Podcasts by We
The history of mental illness is insane.
Further podcasts by We're All Mad Here
Podcast on the topic Gesellschaft und Kultur
All episodes
160: The Lady with the Lamp from 2022-01-31T18:24:17
According to modern day psychologists, when16 year old Florence Nightingale said that God had told her that she needed to be a nurse, she wasn’t speaking metaphorically; it was her first expe...
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159: The Insider from 2022-01-01T04:22:44
NOTE: In this episode, you’ll hear my volume going up and down slightly. This isn’t my mic or my editing; it’s my actual voice due to currently having COVID and being unable to su...
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158: Eloise in Detroit from 2021-11-12T18:21:42
Just outside Detroit, Michigan, a poorhouse was built in the early 1800s. In addition to treating the mentally ill, Eloise Hospital had many other uses, pioneered treatments, and was once pronounce...
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157: Deok-hye from 2021-10-28T01:22:30
Princess Deok-hye, the last princess of Korea, started life as a happy child. But when she was 8, her father died and a series of unfortunate events quickly followed. Forced to move to Japan due to...
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156: Parasocial Relationships from 2021-10-09T02:08:03
Have you ever been a fan of someone famous and just KNOW that the two of you would be friends if you met? That’s known as a parasocial relationship. But are parasocial relationships normal? A...
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155: Baby Gumm from 2021-09-23T18:27:30
We all know Judy Garland as one of the most successful actors of the classic Hollywood days. But behind the scenes of her famous movies, Judy- with some help from MGM Studios- was struggling with m...
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154: Neuroplasticity and Brain Training from 2021-09-03T03:39:14
This week I interviewed Emilie Leyes, who is a performer and a specialist in neuroplasticity and brain training. Currently working on her Master’s and PhD in Mind and Body Medicine, Emilie wo...
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153: The Mad Artist: Trope or Truth? from 2021-08-26T18:47:54
Why does it seem like so many artists are mentally ill? Are mentally ill people more likely to go into the arts, or do the arts create mentally ill people? Hello everyone, I’m back! I sorely ...
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152: The Author from 2021-06-11T22:39:43
CW: Child abuse, suicidal ideation, sexual assault JT Leroy became famous almost overnight for his novel SARAH, a fictionalized version of his upbringing with his sex worker mother who later forced...
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151: The Charlatan from 2021-05-27T20:48:15
Despite not having any qualifications in psychology, Bruno Bettelheim managed to do irreparable damage to the autistic community in his 40 years of practice. He promoted the theory that neglectful ...
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150: The Development of Autism from 2021-05-06T23:33:38
“Autism” first got its name in the early 1900s, when a doctor believed that certain children were so obsessed with themselves (the Greek word “auto” meaning “self̶...
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149: The People’s Princess from 2021-04-23T00:10:25
Princess Alice, the mother of recently deceased Prince Philip, is described as a princess who “refused to fit the royal mold.” Alice was born different, with congenital deafness. But st...
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148: Lone Wolf from 2021-04-08T01:35:55
With two well-publicized mass shootings happening last month, America yet again set to blaming the criminals’ violence on mental illness. Former presidents have also claimed over the decades ...
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147: The Lambs from 2021-03-18T01:47:05
Mary and Charles Lamb were a brother and sister team who spent decades both in and out of private psych hospitals AND making their mark on the 19th century British literary scene. www.patreon.com/a...
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146: Colleen from 2021-03-04T06:36:43
When Colleen Adams disappeared on November 22, 1973, her husband Geoffrey told authorities that her violent post partum depression had inspired her to desert her husband and daughters. While Collee...
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145: The Cellar from 2021-02-18T02:17:20
When America was born, founding father Patrick Henry was newly married to his much younger new wife. But what happened to his first wife, Sarah Shelton? Why did she spend the last four years of her...
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144: Gambit from 2021-02-03T23:57:48
Quite a few accomplished chess players ended up becoming mentally ill later in their careers- but is chess itself responsible for its players’ problems? www.patreon.com/allmadpod SOURCES http...
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FIRST EPISODE OF HOOKED! from 2021-01-25T05:20:04
It’s the first episode of Rachel’s new podcast HOOKED! On May 15 2001, one of the most beloved bloggers of the early internet died from a brain aneurysm after battling leukemia. On May...
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142: Cute Aggression from 2021-01-20T05:26:27
Why do we want to squeeze or nibble on things we find overwhelmingly adorable? It’s called “cute aggression!” www.patreon.com/allmadpodcast “Tears of Joy” May Help Us Maintain Emo...
