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.
Episodes
32 episodes
Telehealth Abortion under Attack, plus Bedside Betrayal in Canada Court’s Sloka Case
5th Circuit Mifepristone chaos heads to Supreme Court; Canadian judge let’s off doctor for SA; Clit art; Golden Tempo; and bee huts!Hunter Peterson tries to ...
Surgeon Takes Out Liver by "Accident"?!
Surgeons need to know anatomy; Voting is good; SCOTUS conflicts of interest; pediatric society hosts unscientific panel on trans kids
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Everybody Pees + Abuse Academy
Where’s the bathroom?; digital sexual violence; Buck v. Bell turns 99; RFK Jr’s hearings; Bhattacharya is
Shut Down Dilley Detention Center with Dr. Lara Jones
Pediatrician Dr. Lara Jones discusses advocating to free children from ICE detention facilities. Follow her @AskLaDoctora.Kids in ICE DetentionThe 19th:
We're Overwhelmed Too, But We'll Take the Cool Moonshots
Crossing our fingers to avoid nuclear war; Pentagon goes after the pope; Artemis sends back dope pictures of the moon and earthIran
Forced Sex Testing and Forced C-sections
IOC resumes harmful sex gene testing; forced c-sections with zoom court rooms; The Lancet profiles our host!; A woman goes to the moon; Alyssa recommends bioethics books
Mayo Med Student + ICE at the Airport
Mayo medical student’s videos go viral in the bad way; medical misogyny; Match Day memories; ICE at the airports; husbands learn about pelvic examsMayo Medical Student:Dr. Chloe Nazra Lee on
A Testosterone Filled Nothing Burger (Plus Rare Good News!)
RFK loses ACIP lawsuit; Pediatricians fight ICE; Boy Boss Documentary disappoints us (Review of Inside the Manosphere); WNBA players get a raiseMarch madness: Women’s tournament, ...
Pro-Iran Hackers Attack US Healthcare Giant Stryker
Stryker cyber attack by Handala Hackers; Iran’s new supreme leader - is he even alive?; DOGE dummy Justin Fox can’t explain DEI; Timmy Chalamet messes with the wrong opera houseDOGE & DEI:
Persian Politeness with Dr. Kaveh Hoda
Our first guest is Dr. Kaveh Hoda of The House of Pod! Persian Tarof culture; a new supreme leader in Iran; the US can't decide on its war messaging; a disagreement over favorite Persian foods.Iran episode on
New War with Iran and Bad Energy with Casey Means
Overnight war with Iran; Casey Means’ confirmation hearings; Newsom sucksHillary & Bill ClintonNewsom d...
Men's Hockey Goes From Hero to Zero
State of the Union bingo card; US Mens Hockey squanders the good vibes; RFK Jr’s HHS gets sued yet again for illegally messing with vaccination; Punch updates; Angry Quilters; Gen Z slangMen’s Hockey Squanders Good WillSome o...
ICE's Dystopian Daycare (+ Gisèle Pelicot)
Go Team USA! Weird Workout with RFK Jr; ICE harming kids in detention; Gisele Pelicot speaks out about her husband's abuse
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Epstein's Dirty Medical Money (plus Space Babies!)
Epstein dirty money in Medical Education; Should we make babies in outer space?; Olympian’s relationship fumble; Knitting the resistance; Possum cake (yeah you read that right)Epstein’s Ties to Medical EducationFact check! ...
Protect Trans Kids, Not Peter Attia
“Longevity” Doctor Peter Attia in Epstein Files 2,000 times; How to Leave Open Comments on Fed Regs Banning Gender Affirming Care; Bad Bunny’s Big Week; Trump wants women to smile more.Dr. Peter Attia and the Epstein Files...
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Diabolical Dictators and Online Trolls
The doctors thrive on spite; Nurse Alex Pretti; Iran Update; How cheap bots/trolls drive disinformationNote: we had an audio issue for the first few minutes of the episode (4:55). Iran Update:Per Iran Inter...
Robots, Research & Rubik's Cubes
Unethical research in Guinea-Bissau; Robots won’t fix maternity care deserts; Louisiana tries to extradite California doctor.Americas public health system teeters on the edge of an ICU admission thanks to the abysmal leadership of RFK Jr...
Too Much Propofol
This week: famed author's son dies after anesthesia, the "war on protein", and Arghavan's views on protests in Iran.Join Arghavan and Alyssa as they into the 'war on protein' narrative propagated by RFK Jr, the tragic story of Chimamanda...
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Time to Block Grok
Activation Warning: This episode discusses SA, CSAM, state violence. In the first feverish episode of The Present Illness in 2026, the Doctors discuss the tumultuous events of winter break, including significant changes in vaccinati...
White House's Fever Dream Photoshoot
In their final episode of 2025, Drs. Salles & Burgart perform a brief examination of the Vanity Fair exclusive featuring
Widening gender divide? Blame Nick Fuentes.
In this episode, the doctors perform a clinical examination of the pathological messaging aimed at young men by right-wing influencers like Nick Fuentes. They dissect the misogyny spreading through social media platforms, with particular attent...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...