1 00:00:01,480 --> 00:00:05,720 Speaker 1: What's not a morning person? My me? I'm Robert Evans 2 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:08,039 Speaker 1: hosted Behind the Bastards, the show where we talk about 3 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:12,080 Speaker 1: the worst people in history, and I introduced the show badly. Uh. 4 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:16,599 Speaker 1: Today we have an unusual morning recording at an ungodly hour. 5 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:22,880 Speaker 1: What is it, Sophie. I feel like I'm the first 6 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 1: person who's ever been awake this early, aside from my 7 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: guest today, of course, Mr Daniel ban Kirk. Hello, thanks 8 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:31,200 Speaker 1: for having me back. How are you doing, Daniel? I'm great, 9 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:36,479 Speaker 1: my man, I'm wonderful. Daniel. Go ahead, no, no, oh, 10 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:38,479 Speaker 1: I'll just say I've I've been up for two hours, 11 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: so I feel it's very impressive. Do you do you 12 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: like mornings? I do not, But I've recently found out 13 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:50,160 Speaker 1: that I am able to get so many more things 14 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: done the earlier I get up, which would seem to 15 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: be very simple math, but nothing that I had personally 16 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: made any efforts to experience until recently in my life. 17 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: So I would say, on average nowadays, I'm up around 18 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 1: before eight, maybe sometimes six thirty. But I am not 19 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,280 Speaker 1: a morning person. I hate sunrises. I love sunset. Robert 20 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 1: would say six, that's the middle of the night. Well, 21 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: that is when I went to bed last night, they're 22 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:24,960 Speaker 1: about maybe five. Well, I appreciate you making this effort. Then, man, 23 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 1: that's crazy. My sleep schedule is still funked up from 24 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 1: the flight. Sure, now, Daniel, we've we've established that that 25 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: you're sort of ambivalent towards mornings, leaning towards not liking them. 26 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:41,400 Speaker 1: How do you feel about brains? How do you feel 27 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:45,440 Speaker 1: about your brain? I feel pretty good about it. H Yeah, 28 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 1: it's it's held up pretty well. My memory is still 29 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: very good, and I haven't gotten to the point where 30 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: I have to have a calendar. I would say I 31 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 1: use it for about fifty of my stuff. I should 32 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:57,160 Speaker 1: be using it for a lot more, but mine's held 33 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: up so far. I think well, I think most people 34 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: like their brain, except for the moments when they hate them. Um. 35 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:07,760 Speaker 1: And I think that probably for the listeners of the 36 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:12,400 Speaker 1: show is statistically have spent like about fifty of their 37 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,080 Speaker 1: waking hours not liking their brain. Because this is a 38 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: show for depressed people who like to hear about terrible things. Um. 39 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 1: As a general rule, that's our that's our demo, isn't it, Sophie. 40 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 1: I hope not. And I screwed up so I mean 41 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:35,079 Speaker 1: me too. Maybe I'm describing the author of the show 42 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:38,639 Speaker 1: and it's it's uh, it's primary cast more than the listeners. 43 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 1: I hope the listeners are happy, but I'm making an 44 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: assumption here either way, you're here for them. As of 45 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:48,359 Speaker 1: a two thousand seventeen study, but the Journal of Psychiatric Services, 46 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: more than eight million Americans suffer from severe psychological distress. 47 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 1: Now this is a blanket term for quote, feelings of sadness, worthlessness, 48 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: restlessness that are hazardous enough to impair physical well being. 49 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:04,080 Speaker 1: That sounds pretty familiar to me, um, And that number 50 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: doesn't include all the Americans struggling with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, psychosis, depression, 51 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:11,960 Speaker 1: and a whole galaxy of other brain based thing of 52 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:14,520 Speaker 1: the jigs to deal with. And as some extent, it's 53 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 1: always been this way. Huge chunks of people have always 54 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:21,359 Speaker 1: had brains that don't let them comfortably interface with mainstream society. Now, 55 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 1: we're not great at helping people with mental illnesses in 56 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: two thousand nineteen, but a few decades ago we were 57 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: much worse at it. And today we're going to talk 58 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 1: about the man who was perhaps the very very worst 59 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: of all at it. So you know, the name Walter 60 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 1: Jackson Freeman. The second I do now he invented lobotomies, 61 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: and that's who we're talking about today. They're just they're like, well, 62 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: we'll just remove it. Yep, We'll just we'll just we'll 63 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:57,119 Speaker 1: just scramble it up a little bit. Actually, yeah, oh, 64 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: you yell too much. We'll remove it. Oh you had 65 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: an unwanted pregnancy. We'll remove it, and not just the 66 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:08,360 Speaker 1: pregnancy part. No, actually we will keep the pregnancy, but 67 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: we'll scramble that brain up. Yeah. And I've heard, well, 68 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:14,240 Speaker 1: I'm sure we'll touch on some of them, but I've 69 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: just heard horror stories of like, well, we had a 70 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:21,080 Speaker 1: sister and then she just wouldn't stop arguing with our parents, 71 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:24,760 Speaker 1: so she went away. She liked boys, so we stuck 72 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:32,920 Speaker 1: a needle in a brain. Oh what a time it was. Yeah, Okay, man, 73 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: I am going to bunker down for this. Yeah. My 74 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:37,839 Speaker 1: dog is a registered therapy dog if you need to 