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141: The Cornflakes Cure from 2021-01-07T01:25:52
Did you know that in addition to creating a cereal empire, John Harvey Kellogg was a doctor AND ran a sanitarium for most of his life? Obsessed with purity of mind and body, Kellogg created a home-...
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140: A Clean Bill of Poor Mental Health from 2020-12-17T02:23
James Taylor is one of the most successful American musicians alive today. Coming from a musical family, James wrote his first song on guitar at 14. By the time he was 22, he was being called ̶...
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139: On Being Ill from 2020-12-04T05:30:38
It’s been awhile since I gave voice to a piece of writing: this week, I read Virginia Woolf’s ON BEING ILL. www.patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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137: Between the Acts from 2020-11-26T05:56:58
CW/TW: Suicide/ suicidal ideation, childhood sexual abuse Virginia Woolf is as famous for her suicide as she is for her writing. Born into a family with a history of mental health and being a victi...
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136: The Contributing Factor from 2020-11-12T03:16:11
Many true crime podcasts have covered the death of Elisa Lam, a Canadian college student. But few have covered what was considered a large factor in her death: her bipolar disorder. This is a diffe...
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135: Fast Girl Part 2 from 2020-10-22T22:05:09
TW: Eating disorders, suicide Happily retired from her running career, Suzy Favor Hamilton was looking forward to leading a more normal life. But soon, Suzy found quiet life in Wisconsin unbearable...
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134: Fast Girl, Part One from 2020-10-14T03:25:21
TW: Eating disorders, suicide, adult language Suzy Favor Hamilton went to the Olympics three times. She was one of the fastest runners in the world. But her undiagnosed bipolar disorder gave her pe...
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133: Of Two Minds from 2020-10-01T00:00:21
We’re talking about bipolar disorder this week! www.patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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132: The Insanity of Mary Girard from 2020-09-16T05:48:32
Philadelphia, one of the oldest cities in the United States, prides itself on preserving and remembering its history. So why is it that the story of Mary Lum Girard, business assistant and wife to ...
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131: Immoral But Not Illegal from 2020-09-02T03:00:17
CW: This episode contains discussion of suicide Mark Drybrough and Nadia Kajouji both completed suicide after being sent instructions on how by a friend on the internet. But who was this friend rea...
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129: The Comedienne from 2020-08-06T01:14:18
Everyone knows Charlie Chaplin, but few people know about his mother Hannah. The daughter of a mentally ill mother, and who developed syphilis-related psychosis, Hannah still managed to impart her ...
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128: Dr. Patrick from 2020-07-22T17:47:35
Dr. Teleka Patrick suspected she was schizophrenic. But she was worried that if she got an official diagnosis, she’d lose her psychiatry license, so she kept her suspicions quiet and tried to...
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127: The Harts Part 2 from 2020-07-08T05:01:02
What happened in the months and days leading up to the murder-suicide of the Hart family? What was the trigger? Mental illness? Marital problems? Or just the Hart mothers being unable to see a futu...
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126: The Harts Part 1 from 2020-07-01T04:27:04
On March 25, 2018, Jennifer Hart killed her family of 8 in a shocking murder-suicide. No one who knew the Harts could believe that this perfect, happy blended family met such a tragic end. Jennifer...
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125: The Black Don Quixote from 2020-06-17T04:46:57
Clennon King Jr. was the first black man to run for president. But before blazing that trail, the professor at an all-black college tried to enroll in the University of Mississippi to earn his doct...
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124: The Empress from 2020-06-03T06:08:24
Empress Sissi of Austria is often compared to Princess Diana for her charitable work, her mental health issues, and her untimely end. This is the story of a reluctant empress. www.patreon.com/allma...
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123: The Hollywood Pilot from 2020-05-20T03:37:58
Jimmy Stewart is one of the most famous actors in Hollywood history. He was also a pilot during World War 2. Returning with hearing loss, a hair-trigger temper, and PTSD, Jimmy wasn’t sure if...
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122: Code 12 from 2020-05-06T05:41:40
When Christine Collins’ nine year old son Walter went missing in 1928, she insisted the LAPD find him. When they introduced her to a boy who claimed he was Walter, Christine knew he wasn̵...
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121: Churchill’s Black Dog from 2020-04-22T18:16:47
Winston Churchill is one of history’s most famous depressives. But as one of the most noted Churchill biographer was working on his own book about the man, he realized that there was almost n...
