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  • Patient One: MDMA, A Recorded Abuse That Toppled a Trial

    Patient One: MDMA, A Recorded Abuse That Toppled a Trial
    2026/09/10
    Patient One: MDMA, A Recorded Abuse That Toppled a Trial

    The camera in a therapy room kept recording as Meaghan Buisson lay under the influence of MDMA in October 2015 - footage that later showed her therapist making repeated physical contact with a patient who could not meaningfully consent. How did a preserved recording of abuse inside a federally sanctioned trial fail to stop the study immediately, and what did it reveal about structural loopholes in psychedelic research?

    In this episode, we tell what happened to Patient One One in a Phase Two MDMA-assisted psychotherapy trial, how institutional rules allowed a therapist with a lapsed license to work alongside a licensed colleague, and why a decade-old recording eventually reached regulators and influenced a federal advisory vote. What does Meaghan Buisson’s experience reveal about safety, consent, and oversight in clinical trials?

    Person: Meaghan Buisson
    Event: October 2015 therapy session recording
    Organization: MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies)
    Therapists: Richard Yensen and Donna Dryer
    Trial Phase: Phase Two for treatment-resistant PTSD

    - Buisson enrolled as Patient One One in December 2014.
    - The planned cohort size was twelve patients; the trial ultimately treated six.
    - Richard Yensen’s psychologist license had lapsed in 2009, five years before Buisson’s enrollment.
    - The dosing phase ran until October 2015 with follow-up continuing through June 2016.
    - The institution settled with Buisson for fifteen thousand Canadian dollars and a signed waiver.

    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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    21 分
  • The First Patient: How a Clinical Trial Became a Crime Scene

    The First Patient: How a Clinical Trial Became a Crime Scene
    2026/09/09
    The First Patient: How a Clinical Trial Became a Crime Scene

    A licensed psychiatrist surrendered her medical license and police recommended criminal charges after video from a clinical trial showed what prosecutors later called inappropriate physical contact during MDMA-assisted therapy. How did a trial run by a major nonprofit, with cameras rolling and a therapist whose license had lapsed, become the setting for allegations that would take nearly a decade to surface?

    In this episode, we chronicle the sequence of events from enrollment through the final dosing session and the regulatory fallout, laying out who was involved, what the recorded sessions showed, and the structural rule that allowed an unlicensed therapist to participate. How did the trial’s own policies contribute to what happened to the first patient?

    Person: Meaghan Buisson
    Event: MDMA-assisted psychotherapy trial dosing sessions
    Organization: MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies)
    Therapists: Richard Yensen and Donna Dryer
    Date enrolled: December 2014

    - Meaghan Buisson was the first patient enrolled in the cohort in December 2014.
    - Buisson completed her final formal trial procedures in June 2016, with the final dosing session in October 2015.
    - Richard Yensen’s psychologist license had lapsed in 2009, but MAPS policy required only one current medical license per session.
    - Video recordings of dosing sessions existed and later matched Buisson’s allegations of physical contact such as cuddling and spoons.
    - The case led to a licensed psychiatrist surrendering her medical license and police recommending criminal charges, though no convictions were recorded.

    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
  • The Surgeon Without a License Who Amputated a Man's Life

    The Surgeon Without a License Who Amputated a Man's Life
    2026/09/08
    The Surgeon Without a License Who Amputated a Man's Life

    A man whose medical license had been revoked 21 years earlier performed an amputation that left a 79-year-old dead - and it began with a desire no U.S. surgeon would legally honor. What drove Philip Bondy to seek removal of a healthy limb, and why did John Ronald Brown continue operating despite revocation, criminal arrest, and at least one earlier patient death?

    In this episode, we tell the events leading up to the May 10, 1998 discovery of Philip Bondy’s body and the context around the decades-long practice of John Ronald Brown, showing how gaps in mainstream medicine shaped the choices patients made. What does Bondy’s case reveal about a condition barely recognized in 1998 and the practitioners who filled that void?