75 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: pat her. Okay, great, awesome? Is she registered lobotomist, Sophie, 76 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 1: Because I feel like there's a lot of money in that. No, 77 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:48,960 Speaker 1: but we'll look into it. We'll look into it. Walter 78 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: Jackson Freeme in the second was born on November four 79 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:57,960 Speaker 1: in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, Walter the First, was also 80 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:00,479 Speaker 1: a doctor, but not a very good one. He hated 81 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:03,359 Speaker 1: the work, and he did it only grudgingly. He was 82 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 1: like an ear nose and throat doctor, and it was 83 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:08,920 Speaker 1: said that his ideal world would have been one in 84 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 1: which people didn't have ears, noses, or throats, so he 85 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:15,159 Speaker 1: wouldn't have to work. His son took that one next level. 86 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:19,000 Speaker 1: Then you want things just removed that you don't want 87 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:25,800 Speaker 1: to deal with that. That's what I'm gonna do, Dad, now. 88 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:30,600 Speaker 1: Walter Jackson the seconds h grandfather, Keen Freeman, was one 89 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:33,000 Speaker 1: of the most celebrated physicians of his age and was 90 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:35,280 Speaker 1: like the first doctor who did a bunch of important things. 91 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 1: He was a legitimate, like trailblazing medical motherfucker. So Walter 92 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:42,839 Speaker 1: Freeman the Second was a sick child, which was not 93 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 1: unusual in an error where the average fist fight came 94 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: with a better pragnosis than the average surgery. He developed 95 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 1: in large lymph nodes when he was fourteen months old, 96 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:53,960 Speaker 1: which his grandfather had to cut out. The surgery worked, 97 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,719 Speaker 1: but it permanently paralyzed some of the muscles in Walter's 98 00:05:56,760 --> 00:06:00,240 Speaker 1: shoulder and head. Uh. Walter the second also underwent tons 99 00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:04,880 Speaker 1: selectomy and suffered from diphtheria, scarlet fever, the measles, whooping cough, 100 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: the mumps, and pink eye. I don't want to say 101 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 1: that God definitely one of this baby dead, but I 102 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:15,160 Speaker 1: think the evidence speaks for itself. M Yeah, they tried. Yeah, 103 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 1: he did his best. Young Walter's first memory was of 104 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:21,800 Speaker 1: the head of a pickaxe breaking through the wall of 105 00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:24,440 Speaker 1: his nursery as the result of a home demolition that 106 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:26,920 Speaker 1: got a little sloppy. Which is a pretty pretty badass 107 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:31,679 Speaker 1: first memory. You gotta give it. Oh, yeah for sure. Also, uh, 108 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:33,560 Speaker 1: not too far off of an analogy of what he 109 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:37,280 Speaker 1: would later do to people's own lives, and not too 110 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:39,920 Speaker 1: far off from a great scene in The Shining, which 111 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:42,680 Speaker 1: starred Jack Nicholson, who was also in One Flew Over 112 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:45,919 Speaker 1: the Cuckoo's Nest movie about a lobotomy. Oh that was 113 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:48,520 Speaker 1: a good not We tied a lot of things together. 114 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: U now. The wonderful biography of Walter the Lobotomist notes 115 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 1: that he also nursed a lifelong fear of horses, but 116 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:01,080 Speaker 1: never knew why. That doesn't come up again I just 117 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 1: think it's interesting people are terrified of something for no 118 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 1: reason and they can't let it go. Well, I'm also 119 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 1: afraid of horses. Okay, well that's not what we're talking 120 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:11,040 Speaker 1: about today. All right, Well you need to put that in. 121 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: You need that needs to go in the book. Are 122 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:19,520 Speaker 1: you scared of anything on like an existential level that 123 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:22,080 Speaker 1: that makes no sense to you? I don't. Well that's 124 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:23,880 Speaker 1: but if you're scared of it, doesn't it make sense 125 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 1: to you? So not always? I don't know. I'm I'm 126 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:32,720 Speaker 1: very afraid of prison. Okay, that makes total sense. Yeah, 127 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 1: that's what. But what it makes sense to me? But 128 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:38,320 Speaker 1: it is like, yeah, when I just think about not 129 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:41,800 Speaker 1: being able to get out of somewhere that destined to 130 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:43,960 Speaker 1: like you know, like they're like, oh, we decide. I 131 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:45,920 Speaker 1: don't know. I don't like it. Bothers me. That shows 132 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:49,320 Speaker 1: sixty days in Have you watched that? No? That sounds 133 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 1: like a fucking nightmare. Though. It's like they embed civilians 134 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:57,400 Speaker 1: into like a prison system. The only person that knows 135 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 1: they're not an actual prisoner is the warden, and then 136 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:04,480 Speaker 1: the camera crew sets up as though they're doing a 137 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:07,080 Speaker 1: documentary in the prison, but they used that to do, 138 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:09,480 Speaker 1: like their confessional talking head moments. So they interview a 139 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:11,480 Speaker 1: lot of prisoners, but none of them assumed, well, one 140 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: of us isn't actually even supposed to be here, and 141 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 1: their jobs to like last sixty days, and quite a 142 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: few of them end up just getting beaten up. Yeah, 143 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:25,040 Speaker 1: that makes sense. One was bad at his cover story 144 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:26,240 Speaker 1: of what he was supposed to be in there for. 145 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:28,600 Speaker 1: So once you just start lying to other prisoners, they 146 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:32,040 Speaker 1: assume you must be a pedophile, and that's why you're like, 147 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 