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120: Goth Girl from 2020-04-08T03:54:51
If Mary Wollstonecraft was the first feminist, her daughter, Mary Shelley, was the first “goth girl.” The author of Frankenstein, Mary battled with depression for most of her life. She ...
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119: A New Genus from 2020-03-25T02:01:28
Mary Wollstonecraft is considered by some to be the first feminist. Brave though she was, she still suffered from depression, attempting suicide several times. In her short life, she had an impress...
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118: The Fever from 2020-03-14T01:02:58
Why are we furiously washing our hands to try and prevent getting the Corona Virus? Because of this week’s subject! www.patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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117: All These Delicate Things from 2020-02-27T19:44:59
Francesca Woodman, with her dark, Gothic photographs and a life ended in suicide, was the quintessential “depressed artist.” Or was she? patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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116: Deprimere from 2020-02-14T02:54:15
Rachel talks about depression, something she is very familiar with. Artwork by Suhana patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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115: Affluenza from 2020-01-29T20:29:15
16 year old Ethan Couch took a drunken joyride in 2013 that led to 4 deaths and 9 injuries- yet was only sentenced to rehabilitation. Why? Because a psychologist testified that Ethan suffered from ...
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114: The Reformer from 2020-01-10T01:52:48
Dorothea Dix suffered an abusive childhood, but escaped through school and, eventually teaching. After a nervous breakdown, Dorothea went abroad for a vacation, but ended up falling in with a group...
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113: NPD with IWB from 2019-12-25T00:17:44
ADULT LANGUAGE is featured in this episode! This week’s episode was a collaboration with Kate from Ignorance Was Bliss. We talk about Narcissistic Personality Disorder, how it affects relatio...
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112: The Girl Orator from 2019-12-11T18:07:15
A teenager makes a splash in the Civil War scene with her incredible speeches. Backed by anti-slavery sponsors like Lucretia Mott and Susan B. Anthony, Anna Elizabeth Dickinson took the world by st...
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111: A Place That Didn’t Suck from 2019-11-27T20:32:51
What, a facility that didnt torture its patients?! That’s right, we’re taking it easy this holiday week and talking about the State Hospital for the Insane at Danville! www.patreon.com/...
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110: ~*~tRiGgErED SnOwFlAkE~*~ from 2019-11-13T05:44:58
“Triggered snowflake” has been a favorite taunt in comment sections online. But what IS triggering, actually, and are trigger warnings really helpful for people with trauma? patreon.com...
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109: The Smartest Boy Who Ever Lived from 2019-10-30T16:11:44
Prodigy William Sidis had everything he needed to succeed in life- but being a prodigy kind of ruined his life. www.patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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108: Rage to Master from 2019-10-17T05:28:55
A child prodigy has an air of mystery and magic around them. But as it turns out, their existence isn’t so easy. patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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107: Gaslighting from 2019-10-04T04:07:28
Gaslighting is a common tactic used by sociopaths, narcissists, dictators, and cult leaders. Often times, it’s applied so slowly and meticulously that it’s hard to detect. Domestic Abus...
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106: Mommy’s Little Helper 2.0 from 2019-09-18T06:30:11
Rachel examines the new-ish trend of the Wine Mommy and how it’s affecting our culture. patreon.com/allmadpod
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105: Her Fatal Flaw Pt 2 from 2019-09-04T03:16:59
Rachel continues telling the story of Michelle Carter and Conrad Roy III. patreon.com/allmadpod Special thanks to my boyfriend Cameron for playing Conrad in this episode!
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104: Her Fatal Flaw Pt. 1 from 2019-08-28T04:41:22
The case of Michelle Carter made the nation ask, “can someone force someone else to kill themselves?” According to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, yes, and that’s exactly what ...
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103: The Nightmare Chamber from 2019-08-14T05:27:10
Opening in 1911 to serve the black community of Maryland, the Crownsville Hospital wasn’t the godsend it was supposed to be. Treating exclusively black patients for decades, the hospital byla...
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102: Primitive and Barbaric from 2019-07-31T05:12:46
Waterbury Asylum was opened to house the criminally insane another Vermont asylum didn’t want. Run by superintendents who enthusiastically supported eugenics, to be a patient at Waterbury was...
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101: Section 7 from 2019-07-17T05:33:54
After unofficial diagnoses caused Barry Goldwater to lose the 1964 presidential election, the American Psychiatric Association established a new section of their Code of Ethics: Section 7. This pro...
