logo
episode-header-image
May 2021
40m 49s

The Ice Pick Surgeon | Search for a Cure...

Wondery
About this episode

Walter Freeman is devastated when he learns the truth about mental asylums. The medical care is barbaric, and for patients, everyday life is a nightmare. So Freeman begins searching for an alternative. It's a quest that leads him to one of the most controversial procedures in medical history.


Want to listen to the remaining episodes of The Ice Pick Surgeon? Episodes 2-5 are available exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons first, and listen completely ad-free. Start your free trial in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or visit wondery.app.link/rUic7i1hMNb now.   

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next
Jul 8
Ruby Ridge Standoff | Visions of Armageddon | 1
Radical Christian survivalist Randy Weaver moves his family into the remote mountains of Idaho to wait out the Apocalypse. But his growing involvement in a local neo-Nazi group draws the attention of federal investigators.Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, cura ... Show More
37m 43s
Jul 3
ENCORE Watergate | The Smoking Gun | 5
President Nixon fights the release of his secret tapes. But with the country thrust into a constitutional crisis, Nixon has to make a gut-wrenching decision.Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/ ... Show More
43m 59s
Jul 1
ENCORE: Watergate | The Cancer Within | 4
Senate hearing sets in motion a new crisis. With the cover-up unraveling, White House counsel John Dean takes matters into his own hands.Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletterLis ... Show More
41m 9s
Recommended Episodes
May 2021
Cuneiform Literature, Medicine, and Mental Health: Interview with Dr. Moudhy Al-Rashid
At the heart of the ancient Middle East, a sophisticated, urbanized, and long-lived world, was a writing system: cuneiform, used for everything from heroic epic to receipts and medical texts, and first developed in Mesopotamia more than 5,000 years ago. Dr. Moudhy Al-Rashid of Ox ... Show More
40m 22s
Oct 2020
Dr. Fata | Top Doc | S2-E1
Patty Hester starts her care with Dr. Fata, but quickly realizes something is wrong. She’s not the only one.Listen to exclusive bonus episodes of Dr. Death exclusively and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting ... Show More
37m 47s
Mar 2021
Thai Cave Rescue | Meet the Hosts | 6
The two hosts of Against the Odds, Mike Corey and Cassie De Pecol, interview each other on their lives as adventurers in this special episode. They discuss what drives them to explore, why they’re drawn to the subject of survival, and what stories they’ll be diving into on Agains ... Show More
32m 36s
Aug 2021
Colonies and the Quest for Resources in Early Modern Europe: Interview with Dr. Keith Pluymers
Friend of the Show Dr. Keith Pluymers returns to tell us about how people thought about and fought over resources, especially wood, in early modern England. Scarcity, Keith argues, is more about perception than an actual lack of resources. Different groups within society had diff ... Show More
52m 39s
Nov 2020
Classic Tides | Peasants' Rebellions and Resistance
Peasants and common folk were oppressed by their social superiors, but they didn't accept that as a natural state of affairs: They resisted in small, everyday ways, and they rebelled, sometimes spectacularly.This episode originally aired on September 20, 2018.Listen to new episod ... Show More
51m 53s
Jun 2021
The Archaeology of Human Bones and the Iberian Copper Age: Interview with Dr. Jess Beck
Human bones are one of our most valuable and illuminating sources of information about the past, but how do we use them, and what can they tell us about prehistory? I talked to Dr. Jess Beck, a bioarchaeologist and expert on later European prehistory, about the incredible insight ... Show More
59m 29s
Feb 2022
Who Were the Human Sacrifices in Shang China? Interview with Dr. Christina Cheung
Human sacrifice is an ugly but essential topic in understanding the Shang Dynasty, but we know very little about precisely who these people were, where they came from, and what their lives were like prior to their deaths. Dr. Christina Cheung is a bioarchaeologist specializing in ... Show More
41m 51s