1: no fun intended kg about what you got in there for. 148 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:39,040 Speaker 1: And that didn't end well for that guy either. Once 149 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: everybody was like, oh, you're a pedophile, he's like no, no, no, 150 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:43,840 Speaker 1: no no, And then they don't care about that. That's 151 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 1: what they think, So you get beat up there. I 152 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:52,559 Speaker 1: don't know if there is any cash price. I'm trying 153 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 1: to think, like you would have to have to be 154 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:57,360 Speaker 1: I would only do it for enough money that I 155 00:08:57,400 --> 00:08:59,720 Speaker 1: would be able to buy a cabin in the woods, 156 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:01,920 Speaker 1: Like would have to give me cabin in the woods 157 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:04,720 Speaker 1: money in order to like do that fucking thing. But 158 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:07,560 Speaker 1: that sounds like the worst. That's like it would have 159 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:12,960 Speaker 1: to be nice woods and so you for like you 160 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:16,920 Speaker 1: would do it. Five hundred is going to be the 161 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:19,080 Speaker 1: low end of that ship. I'm talking a nice cabin. 162 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:22,240 Speaker 1: See one time I went when I toured Alcatraz, they 163 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:25,559 Speaker 1: let us go into the solitary confinement and they're like, 164 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:27,880 Speaker 1: anybody want to check it out? And then I thought, 165 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: you know what, lean in on your fear. So I 166 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:32,840 Speaker 1: went in and the guys shut the door. They're like, 167 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 1: I don't know what you call it. Probably a park 168 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: ranger at this point because of what Alcatraz is, and 169 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 1: then the tour guide whatever, and uh then he pretended 170 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:42,920 Speaker 1: that the door was stuck and he couldn't get me out. 171 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:47,200 Speaker 1: And I did not enjoy those few very short moments 172 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:50,240 Speaker 1: that felt like very long hours. See I would I 173 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 1: would live in Alcatraz if it could just be my 174 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:55,120 Speaker 1: house and I had a sack of rifles and an 175 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:58,280 Speaker 1: Internet connection. Um, that would be fun. I could take 176 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 1: pot shots at Silicon Valley would be satisfying. I would 177 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:09,240 Speaker 1: sign up for that podcast. Mm hm, welcome back to 178 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:14,720 Speaker 1: Robert on the Rock. It's another episode. Okay, we should 179 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:17,000 Speaker 1: probably get back to the podcast. We were talking he 180 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: scared of horses. Now, when Walter was a small child, 181 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:23,080 Speaker 1: his family moved to an area near Rittenhouse Square, a 182 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:26,199 Speaker 1: once fancy but now slummy neighborhood. Uh and this is 183 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:29,600 Speaker 1: again in Philadelphia now. Freeman would later recall it as 184 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 1: a rather dingy place where nursemaid's wheeled baby carriages and gossiped. 185 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:36,680 Speaker 1: Walter's family was quite well off, and he came up 186 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:39,040 Speaker 1: with maids and cooks and nanny's to attend to his 187 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:42,359 Speaker 1: and his parents every whim. He was not overly adventurous 188 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 1: as a child, and later wrote of himself on the whole, 189 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:48,600 Speaker 1: I think I was a sensitive, imaginative boy, docile, shut 190 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:51,680 Speaker 1: in a bit, and full of questions. His parents nicknamed 191 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:54,560 Speaker 1: him Little Walter Why Why, And the growing boy was 192 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:58,160 Speaker 1: particularly intrigued by the family business medicine. He had a 193 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:01,280 Speaker 1: good relationship with his grandfather, but almost no real friends. 194 00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 1: The only boy he played with regularly was his younger 195 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:07,760 Speaker 1: cousin Morris. The book The Lobotomist describes their friendship as 196 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:11,199 Speaker 1: basically identical to a Calvin and hobb strip. Walter and 197 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:14,160 Speaker 1: Morris nursed a mutual contempt for girls and made grand 198 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:17,120 Speaker 1: plans for the Society for the Prevention of Useless Girls 199 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:20,240 Speaker 1: spugs for short. Disdaining the company of other children, they 200 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:23,360 Speaker 1: set up another exclusive secret society, just two members strong, 201 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 1: which they called the wal Risk Club. Yeah, that's like 202 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:30,520 Speaker 1: the fucking Calvin and Hobbs strip. Yeah, and they got 203 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:35,719 Speaker 1: a Transmorguar fire. Wasn't that one of the things through times? Yeah? 204 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:37,720 Speaker 1: So did I. It's kind of a bummer if you 205 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:40,160 Speaker 1: imagine this is what happened to Calvin when he grew up. 206 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:43,200 Speaker 1: I'm not doing that. Don't do that. Don't do That'll 207 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:45,280 Speaker 1: be more Hobbs. I could see Hobbs getting into this 208 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:50,640 Speaker 1: line of work, but definitely not scrambling brains now. Walter 209 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:52,960 Speaker 1: was a good student. He excelled in Latin and Greek, 210 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:55,440 Speaker 1: and he won prizes for his scholastics. He was never 211 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:57,559 Speaker 1: any good at sports, nor did he grow any more 212 00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:00,520 Speaker 1: adept with the opposite sex. As he blossomed into a teenager, 213 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:03,880 Speaker 1: he found girls bothersome and later wrote, I think I 214 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:06,960 Speaker 1: actively disliked girls until I went to college. This is 215 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,480 Speaker 1: all going to make so much sense later, This is 216 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:15,920 Speaker 1: all going to make so much sense immediately. Um. Walter 217 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,600 Speaker 1: Freeman was the oldest of six siblings, all but two 218 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:20,800 Speaker 1: of whom were boys. He did not get along well 219 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:23,319 Speaker 1: with him, nor did he particularly care for his parents. 