    Person: Philip Bondy
    Date: May 10, 1998
    Location: National City, California
    Person: John Ronald Brown
    Event: California Medical Board revocation in 1977

    - Philip Bondy was seventy-nine years old when Gregg Furth found him dead on May 10, 1998.
    - Bondy’s left leg had been amputated the day before in Tijuana by John Ronald Brown.
    - Brown’s medical license was revoked by the California Medical Board in 1977 for gross negligence, incompetence, and moral turpitude.
    - Brown failed the American Board of Plastic Surgery oral examination and never held U.S. board certification in that specialty.
    - Brown was arrested in 1990 after operating without a license on a thirty-year-old transgender woman and served nineteen months.

    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
  • When Medicine Says No: The Tijuana Amputations That Killed a Man

    When Medicine Says No: The Tijuana Amputations That Killed a Man
    2026/09/07
    When Medicine Says No: The Tijuana Amputations That Killed a Man

    A retired satellite engineer flew to Tijuana because medicine refused to remove a healthy limb; he returned dead from gas gangrene after an unlicensed surgeon used a large knife, not a scalpel. What happens when the medical system says no to a condition it barely recognizes, and someone finds a different yes across the border?

    In this episode, we tell the story of two men with body integrity identity disorder who sought elective amputations, the surgeon who agreed to operate despite revoked licenses, and the aftermath that produced a death and a criminal conviction. How did a history of denied care, clandestine surgery, and a simple choice of instrument lead to fatal infection?

    Person: Philip Bondy
    Person: Gregg Furth
    Person: John Ronald Brown
    Date: May 10, 1998
    Cause: Gas gangrene from Clostridium perfringens

    - Philip Bondy was 79 years old when he died.
    - Both Bondy and Furth traveled to Tijuana on May 9, 1998 for elective amputations.
    - John Ronald Brown was 75 years old in May 1998 and had his California medical license revoked in 1977.
    - Brown had claimed to have performed roughly 600 gender-affirming surgeries and failed the oral plastic surgery board exam.
    - The fatal infection was identified as Clostridium perfringens causing gas gangrene.

    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
  • The Surgeon With No License Who Cut Off a Stranger's Leg

    The Surgeon With No License Who Cut Off a Stranger's Leg
    2026/09/06
    The Surgeon With No License Who Cut Off a Stranger's Leg

    Curiosity about dangerous certainties drives this episode: a revoked physician with hundreds of super glue tubes, blood-soaked mattresses, and videotapes of amateur operations, and a 79-year-old engineer who paid to have his left leg removed-then bled to death in a hotel room. How did someone with a revoked license and prior arrests end up amputating a healthy limb in Tijuana and walking away?

    In this episode, we lay out the facts of the case and the sequence of events that led to the fatal amputation, following the apartment evidence, autopsy findings, and witness testimony to ask the central question: what happened between two certainties-that Philip Bondy knew what he was paying for, and that John Ronald Brown knew exactly what he was doing?

    Person: John Ronald Brown
    Person: Philip Bondy
    Date: May 9, 1998
    Location: Tijuana / National City
    Status: License revoked in 1977

    - The search warrant found hundreds of tubes of super glue, blood-soaked mattresses, surgical instruments, and videotapes in Brown's San Ysidro apartment.
    - Philip Bondy, age 79, died in a National City hotel room after his left leg had been surgically removed.
    - John Ronald Brown graduated from the University of Utah School of Medicine in 1947 and failed the oral board for the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
    - Brown's California medical license was revoked in 1977 for gross negligence, incompetence, moral turpitude, and related charges.
    - Gregg Furth, also seeking amputation, traveled from New York with Bondy and withdrew when an assistant produced a large knife rather than surgical instruments.

    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
  • The Surgeon Who Amputated a Stranger's Life: John R. Brown

    The Surgeon Who Amputated a Stranger's Life: John R. Brown
    2026/09/05
    The Surgeon Who Amputated a Stranger's Life: John R. Brown

    A seventy-nine-year-old man had his perfectly functional left leg removed in Tijuana twelve hours before he was found dead in a motel room-by a surgeon who had been operating without a valid license for decades. What drives someone with Body Integrity Identity Disorder to seek an illegal amputation, and how did John Ronald Brown keep practicing despite revocations, arrests and warnings?