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100: 3 Impossible Episodes from 2019-07-03T21:18:04
Something a little different this week: Rachel covers 3 topics that can’t fill a whole episode, but are fascinating anyway. www.patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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099: The Glory and the Shame from 2019-06-26T06:02:16
Camille Claudel was a French sculptor who struggled for recognition in the 19th and 20th century. Known more for her affair with artist Auguste Rodin, she was labelled a crazy and tragic case. www....
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098: The Halo Effect from 2019-06-19T21:41:44
What is it about certain people that make you instantly like or dislike them? www.patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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097: The Engram from 2019-06-12T12:00:53
When Jeremy Perkins started hearing voices, his Scientologist parents did everything they could to treat him in only methods approved by the Church. But those actions would have deadly consequences...
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096: Psyentology from 2019-06-07T06:51:57
Scientology has been made famous by celebrities like Tom Cruise and John Travolta. But how did the religion become so anti-psychiatry? The three podcasts I mentioned: Last Podcast on the Lef...
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094: Tragically Becalmed from 2019-05-29T01:55:49
The plays of Tennessee Williams often feature young women with disabilities, physical or intellectual, as well as mental illness. But Williams didn’t just use these for dramatic effect; he wa...
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093: The King in Yellow Part 4 from 2019-05-15T12:40:31
By Robert William Chambers patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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092: The King in Yellow Part 3 from 2019-05-08T17:40:21
By Robert William Chambers patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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091: The King in Yellow Part 2 from 2019-05-01T18:00:29
By Robert William Chambers patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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090: The King in Yellow Part 1 from 2019-04-25T02:33:22
By Robert William Chambers patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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090: Wild Child from 2019-04-20T01:59:54
Stories of feral children have been around since the 1300s. But are any of them real? patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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089: The Scapegoat from 2019-04-10T19:48:56
When an entire family is massacred, everyone from the one remaining family member to the police are sure they know who did it: the schizophrenic daughter. But is it really that simple? www.patreon....
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088: The Four Humors Comedy Club from 2019-04-03T02:10:58
We’re getting back to basics this week and talking about the four humors! www.patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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087: The Minnesota Starvation Experiment from 2019-03-27T03:47:11
In 1944, with World War II dominating the headlines, two doctors at the University of Minnesota were determined to discover how to rehabilitate the starving victims of war before the war ended. The...
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086: The Diana Effect from 2019-03-21T04:31:34
Diana Spencer became the newest member of the British royal family in 1981, marrying Prince Charles, heir to the throne. The public loved her, and she was dubbed The People’s Princess. But Di...
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085: Eating Disorders: It Gets Better from 2019-03-06T06:21:57
In (late) honor of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, Rachel does an overview of eating disorders, including interviews with fellow podcaster Tawny Platis and actor/personal trainer Ashley Ke...
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084: The Double Part 4 from 2019-02-27T07:03:02
The conclusion of Dostoevsky’s tale www.patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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083: The Double Part 3 from 2019-02-21T04:52:10
The third installment of Dostoevsky’s tale. www.patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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082: The Double Part 2 from 2019-02-13T05:48:23
Dostoevsky’s story continues. www.patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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081: The Double Part 1 from 2019-02-06T19:36:46
Rachel does a dramatic reading of Dostoevsky’s THE DOUBLE. www.patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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080: Toxic Masculinity and the APA from 2019-01-30T22:41:26
In August 2018, the American Psychological Association released The Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Men and Boys, which officially declared traditional masculinity as psychologically har...
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079: The Upp Identity Part 2 from 2019-01-23T16:08:19
Just before she started a new teaching job in Kensington, Maryland, Hannah Upp disappeared for a second time. The first time was 4 years earlier, days before her second year of teaching in New York...
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078: The Upp Identity Part 1 from 2019-01-16T13:20:22
In 2008, middle school teacher Hannah Upp vanished in New York City. When she was finally found, she had no memory of her time missing, and no idea what caused it. Doctors couldn’t figure it ...
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077: Mad as a Hatter from 2019-01-09T20:36:47
You’ve probably heard the phrase “mad as a hatter.” But what about hatting made people so mad? www.patreon.com/allmadpodcast Episode artwork by Brandie Titus
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076: Six Hours in a Madhouse from 2019-01-02T06:06:19
Rachel details her recent experience in an NYC psych ER. Spoiler: it really sucked.
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075: Her Time-Bomb Mind from 2018-12-19T06:42:10
Veronica Lake was one of the most famous actresses of Hollywood’s Golden Age, despite the fact that her career only lasted about 11 years. Battling what was probably untreated schizophrenia t...