220 00:12:23,559 --> 00:12:26,600 Speaker 1: Walter would later note repeatedly that he never loved his mother. 221 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:28,720 Speaker 1: He was only a little closer to his father, who 222 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:31,200 Speaker 1: took him and his brothers on regular hiking, fishing, and 223 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:34,800 Speaker 1: camping trips. The elder Walter hated his medical practice and 224 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:38,880 Speaker 1: considered the outdoors his only refuge. He was a weird dude. Once, 225 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:41,680 Speaker 1: when Walter the Second was caught skipping school, his father 226 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:47,920 Speaker 1: punished him by whipping himself in front of the truant officer. Wait, WHOA, Yeah, 227 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:51,680 Speaker 1: the dad whipped himself or he had Walter the Second, No, 228 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:54,680 Speaker 1: he whipped the dad whipped himself in front of the 229 00:12:54,720 --> 00:13:00,360 Speaker 1: truant officer to myself by skipping school. Yeah, and he 230 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:05,040 Speaker 1: did it in front of the cop. WHOA, Like that's 231 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:08,480 Speaker 1: that's so fucked up. It takes like you really have 232 00:13:08,559 --> 00:13:12,600 Speaker 1: to process that ship because the layers fucking up the 233 00:13:12,679 --> 00:13:16,439 Speaker 1: kid's head, you know that. Like I'm a truant officer. 234 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:20,720 Speaker 1: Imagine that guy. He's like, Hey, well buddy, I just 235 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:23,320 Speaker 1: want kids to go to school. Why are we doing this? 236 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:25,920 Speaker 1: All you gotta do is sign the sheet man. All 237 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:28,199 Speaker 1: you gotta do is sign the sheet that I told 238 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:31,240 Speaker 1: you he wasn't at school put me down. Why did 239 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:33,680 Speaker 1: you bring a whip to this meeting? You? You don't 240 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 1: need to do this. No one's asking you to do this, sir. 241 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:39,520 Speaker 1: I just wanted to know. I'm also gonna have to 242 00:13:39,559 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 1: write you up for right for whipping yourself because I 243 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:46,120 Speaker 1: have to document that I witnessed this. He missed a 244 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:50,040 Speaker 1: day of school. This isn't really a whipping situation. I 245 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 1: wondered what you meant when you were like, cool, I'll 246 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:57,440 Speaker 1: bring my whip. H Yeah, I have trouble getting my 247 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:01,080 Speaker 1: head around. What kind of man does that? Oh? I know? 248 00:14:01,679 --> 00:14:04,240 Speaker 1: And then I'm sure the truan officer was like I 249 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:06,760 Speaker 1: wanted the kid to leave, and then just like in 250 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:09,320 Speaker 1: Will Farrell and he's bonding down, the dad was like, 251 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:14,640 Speaker 1: let the boy watch. I feel that's horrific. That's a 252 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:20,600 Speaker 1: mind fuck. Yeah, that's a galaxy level mind fuck. Oh boy. 253 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:23,040 Speaker 1: I bet that true an officer felt bad for that. 254 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:24,840 Speaker 1: I bet in the future he was like, you know what, 255 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:27,280 Speaker 1: you need to stop skipping school, but we're not going 256 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:31,920 Speaker 1: to tell your dad any officer. Let everyone's skip. Yeah, 257 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:34,080 Speaker 1: he was like, I'm not going through that again. I 258 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:39,640 Speaker 1: am not doing that again. So uh as is probably 259 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:43,360 Speaker 1: not a surprise hearing that Walter's father was no less 260 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:45,640 Speaker 1: awkward when it came to talking to his young adults 261 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:49,560 Speaker 1: song about sex. Years later, Walter recalled, I had been 262 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:52,120 Speaker 1: showing interest in the external anatomy of my young girl 263 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:55,320 Speaker 1: cousins with the aid of his ancient textbooks on anatomy 264 00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: and gynecology illustrated with woodcuts. He dilated upon internal anatomy, reproduction, 265 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:02,840 Speaker 1: and especially venereal disease, threatening to have me followed or 266 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:06,120 Speaker 1: even tempted by operatives who would report to him. I 267 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:09,200 Speaker 1: was thoroughly uncomfortable, but remained a virgin. He never alluded 268 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:13,280 Speaker 1: to it again. So if you're a young parent out 269 00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 1: there looking to stop your kid from fucking too early, 270 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:18,240 Speaker 1: this is one way to keep them a virgin for 271 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:21,040 Speaker 1: a very long time. Yeah, or watch a racer head 272 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:24,640 Speaker 1: but yeah, or watch your racer head. Yeah. But okay, 273 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:28,320 Speaker 1: So he he got way into his He said, straight up, 274 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:32,560 Speaker 1: I was really into my female cousins anatomy. Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, 275 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:35,840 Speaker 1: he well, you know, you know that's that's fucked up. 276 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:38,480 Speaker 1: I think in an earlier age in which boys and 277 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:41,360 Speaker 1: girls did not socialize. Like you run into stories like 278 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:43,960 Speaker 1: that a lot in the early nineteen hundreds just because 279 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:47,000 Speaker 1: like you weren't hanging out with any other girls, So 280 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:49,320 Speaker 1: like that's when people would have that. Really it's it's 281 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:52,200 Speaker 1: messed up and a symptom of some unhealthy things in 282 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:55,120 Speaker 1: the culture. But I'm not gonna say that that right, 283 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 1: there is evidence that Walter was weird from the beginning. 284 00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:59,560 Speaker 1: Maybe they were the only girls he spent any time around. 