The Present Illness
Society’s running a fever, and two sharp-witted physicians are on the case. Surgeon-scientist Arghavan Salles dives into social media’s wildest trends, while anesthesiologist-bioethicist Alyssa Burgart follows news and legal cases for their ethical twists. Together, they examine the cultural, political, and public health symptoms of our time with scalpel-sharp analysis, unflinching questions, and enough humor to keep us all going.
Podcasting since 2025 • 11 episodes
The Present Illness
Latest Episodes
The Professor Will See You Now (If They Still Have a Job)
In this week's episode, Drs. Salles and Burgart perform a critical examination of academic freedom under attack, focusing on the viral case of an Oklahoma pre-med student who's created a fever pitch of controversy by turning in shoddy work and ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 11
•
55:08
The Atlantic Lost Its Fact Checkers
The doctors perform an emergency triage on the state of public health leadership this week, starting with a scathing dissection of The Atlantic's profile of RFK Jr. that seemingly skipped the fact-checking department. Drs. Salles and Burgart ad...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 10
•
1:00:36
Labor & Dismissal
Activation Awareness: This episode discusses serious pregnancy complications and the dismissal of women's health concerns.In this week's episode of The Present Illness, Drs. Arghavan and Alyssa deliver a stat consultation on two v...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 9
•
58:46
The Epstein of It All
Join Drs. Arghavan Salles and Alyssa Burgart as they don their sterile gloves to dissect the web of connections surrounding Mr. Pedophile Criminal, Jeffrey Epstein, in "The Epstein of It All." The doctors examine how powerful men shield each ot...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 8
•
1:00:56