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074: The Fall of the House of Usher from 2018-12-12T04:43:13
Rachel does a dramatic reading of Edgar Allen Poe’s THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER. Acquired from Project Gutenberg. www.patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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073: The Mad Millionaire from 2018-12-05T07:43:56
Stanley McCormick lived a charmed life as a member of a prominent Chicago family until his early thirties. After years of showing signs of mental illness, he was diagnosed with dementia praecox at ...
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072: Watching Dying Stars from 2018-11-28T07:31:06
26 year old Emma Fillipoff disappeared on November 28, 2012. A talented writer and photographer, Emma moved across the country from her friends and family at the age of 25. While initially having a...
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071: Disordered Thinking from 2018-11-23T01:41:24
Schizophrenia is described by the DSM 5 as a “severe and chronic” mental illness, characterized by disorder thinking and auditory hallucinations. But there’s more to schizophrenia...
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070: Little Albert from 2018-11-15T03:38:31
Medical science has a dark history with human experimentation. In 1920, a behavioralist and his graduate assistant wanted to see if Pavlov’s theory of conditioning in animals could be applied...
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069: The Chairwoman from 2018-11-07T20:06:02
Mildred Mitchell-Bateman was a woman ahead of her time. A female, black hospital supervisor by the time she was 33, Mitchell-Bateman served not only as the director of West Virginia’s mental ...
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068: ECT with Kate from Ignorance Was Bliss from 2018-11-01T00:02:02
Many thanks to Kate for inviting me to cover this topic with her! Check out her pod here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ignorance-was-bliss/id1341566170?mt=2 www.patreon.com/allmadpodcast
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067: Hatred of Sound from 2018-10-26T04:05:26
Imagine the crunching of an apple causing you intense rage, or sending you into a panic attack. People with misophonia- literally “hatred of sound”- deal with this on a daily basis. As ...
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066: A Star of the First Magnitude from 2018-10-17T15:05:31
Nikola Tesla, born in present-day Croatia, is known as one of the founding fathers of electricity. He started to invent things as a young child, while also dealing with possible Obsessive-Compulsiv...
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065: Dangerous Credulity from 2018-10-03T01:52:01
I got a call a few weeks ago from a friend informing me he’d just inadvertently attended a cult meeting. The Landmark Forum (formerly The Forum, and EST) is marketed as a collection of semina...
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064: The Seventh Ward from 2018-09-26T04:02:23
In the 1600s, two hospitals opened in the southeast of France to house and treat the destitute of the area. As with most of our facilities, they failed at this for a few hundred years before they s...
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063: Animal Magnetism from 2018-09-19T02:40:56
Dr Franz Mesmer, the namesake of “mesmerisation”, believed that ill health was caused by a buildup of fluid in the human body. He also believed that some people (himself included) had t...
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062: The Air Loom from 2018-09-12T20:28:09
In 1795, James Tilly Matthews was thrown into Bethlem Hospital for accusing the Prime Minister of treason. While there, he started to believe that a terrorist gang was playing with his brain using ...
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061: Watch Out for Esther from 2018-09-05T04:44:30
In 2004, the family of missing woman Brooke Henson were notified that Brooke’s social security number had shown up on a job application in New York City. Brooke’s family was cautiously ...
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060: Catch Her if You Can from 2018-08-29T03:04:40
Esther Reed was 30 years old when the law finally caught up with her. After over a decade of petty crime that escalated into multiple identity thefts, the Secret Service was after her for possible ...
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059: Clinically Shy from 2018-08-22T16:57:04
Social Anxiety Disorder, when it first appeared in the DSM III in 1980, wasn’t thought to have much of a negative effect on the people who had it. But as more research was done, it was discov...
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058: The Axe Forgets But the Tree Remembers from 2018-08-15T19:46:35
“I was spanked as a child, and I turned out fine,” goes the usual response to one speaking out against spanking. But is anyone who was spanked ACTUALLY fine, or are the effects of the p...
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057: Syndrome de Paris from 2018-08-09T04:59:36
A strange affliction befalls a number of Japanese tourists who visit Paris, France: Paris Syndrome. Symptoms include nausea, dizziness, derealization, hallucinations, and paranoia. Some experts don...
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056: The Lost Lady from 2018-08-01T02:40:46
Athens Lunatic Asylum opened in 1874. Initially reknowned for its top-notch PTSD treatment for Civil War veterans, it took the normal turn of over population and abuse. In 1978, patient Margaret Sc...