285 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:01,640 Speaker 1: And I guess so when you stay at yeah anime, 286 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:04,560 Speaker 1: to me, it's like he makes me feel like I 287 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:07,800 Speaker 1: guess I in tone that he's more preoccupied, Like it's 288 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:10,320 Speaker 1: okay to wonder what's under their clothes, but don't start 289 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:13,480 Speaker 1: wondering what's under their skin. I think that was just 290 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:16,840 Speaker 1: sort of, um a euphemism they used because again, nobody 291 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:20,440 Speaker 1: had good vocabulary to talk about like bodies back then, 292 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:23,800 Speaker 1: because everyone was fucked up, and you know, it was 293 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:28,080 Speaker 1: an even less healthy time. There was no feveral summer 294 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:31,920 Speaker 1: or Midwestern boy autumn at which I'm currently a part of. 295 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:36,880 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, that's yeah. Midwestern boy autumn is good. Uh, 296 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:42,320 Speaker 1: Southeastern boy late summer slash early fall, which really doesn't 297 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:46,800 Speaker 1: get going until November. Um, get a lot of them. 298 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:50,440 Speaker 1: I like slutty people, April showers. That's my favorite time 299 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:55,960 Speaker 1: of year. Slutty people, April showers. Um, there has to 300 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:58,480 Speaker 1: be a porn star named April Showers, right of course. 301 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:01,960 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, no, there's like they're okay, I hope, So 302 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:05,520 Speaker 1: we're putting in the universe. If there isn't, I also 303 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:08,199 Speaker 1: called DIBs. If any of us get into porn, I 304 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:13,240 Speaker 1: mean we're that's gonna be the sequel podcast to this one. 305 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:18,880 Speaker 1: Robert Evans makes a porno. Um, it is not going 306 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:24,280 Speaker 1: to be popular. Uh. Back to Walter freemanow So, Walter 307 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:27,520 Speaker 1: graduated from high school when he was just sixteen years old. Uh. 308 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:30,720 Speaker 1: He immediately started attending classes at Yale UM. He was 309 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:33,959 Speaker 1: academically excellent, but completely miserable. He was too young an 310 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:36,200 Speaker 1: immature to get up to any kind of animal house 311 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:39,320 Speaker 1: type bonding shenanigans with his fellow young men, and his 312 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:42,840 Speaker 1: utter disdain for women made most kinds of socialization impossible. 313 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:45,440 Speaker 1: It turns out it's not great to be in college 314 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:49,200 Speaker 1: at age sixteen. Not not the best time to do that. Uh. 315 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:51,359 Speaker 1: He briefly worked for the Yale Daily News. But was 316 00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:54,480 Speaker 1: let go after he spilled a bunch of alphabetized subscriber 317 00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:56,840 Speaker 1: cards in front of his editor. He joined the swim 318 00:17:56,840 --> 00:17:59,200 Speaker 1: team at one point, but refused to practice when anyone 319 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:00,960 Speaker 1: was around. He want people to see him with his 320 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:05,000 Speaker 1: shirt off. Um, so he's You get a feel for 321 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:08,480 Speaker 1: the kind of young man Walter Freeman was not a 322 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:13,600 Speaker 1: comfortable one. Um now, and in fairness, knowing about his dad, 323 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:19,080 Speaker 1: how could he possibly have been right? His initial degree 324 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:21,920 Speaker 1: program was engineering, but this track was disrupted at the 325 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 1: end of his junior year when he ate a bad 326 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:27,040 Speaker 1: batch of raw clams and caught typhoid fever. He spent 327 00:18:27,119 --> 00:18:29,200 Speaker 1: months laid up with this, in an assortment of other 328 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:31,840 Speaker 1: ailments that took up the entirety of his first semester 329 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:34,600 Speaker 1: senior year at Yale. The long months he spent at 330 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:37,320 Speaker 1: hospitals and sick beds helped Walter realize that he wanted 331 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:42,560 Speaker 1: something different out of life, a career in medicine. M now. 332 00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:45,680 Speaker 1: He'd initially not wanted to go down that road, do 333 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:47,720 Speaker 1: largely to the fact that his father had told him 334 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:49,800 Speaker 1: it was a terrible life. Don't be a fucking doctor. 335 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:56,280 Speaker 1: As he whips himself. Uh, this isn't about you. I'm 336 00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:59,440 Speaker 1: whipping myself because someone else left a muffin out on 337 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:02,720 Speaker 1: the counter. This is they're whipping. But I needed to 338 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:05,679 Speaker 1: talk to you. Also, he's third generations to his dad. 339 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:09,040 Speaker 1: Probably was forced into it by his dad. Yeah, and 340 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:11,479 Speaker 1: so he maybe this was his one thing where he 341 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:13,679 Speaker 1: was trying to be like, you don't do what you 342 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:15,280 Speaker 1: don't have. You don't have to do this, and it 343 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:19,159 Speaker 1: didn't matter. I feel like he's saying, you don't have 344 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:21,399 Speaker 1: to do this while everybody looks at him whipping himself 345 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:27,359 Speaker 1: and it's like, you really don't have to do this. So, uh, Walter, 346 00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:31,560 Speaker 1: seeing his dad was a miserable, fucked up person, Walter 347 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:34,480 Speaker 1: instead looked towards his grandfather as a role model and 348 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:37,240 Speaker 1: enrolled in summer classes at the University of Chicago to 349 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:40,400 Speaker 1: catch up on medical school before or to catch up 350 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:43,920 Speaker 1: on like medicine and science related classes before starting medical 351 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:46,520 Speaker 1: school the next year. He excelled in this as well, 352 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:49,520 Speaker 1: and attempted to rebuild his health by walking thirty minutes 353 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:52,600 Speaker 1: to and from campus every day carrying a heavy box 354 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:55,680 Speaker 1: of bones. I don't know where you could just get 355 00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:58,080 Speaker 1: bones back then. Yeah, he just decided he needed. He 356 00:19:58,119 --> 00:20:00,439 Speaker 1: wanted to like get healthy, and a way to do 357 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:03,199 Speaker 1: it was to carry around a lot of bones. And 358 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:07,320 