the principle "stage not age."
    - In May 2017 the General Medical Council placed Helen Webberley under interim suspension after complaints from NHS clinicians.
    - In February 2021 The Telegraph's undercover reporters obtained consultations where testosterone was offered to a reporter posing as a 15-year-old and blockers discussed for a 12-year-old who was not present.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    22 分
  • When Medicine Is the Only Door: The GenderGP Risk Dilemma

    When Medicine Is the Only Door: The GenderGP Risk Dilemma
    2026/10/25
    When Medicine Is the Only Door: The GenderGP Risk Dilemma

    Fear of abandonment meets clinical danger: a consultant paediatric endocrinologist told England's High Court in May 2024 that a child was "presently at risk of sudden death," and yet that child had reached a service that for many was the only door open - GenderGP. How did a decade-long private telemedicine clinic become the sole provider for young trans patients in the UK, and what happens when medical risk is weighed against the risk of leaving vulnerable children with no care?

    In this episode, we follow the chronology and the conflicts that shaped GenderGP's rise and regulatory crises. We trace the gaps in NHS provision, the "stage not age" framework, and the regulatory and journalistic challenges that left crucial questions unresolved: how do clinicians balance treatment risks against abandonment?

    Person: Helen Webberley
    Person: Mike Webberley
    Date: May 2017
    Date: May 2019
    Event: Undercover investigations (February 2021)

    - In 2015 the NHS in England had one dedicated clinic for transgender youth, GIDS, with waiting lists measured in years.
    - GenderGP was founded by GP Helen Webberley and her husband Mike and became the only private provider of gender-affirming care for young people in the UK.
    - In May 2017 the General Medical Council provisionally suspended Helen Webberley's licence following clinician complaints.
    - In May 2019 a tribunal erased Mike Webberley from the medical register for treating seven transgender patients outside his specialty.
    - In February 2021 two undercover investigations suggested GenderGP was willing to prescribe to a reporter posing as a 15-year-old and discussed a case involving a 12-year-old without parental presence.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    20 分
  • The Doctors Who Killed a President: Garfield's Preventable Decline

    The Doctors Who Killed a President: Garfield's Preventable Decline
    2026/10/24
    The Doctors Who Killed a President: Garfield's Preventable Decline

    The sight that should stop you cold: a drifter who couldn't pay rent chose an ivory-handled revolver because he thought it would look better in a museum, and he stood in the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station at 9:30 a.m, on July 2, 1881. James A. Garfield did not die of the bullet lodged behind his pancreas; he died after eighty days of medical decisions that ignored available science. Who, ultimately, killed James Garfield?

    In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the shooting to the president’s death and the medical choices made during the eighty days he lingered, asking whether those choices, rather than the bullet, were fatal. What medical knowledge existed in 1881 that was not used to save him?

    Person: James Abram Garfield
    Date: Shot on July 2, 1881; died September 19, 1881 at 10:35 p.m.
    Location: Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station, Washington, D.C.; White House/Washington treatment locations referenced
    Perpetrator: Charles Julius Guiteau
    Event: Eighty days of medical treatment after shooting

    - The assassin, Charles J. Guiteau, was 40 years old on the summer of 1881 and had been expelled from a utopian commune and divorced by his wife.
    - Guiteau purchased a .442 Webley British Bulldog revolver from O'Meara’s hardware with $15 borrowed from George Maynard and chose the ivory-handled version.
    - Garfield’s bullet lodged harmlessly behind the pancreas according to the episode, and the wound was described as survivable.
    - President Garfield’s weight fell from 210 pounds to 130 pounds by the time of his death on September 19, 1881.
    - Garfield was born November 19, 1831, and had a career as canal boatman, carpenter, janitor, teacher, college president at 26, Civil War commander, and congressman before becoming the 20th President.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    25 分