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055: Swear Not By the Moon from 2018-07-25T16:45:40
Not so way back when, it was considered fact that the moon’s phases controlled human behavior. Even today, people consider the full moon the catalyst for increased crime and mental illness. I...
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054: Planes, Trains, and Americanitis from 2018-07-18T01:40:29
In 1826, a new diagnosis of neurasthenia appeared on the medical scene. Covering everything from anxiety to headaches to fatigue, it soon gained the nickname of “Americanitis”, as Ameri...
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053: Virgin’s Disease from 2018-07-11T17:28:20
The first episode in a series about ye olde diagnoses. The day a young woman got her period way back when was considered to be the day she essentially went crazy. A girl or woman who menstruated bu...
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052: Dreams of a Life from 2018-07-04T03:02:43
In 2006, the body of Joyce Carol Vincent, a British woman, was found abandoned in her London flat. Tragic enough, but then it was discovered that Joyce had died in 2003. Two years before, Joyce had...
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051: Silver Water from 2018-06-27T04:23:44
In a single year, Rose went from a happy teenager to an emotionally broken one. Her sister Violet watched in horror as even their psychiatrist father was at a loss for what to do, and wonders if sh...
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050: The Lion by Its Claws from 2018-06-21T00:00:48
Sir Isaac Newton is considered one of the founding fathers of mathematics, but while he was making his amazing discoveries, he was also dealing with mental illness and had two mental breakdowns in ...
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049: A Shower of Sparkles: ASMR from 2018-06-14T02:41:17
Ever get weird tingles when you hear a certain sound or feel a certain object? There’s a term for it: Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, or ASMR. The newest internet fad, people have been ...
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048: THE DIARIST Interview with Donna and Beth from 2018-06-06T02:15:56
First released as a bonus episode, this is an interview I was invited to do with creators of the audiodrama THE DIARIST, Donna and Beth. We talk mental health treatment in the 50s, women’s ri...
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047: She Buried the Pistol (with Lydia Blaisdell) from 2018-05-31T03:44:14
Rachel interviews playwright Lydia Blaisdell, who wrote her play She Buried the Pistol about her great-grandmother, Cora Blaisdell, who was committed to a California asylum when she was 36. Cora wa...
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046: Ghoster from 2018-05-24T04:38:37
In 1988, a woman tried on a new identity as Becky Sue Turner. A few months later, she changed her identity again, to Lori Erica Kennedy. Under this name, she married and had a child, only to kill h...
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045: Children of Sin from 2018-05-16T03:12:12
From 1944-1959, Maurice Duplessis was Premier of Quebec, Canada. He had built a reputation for disregarding the civil liberties of Canadians, and one of his biggest moves was having 20,000 orphans ...
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044: Head Games from 2018-05-10T02:51:54
Chris Nowinski’s WWE career, from debut to retirement, lasted almost exactly two years. In 2003, he received a kick to the jaw so severe that he couldn’t remember who he was directly af...
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043: Jughead from 2018-05-03T03:07:31
Justin Strzelczyk was drafted into the NFL right out of college, where he was a standout player. Coaches loved him because he was obsessed with the game and gave his all. But giving his all may hav...
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042: Impact from 2018-04-26T07:11:40
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), under other names, has been being researched since the 1920s. In the ’50s, it was called “punch drunk syndrome” and was thought to only aff...
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041: The Voyeur from 2018-04-20T04:29:05
Diane Arbus took after her mother’s depression, but her photography talent was all her own. After starting a successful fashion photography business with her husband, Diane struck off on her ...
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040: Body Integrity Identity Disorder from 2018-04-12T01:48:51
For a fraction of the population, their greatest wish is to remove a body part. It’s not quite known what causes the phenomenon known as Body Integrity Identity Disorder, but one theory is th...
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039: The Hemingway Curse Pt 2 from 2018-04-04T01:37:46
Ernest Hemingway took his own life in 1961, only the second of five Hemingways to do so. Two of his siblings and his supermodel granddaughter followed his lead. Does suicide run in families? Is it ...
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038: The Hemingway Curse, Pt 1 from 2018-03-28T04:32:45
Ernest Hemingway ended his own life in 1961 after a lifetime of brain injuries and battling mental illness, but he was far from the only member of his family to do so. 5 people over 4 generations o...
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037: The Anxious Female from 2018-03-21T03:25:32
Too often, if a man and a woman present in the ER with identical symptoms, the woman will be written off as simply “anxious” and sent home without treatment- or sometimes, being told sh...