Speaker 1: because he's a person, a rock isn't good enough. Yeah, 359 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:09,800 Speaker 1: there were more bones than rocks back then. There were 360 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:13,359 Speaker 1: just people dying left and right. So he stopped H. 361 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:17,520 Speaker 1: Holmes's place and picked up what years this that doesn't 362 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:19,840 Speaker 1: check out? Actually I think it might check out this 363 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:22,480 Speaker 1: late late eighteen nineties. I don't remember exactly when H. 364 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:27,919 Speaker 1: Jones was. No, he would have been. He would have been. 365 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:30,679 Speaker 1: He was born in nive so, but there would have 366 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:32,360 Speaker 1: been there would have been a lot of bones laying 367 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:36,680 Speaker 1: around in the early nine hundred bone heavy period. World 368 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:41,520 Speaker 1: War One was on a shiploads of bones. Now. Yeah, 369 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:44,080 Speaker 1: so he excelled in his classes, and he was getting better, 370 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:46,600 Speaker 1: you know, healthier thanks to his bone box. But in 371 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:49,000 Speaker 1: spite of all this, he he got sick again very 372 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:52,440 Speaker 1: quickly and was soon bedridden. He later recalled I wrote 373 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:55,879 Speaker 1: home saying, I guess God didn't want me to study medicine. 374 00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:58,920 Speaker 1: In reply, I received a stern admonition not to think 375 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:01,240 Speaker 1: that way, much less to mention it. Wait, Robert, he 376 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:04,399 Speaker 1: got sick again, Yeah, he kept he was very sick. 377 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:07,520 Speaker 1: He was a sick, sick young man. Oh man, this 378 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:10,719 Speaker 1: is You're right. Mother Nature was trying to kill him. 379 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:14,800 Speaker 1: God was definitely trying to stop him from being He's 380 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:19,040 Speaker 1: a fighter. He's a fighter. He is a persistent son 381 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:21,439 Speaker 1: of a bit. He shouldn't have been let it go. 382 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:23,879 Speaker 1: He should not have been somebody should have walked in 383 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:26,119 Speaker 1: whipping themselves and been like, this is so that you 384 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 1: can let it go, Just go. Yeah, that's I think 385 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:32,400 Speaker 1: that we have to land on the conclusion that if 386 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:35,520 Speaker 1: only there'd been more whipping in his childhood, he would 387 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:37,920 Speaker 1: have turned out better. Can I ask you a foreshadowing 388 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:41,000 Speaker 1: question that I don't expect you to answer yet because 389 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:42,560 Speaker 1: I don't know that we should even if you can. 390 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:46,400 Speaker 1: But much like we all wonder, like what purpose does 391 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 1: mosquitoes provide? Like what uh, what did they give us 392 00:21:51,359 --> 00:21:53,840 Speaker 1: in the long run or whatever other than just bad stuff, 393 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:56,800 Speaker 1: I would love to know by the end of this episode, 394 00:21:56,840 --> 00:21:59,800 Speaker 1: I already hate him. If at some point you're gonna 395 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,280 Speaker 1: be like, well, actually, because of the lobotomy, we now 396 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:05,199 Speaker 1: have this positive thing in our world, and I'm anxious 397 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:08,480 Speaker 1: to see if if that comes about at all. Yes, 398 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:11,719 Speaker 1: he was actually this is getting ahead a little bit. 399 00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:13,439 Speaker 1: He doesn't want to do that to you. I'm just 400 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:14,919 Speaker 1: that's what's already in my had I'm like, yeah, I 401 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:18,040 Speaker 1: hope there's some benefit to this fucker. Yeah. The spoiler 402 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:19,640 Speaker 1: I will give you is that it turned out he 403 00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:23,239 Speaker 1: was right for the wrong reasons, or at least he 404 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:26,320 Speaker 1: was right, but it led him to do the wrong things. 405 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,199 Speaker 1: Like the little kid in a Bronx tail. I've not 406 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: seen you. Oh he covers for he covers for a 407 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:33,960 Speaker 1: mob guy. And he asked his dad, Robert de Niro. 408 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:35,880 Speaker 1: He goes, I did I did a good thing, right, Dad? 409 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:37,920 Speaker 1: And he goes, yeah, you did. You did a good 410 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:40,720 Speaker 1: thing for a bad man, Like it was the right thing, 411 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:44,360 Speaker 1: but you did it for the wrong person. Yeah. Well 412 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:46,840 Speaker 1: it's a little different than that. We'll get well, we'll 413 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:51,320 Speaker 1: get there. So after a second ton selectomy, Freeman's health improved, 414 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:54,040 Speaker 1: and soon he was off to medical school. During the 415 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:56,880 Speaker 1: first Hand bones in hand. During the First World War, 416 00:22:56,920 --> 00:22:59,000 Speaker 1: he was drafted into the Army Medical Corps and he 417 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:02,360 Speaker 1: became a sergeant. He continued his education. He was demoted 418 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:04,840 Speaker 1: once for threatening his company commander with a shoe, but 419 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:07,919 Speaker 1: otherwise had a solid service we're not. We can't skip 420 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:12,600 Speaker 1: this with a shoe just a little shoe fight. You've 421 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:15,679 Speaker 1: had a couple. I've never had a shoe fight. We 422 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:18,639 Speaker 1: we all have the odds shoe fight. I can Tina Turner, 423 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:21,920 Speaker 1: that's the most popular shoe fight of all time. Yeah, 424 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,760 Speaker 1: it was just like an argument and he like picked 425 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:26,919 Speaker 1: up his shoe and yelled at somebody and didn't realize 426 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:30,640 Speaker 1: that they were his commanding officer. Um it's less interesting 427 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:32,919 Speaker 1: than you'd think. It's funnier when you just summarize it 428 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:37,280 Speaker 1: that way. Um. Now. Walter graduated as a doctor in 429 00:23:37,359 --> 00:23:39,880 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty, the second in