Dr. Brinkley's Miracle Cure For Impotence (with Betwixt The Sheets)

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

EpisodeFeb 7, 202538m

Dr. Brinkley's Miracle Cure For Impotence (with Betwixt The Sheets)

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

EpisodeFeb 7, 202538m

Cautionary Conversation: In the 1920s, a conman convinced America that goat testicles were the secret to male virility. Tim Harford and Dr Kate Lister (Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society) dive into the bizarre and grisly tale of "Doctor" John Brinkley. This snake oil salesman mobilised the power of radio marketing to build an empire on goat gland transplants and other quack "cures". And Brinkley might have got away with it, were it not for his nemesis: the tenacious Dr. Morris Fishbein. Find Betwixt the Sheets here: https://podfollow.com/betwixt-the-sheets-the-history-of-sex-scandal-society For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Top comments

We tell our children unsettling fairy tales to teach them valuable lessons, but these Cautionary Tales are for the education of the grown ups – and they are all true. Tim Harford (Financial Times, BBC, author of “The Data Detective”) brings you stories of awful human error, tragic catastrophes, and hilarious fiascos. They'll delight you, scare you, but also make you wiser. New episodes every Friday.

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