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036: Susan Lindauer and the Martha Mitchell Effect from 2018-03-14T05:53:18
The Martha Mitchell Effect: a clinical term for when someone (usually female) is labelled mentally ill for reporting truth stranger than fiction, with or without a history of insanity. Named for Ma...
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035: An Inspired Patriot from 2018-03-07T06:44:34
Failure can be frustrating. A lot of failure can be REALLY frustrating. And Charles Guiteau failed a lot. Was it that that led him to assassinate a president? Was it a lifetime of syphilis? Or was ...
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034: D’Arc Matter from 2018-02-21T22:33:30
Was Joan of Arc crazy? No one can seem to agree whether the teenager who saved France in 1429 was truly speaking to God or if she had epilepsy. Or migraines. Or tuberculosis (EVERY TIME, GUYS!) But...
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033: The Shadow Side of Faith from 2018-02-15T00:01:48
In the 1860s, 8% of asylum patients were admitted due to “religious excitement.” While that’s no longer a diagnosis, 24% of schizophrenic patients in psych wards today report havi...
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032:“Hey You Kids! Get Off My Meds!” from 2018-02-07T16:28:59
When it comes to seniors and mental health treatment, society generally accepts that the older crowd are against it. They think it’s shameful or it’s witchcraft, right? WRONG! But, if p...
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031: Within the Devil’s Reach from 2018-01-31T20:17:39
In the early 1990s, Edward Gingerich was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and as an Amish man, was not allowed to treat it with medication. But after toe massages and thrice-daily molasses dr...
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030: My Meds Story from 2018-01-24T03:02:34
Rachel talks about how she made the decision to go on medication for her anxiety and depression. She also rips SSRI Stories (dot) com a new one. Love the show? Visit us at https://www.patreo...
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029: Miss Unknown from 2018-01-17T04:56:01
The Urban Asylum at Dalldorf was built in 1880s Berlin and was a comparatively good facility to be at. In 1920, a young woman was admitted who refused to reveal her identity for two whole years. Th...
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028: Sane in Insane Places from 2018-01-10T23:46:48
In 1973, Dr David Rosehan gathered a group of colleagues and friends to pull a Nellie Bly. They got themselves admitted to 12 different psych wards in 5 different cities to observe what life was li...
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027: Nellie Bly: OG SJW from 2018-01-03T03:45:38
Elizabeth Cochran was one of the first “stunt journalists,” going where no woman had gone before. Too poor to afford much of an education, she dreamed of becoming a writer. After writin...
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026: Not Evil, Just Sick Part 2 from 2017-12-13T07:30:50
Dr Shirley Turner did not appreciate being broken up with by fellow doctor, Andrew Bagby… so she shot and killed him in November of 2001. It didn’t take long for the police to figure ou...
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025: Not Evil, Just Sick Part 1 from 2017-12-06T06:55:09
Shirley Turner made it clear that she wanted to be a psychiatrist to make money, not to help people. Usually that just makes someone seem selfish or shallow, but Dr Turner was labelled a psychopath...
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024: The Yellow Wallpaper from 2017-11-29T06:52:26
In 1892, early-day feminist Charlotte Perkins-Gilman published The Yellow Wallpaper in a literary journal. At first regarded as a piece of gothic fiction, the piece was soon corroborated by mental ...
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023: The Day Medicine Changed Forever: c/o episode with Conspiring to Argue! from 2017-11-20T05:41:19
The reason the Libby Zion Law was created is discussed with JJ and Ted from Conspiring to Argue. 18 year old Libby should never have died on that evening in 1984- but was it murder, or simply a fla...
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022: The Prince of Pennsylvania: Execution from 2017-11-15T06:26:31
After his mother’s death in 1988, John duPont threw himself into sports. He built a training facility he called Foxcatcher Farms and opened it to athletes. His money turned the world of USA W...
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021: The Prince of Pennsylvania: Creation from 2017-11-08T05:21:08
John DuPont became a murderer in 1996. But before that, he was a boy desperate to belong. Ignored by his parents and unable to excel at his favorite thing, sports, John was a sad kid. As he grew up...
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020: The Silent Twins from 2017-11-01T04:45:35
June and Jennifer were the only black kids in their 1960s Welsh school, and people assumed that that was why they never grew out of their special twin language. But by eleven, they refused to even ...
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019: Synonyms for Psycho from 2017-10-29T05:30:47
Why are so many Halloween costumes labelled with the word “psycho”, so many haunting stories start with suicide, so many haunted houses given an asylum theme? What is it about mental il...