his class. By this point, 430 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:42,200 Speaker 1: he had become so enamored with medicine that every other 431 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:45,360 Speaker 1: aspect of his past had followed by the wayside. Medicine, 432 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:47,359 Speaker 1: he wrote, held my interest to the point where I 433 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:50,359 Speaker 1: excluded many other things. In fact, I was barely aware 434 00:23:50,359 --> 00:23:52,760 Speaker 1: of my family. Do not recall what they were doing 435 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:56,680 Speaker 1: or where they were during this period. So Walter has 436 00:23:56,800 --> 00:24:01,359 Speaker 1: fallen fully into medicine. And speaking of falling fully into something, 437 00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:05,440 Speaker 1: Daniel van Kirk, it's time for us and our audience 438 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:08,440 Speaker 1: to fall fully into the products and services that support 439 00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:13,120 Speaker 1: this program. Let's do it. Yeah, let's do it. Let's 440 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:16,560 Speaker 1: let's whip ourselves in front of the audience to convince 441 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:20,320 Speaker 1: them to buy these these products that support the show. 442 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:24,800 Speaker 1: Imagine me wailing on myself with a cat of nine tales. 443 00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: It makes me sad. But you, I didn't come to school, 444 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:29,760 Speaker 1: and so now you have to hurt yourself. And yeah, 445 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: now I have to hurt myself products. We're back. So 446 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:42,800 Speaker 1: when we left off, Walter Freeman had fallen in love 447 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:46,639 Speaker 1: with medicine and had forgotten what his family was even doing. 448 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:49,880 Speaker 1: He was so enthralled with his new career, and in 449 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:52,959 Speaker 1: his father's case, what he was doing was dying of 450 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:58,600 Speaker 1: liver cancer. Now, yeah, yeah, yeah, Walter could not really 451 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:00,680 Speaker 1: have cared less about this. The only thing he did 452 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:02,600 Speaker 1: to help his father during this period, because he was 453 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:05,520 Speaker 1: living at home still, it was periodically shave him with 454 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:08,920 Speaker 1: a straight razor. He refused to soften his dad's stubble 455 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:12,440 Speaker 1: in warm water before shaving him because quote, the task 456 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:15,240 Speaker 1: was distasteful, and I finished it as quickly as possible. 457 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:17,199 Speaker 1: I'm sure my mother would have been more gentle, but 458 00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:19,840 Speaker 1: she considered shaving a man's job, and I was the 459 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:23,880 Speaker 1: only one at home, so like, I'm gonna I'll shave you, dad, 460 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:26,040 Speaker 1: but I'm not gonna like make it pleasant for you, 461 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:27,879 Speaker 1: because I want to get done with this ship quick. 462 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:34,199 Speaker 1: Great great kid. Now, although his dad was kind of 463 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:36,600 Speaker 1: sucked him up, so fair, I guess you have to 464 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:39,760 Speaker 1: whip me. I can't do it myself. I can't get 465 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:45,119 Speaker 1: shaved without a whipping. As a medical intern, Walter was 466 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:48,800 Speaker 1: somewhat uneven. He excelled in neurology, but proved less apt 467 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:52,200 Speaker 1: at handling what he called scut work, like transporting urine 468 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:55,520 Speaker 1: samples for analysis. Sometimes he would pour samples down the 469 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:58,159 Speaker 1: drain just to be rid of them. He was fascinated 470 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:00,760 Speaker 1: by neurosurgery, but too bored of the details of it 471 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:05,440 Speaker 1: to actually learn to perform surgery. He was fascinated by illness, 472 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:08,000 Speaker 1: but almost bored by the actual human beings he had 473 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:11,159 Speaker 1: to treat. He was, in short, a very strange dude, 474 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:14,280 Speaker 1: as this passage from the lobotomist makes clear. Soon another 475 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:17,479 Speaker 1: patient commanded Freeman's curiosity. A young man who arrived at 476 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:19,920 Speaker 1: the hospital with his penis and dire shape and flamed 477 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:22,000 Speaker 1: and dark. The organ was encircled by a ring that 478 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:24,959 Speaker 1: the patient's girlfriend had thrust over it but was unable 479 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:30,000 Speaker 1: to remove Freeman. Yet, we're talking like nineteen twenties cock rings. 480 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:32,600 Speaker 1: I think we're talking a normal ring that she put 481 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:34,879 Speaker 1: on his cock and it became a problem when he 482 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:38,600 Speaker 1: got hard. No. Yeah, that's why you use the like 483 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:42,200 Speaker 1: the bendy rubber ones, not like a normal metal ring. 484 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:47,440 Speaker 1: That's one of our sponsors today. Yes, Josiah and Sons 485 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:50,679 Speaker 1: old fashioned Amish cock rings, the only cock rings that 486 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:53,080 Speaker 1: are made entirely out of wood. If you want the 487 00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:55,600 Speaker 1: most pain a cock ring can put you in, you 488 00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:59,360 Speaker 1: want a Josiah and Son's cock ring that was too perfect. 489 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:07,280 Speaker 1: Now in Redwood, So a guy walks in and says, hey, 490 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:10,280 Speaker 1: I gotta, I gotta. And you know that that conversation 491 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:12,359 Speaker 1: was awkward because much like you just talked about, no 492 00:27:12,359 --> 00:27:15,640 Speaker 1: one was using good like healthy like jargon for each 493 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:18,720 Speaker 1: other to talk about themselves. Or they don't think anyone 494 00:27:19,119 --> 00:27:23,199 Speaker 1: uses the word penis in that entire conversation. He's like, 495 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:30,200 Speaker 1: I've gone problematic in my nethers. Ye. So uh. Freeman 496 00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:32,960 Speaker 1: ended the patient's agony by filing through the ring and 497 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:35,880 Speaker 1: twisting it free with forceps. The boy asked for the ring, 498 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:37,520 Speaker 1: but I told him it was a specimen and that 499 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:39,520 Speaker 1: I would have to keep it. Freeman