    In this episode, we tell the story of Philip Bondy, Gregg Furth, and John Ronald Brown, covering Bondy’s decades-long struggle with Body Integrity Identity Disorder, the journey to a clinic across the border, and Brown’s history of revoked licenses, prison time, and unlicensed surgeries. How did a once-credentialed doctor end up operating in motel rooms, garages and Tijuana clinics, and what led to Bondy’s death?

    Person: Philip Bondy
    Person: Gregg Furth
    Person: John Ronald Brown
    Date: May 10, 1998
    Event: Amputation in Tijuana followed by death twelve hours later

    - Philip Bondy was found dead at age 79 in a motel room in National City, California.
    - The left leg amputated by Brown was described as perfectly functional before surgery.
    - John Ronald Brown graduated from University of Utah School of Medicine in 1947 and later failed the oral board for plastic surgery.
    - Brown’s California medical license was revoked in 1977 for gross negligence, incompetence, moral turpitude and other violations.
    - In 1990 Brown was arrested for operating without a license and served 19 months in prison.

    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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    21 分
  • The Surgeon Without a License Who Amputated a Stranger's Life

    The Surgeon Without a License Who Amputated a Stranger's Life
    2026/09/04
    The Surgeon Without a License Who Amputated a Stranger's Life

    Desperation pushed a 79-year-old retired engineer across an international border to a man whose medical license had been revoked for gross negligence and moral turpitude-yet this unlicensed surgeon claimed to have performed roughly 600 gender-affirming operations and kept cutting anyway. How did a physician stripped of his license, convicted of practicing without one, come to amputate a stranger’s leg and leave him dead less than 24 hours later?

    In this episode, we trace the events that led a man with body integrity identity disorder to seek an illegal amputation in Tijuana, the history of John Ronald Brown’s revoked career, and the single operation that ended in a death and a criminal prosecution. What failed in the hours after the surgery, and how did Brown continue operating despite multiple bans?

    Person: John Ronald Brown
    Person: Philip Bondy
    Date: May 9-10, 1998
    Location: Tijuana, Mexico; National City hotel room, California
    Status: Death and subsequent murder prosecution

    - Brown was born July 4, 1922, and earned his medical degree in 1947 from the University of Utah School of Medicine.
    - The California Medical Board revoked Brown’s license in 1977 for charges including gross negligence, incompetence, and submitting false insurance claims.
    - Brown claimed to have completed roughly 600 gender-affirming surgeries while mainstream programs approved far fewer applicants (Johns Hopkins approved 24 out of 2,000 applicants).
    - In 1990 Brown was arrested for performing surgery without a license and served 19 months in jail before briefly working as a taxi driver and returning to surgery.
    - Philip Bondy, age 79, had body integrity identity disorder and underwent leg amputation by Brown on May 9, 1998; he was found dead in a hotel room less than 24 hours later.

    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
  • The Surgeon Who Cut a Healthy Leg Off - A Deadly Compulsion

    The Surgeon Who Cut a Healthy Leg Off - A Deadly Compulsion
    2026/09/03
    The Surgeon Who Cut a Healthy Leg Off - A Deadly Compulsion

    A retired engineer paid to have his anatomically normal left leg removed and died after a surgeon with a 1947 medical degree but no valid U.S. license operated in a Tijuana clinic; how did a procedure that a pathologist later called entirely preventable end in death? What responsibility did the surgeon owe to a patient who asked for amputation decades before medicine had a name for the condition?

    In this episode, we tell the documented record of Philip Bondy’s trip to Tijuana, the life and practice of John Ronald Brown, and the legal and ethical aftermath that followed Bondy’s death - could access, desperation, and a surgeon’s history explain how this could happen?

    Person: Philip Bondy
    Date: May 10, 1998
    Person: John Ronald Brown
    Degree: Doctor of Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, 1947
    Event: Amputation in Tijuana resulting in patient death

    - Bondy was 79 years old when he crossed into Tijuana to have his left leg amputated.
    - The left leg was anatomically normal and caused Bondy no physical pain the day before surgery.
    - Brown was 75 years old in spring 1998 and earned his MD in 1947.
    - Brown’s California medical license was revoked in 1977 for gross negligence, demonstrated incompetence, moral turpitude, involvement in a patient's death, and related charges.
    - Johns Hopkins Gender Identity Clinic approved 24 patients out of the first 2,000 applicants during the same period.

    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