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018: Enigma from 2017-10-18T05:37:20
Alan Turing has been called one of the most important people of the 20th century. The inventor of what would become stored-memory computers, Turing worked as a cryptanalyst during WW2. His work wit...
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017: Sissy Boy from 2017-10-11T05:02:43
Penis shocking, porn watching, Gatorade drinking- just a few of the suggested treatments to banish homosexuality from your mind and body. While being gay was once considered breaking the law, it ev...
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016: A Rather Small Cautiousness Organ from 2017-10-04T05:21:26
In the late 1800s, Dr. Franz Gall published his ideas on the physical human mind. He believed that the brain was divided into seven different “personality” organs, and that the size of ...
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015: Come See the Crazy Indians! from 2017-09-27T02:49:46
Alcoholics, horse thieves, non-conformists, and yes, those with mental illnesses were all people who were committed to the Hiawatha Insane Asylum, otherwise known as the Canton Asylum for Insane In...
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014: Packard v Packard from 2017-09-20T03:29:42
In the mid 1800s, a strong-willed Elizabeth Ware married Theophilus Packard, a Calvinist minister. After moving several times due to Elizabeth expressing “outlandish” religious ideas, T...
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013: The Last Great Disgrace from 2017-09-13T02:44:02
In 1972, Geraldo Rivera investigated Willowbrook State School. What his cameras and microphones picked up distressed not only the Staten Island community, but people all over the country. It was di...
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012: Suppress Everything Suppressible from 2017-09-06T18:35:09
Vivienne Haigh-Wood and Tom Eliot met in England when Eliot was studying at Oxford. Just three months after meeting, the two married, and so began one of the most tempestuous marriages in history. ...
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011: Inconvenient Relatives from 2017-08-30T03:20:12
Way back when, if a relative was annoying you, you could just toss them into an asylum, no diagnosis needed- especially if they were women. Dullness of the mind; overexcitement. Menstruation; menop...
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010: The Plural of Anecdote is Not Data from 2017-08-22T23:47:59
“It’s so great that President Smith is finally bombing that country!” “But when President Johnson did the same thing, you thought it was a terrible idea.” “Well,...
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009: Rosemary Made All the Difference from 2017-08-15T18:58:08
The Kennedy family is internationally famous for their high-achieving, beautiful, and influential members. But America took a stand to help the intellectually disabled because of the daughte...
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008: All Aboard the Lobotomobile! from 2017-08-09T05:26:33
Humans have been trying to break into their skulls since there were humans and skulls, and we were still at it in the 1930s. After studying under an Italian doctor, Dr Walter Freeman returne...
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007:“Go Ballistic! Go Crazy!”(The Slenderman Stabbings) from 2017-08-04T03:51:23
On May 30, 2014, Morgan Geyser invited her two best friends, Anissa Weier and Bella Leutner, to a sleepover for her 12th birthday. The next morning, the girls went to a nearby park to play hide and...
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006: Student Stress = Historical Insanity? (minisode) from 2017-07-25T04:24:46
A meme has been making the rounds, claiming that today’s students’ stress levels match that of psych ward patients in the 50s. But is this really true? Are students today dealing with m...
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005: The Lafargue Mental Hygiene Clinic from 2017-07-25T04:18:06
In 1940s Harlem, Dr Frederic Wertham was worried about the youth in Harlem. So was Reverend Bishop, who ran Harlem’s Episcopalian church. Together, with a diverse staff of volunteers, they op...
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004: Modern Mental Illness in Black Culture from 2017-07-25T04:12:45
This week we’re talking about how mental health is treated today in the black community- and so it’s not just a white girl telling you facts, we have a guest! My friend Cameron of the H...
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003: The History of Mental Illness in Black Culture from 2017-07-25T04:08:33
The presence of African Americans in North America was first documented in the 1600s, and since then, blacks have been “other”ed, physically and emotionally. Believed to feel no pain, b...
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002: Nobody’s Child from 2017-07-25T04:01:54
Given up by her alcoholic mother at age 4, Marie Balter was adopted the next year. Abused by her adoptive family, she tried to strike out on her own, but after a suicide attempt, found herself at D...
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001: The Echoes They Left Behind from 2017-07-25T03:30:02
Danvers State Lunatic Hospital, built in rural Boston in the 1800s, was created with humane treatment in mind. But an overflow in patients resulted in botched lobotomies and missing charges, landin...
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