wrote, I had 500 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:41,960 Speaker 1: the ring, repad and the Freeman Man crest and de 501 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:45,119 Speaker 1: graved on it for years. Afterward, Freeman wore the specimen 502 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:49,960 Speaker 1: on a goat shade. If we were in an episode 503 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:54,000 Speaker 1: of Mine Hunters, this is what we would call a trophy. Yeah, 504 00:27:54,160 --> 00:28:00,159 Speaker 1: that's fucked up. What a conversation starter, though. I like 505 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:07,159 Speaker 1: that you don that crest aftermarket because this used to 506 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:11,600 Speaker 1: be this used to be a broken ring. How so well, 507 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:14,439 Speaker 1: a gentleman came in had it in his nethers. I 508 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:21,800 Speaker 1: took it off and now I probably present it wo man. Wow, yeah, 509 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:25,439 Speaker 1: real quick, think about this. There's a chance, unless he 510 00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:29,920 Speaker 1: was buried with it, that ring is out there somewhere. God, 511 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:34,200 Speaker 1: I hope. So if you have Walter Freeman's cockering necklace, 512 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:38,200 Speaker 1: I would pay good money to have it. I don't 513 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:40,320 Speaker 1: know what I would do with it. We'll find a 514 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:45,440 Speaker 1: use for it. If you could start collecting things from 515 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:48,080 Speaker 1: your episodes and you'd be like the Collector and Guardians 516 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:50,480 Speaker 1: of the Galaxy in the Marvel universe. But you're like, oh, 517 00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:52,920 Speaker 1: that's actually from the episode where we talk about, because 518 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:55,360 Speaker 1: that ring is gotta be I bet somebody doesn't even 519 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:57,640 Speaker 1: know what they have. Or if I get a TV 520 00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:00,680 Speaker 1: show that would be that would be the premises me 521 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:03,480 Speaker 1: hunting down artifacts of terrible people will start with like 522 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:07,720 Speaker 1: an original copy of one of Hitler's favorite, uh fantasy novels. 523 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:12,200 Speaker 1: But yeah, yeah, yeah, Saddam Hussein's typewriter, you know, all 524 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:15,480 Speaker 1: the all the all the great, all the hits, Ron 525 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:20,880 Speaker 1: Hubbard's I don't know, uh boat yeah, or like that 526 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:23,000 Speaker 1: first episode I did where we talked about the Nazis 527 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:26,880 Speaker 1: in Hollywood, like even an old like Lemley's like movie 528 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:32,360 Speaker 1: cars o hell yeah yeah, yeah, the city of Pittsburgh. Man, 529 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:34,520 Speaker 1: there's a lot of things to collect. Okay, sorry I 530 00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:36,480 Speaker 1: have derailed this, but that that I mean, how could 531 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:41,520 Speaker 1: I not? We just went filing tale. Yeah. So. Walter 532 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:44,400 Speaker 1: spent a year in Europe, doing medical residences in France 533 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:47,360 Speaker 1: and performing medical testing on animals. The highlight of his 534 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:50,000 Speaker 1: trip was watching the autopsy of an elephant. He was 535 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:53,160 Speaker 1: fascinated by the four hour task of opening the creature's 536 00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:56,040 Speaker 1: skull to remove its brain. Walter's first thought was that 537 00:29:56,080 --> 00:29:58,680 Speaker 1: a jackhammer would have been the ideal tool. To remove it. 538 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:01,840 Speaker 1: But this thought, pro says, spawned a lifelong fascination in 539 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:05,160 Speaker 1: finding unique ways to break into skulls and access brains. 540 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:10,840 Speaker 1: He is into that do what you love, the money 541 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:16,560 Speaker 1: will follow. His first major job came courtesy of his grandfather, Keene, 542 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:18,880 Speaker 1: who used his connections to get his grandson a gig 543 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:21,880 Speaker 1: as the senior medical officer in charge of St. Elizabeth's 544 00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:25,480 Speaker 1: Hospital in Washington, d C. This was a psychiatric hospital, 545 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:27,680 Speaker 1: and working there gave Walter a direct look into the 546 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:31,760 Speaker 1: horrific ways nineteen twenties America treated the mentally unwell. St. 547 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:35,160 Speaker 1: Elizabeth was essentially a giant box filled warehouse from the 548 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:37,200 Speaker 1: end of Raiders of the Lost Arc, but filled with 549 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:40,560 Speaker 1: sick people instead of antiquities. There were very few real 550 00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:43,720 Speaker 1: treatments for psychiatric disorders, so patients were just locked in 551 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:46,520 Speaker 1: there together until they either died or lied well enough 552 00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:49,440 Speaker 1: to claim that they had had a spontaneous remission. That 553 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:53,520 Speaker 1: was that was healthcare back then. Oh yeah, your head sick, huh, Well, 554 00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:55,680 Speaker 1: we're gonna put you in a miserable box until you 555 00:30:55,720 --> 00:31:00,840 Speaker 1: decide you're healthy. Yeah yeah. Walter or Freeman found this 556 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:04,680 Speaker 1: new charge horrifying. He was sickened by the forty inmates 557 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:07,840 Speaker 1: of his asylum, and he wrote the slouching figures, the 558 00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:11,120 Speaker 1: vacant stare or averted eyes, the shabby clothing and footwear, 559 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:14,560 Speaker 1: the general and tidiness all aroused rejection rather than sympathy 560 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:19,720 Speaker 1: or interest. So he's horrified and not sympathetic with these people. Yeah, 561 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:22,880 Speaker 1: it doesn't feel bad for him at all. Yeah, yeah, 562 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:27,040 Speaker 1: they're they're just he's just disgusted by them. Now, since 563 00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:29,840 Speaker 1: the inmates of this asylum were too pitiful to deserve 564 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:32,920 Speaker 1: Walter's sympathy, he instead focused on learning about the brain 565 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:35,680 Speaker 1: of the psychotic, as he called it, which is again 566 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:38,120 Speaker 1: was like the general it's a specific term now, it 567 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:40,400 Speaker 1: was just the general term for anyone that was like 568 00:31:40,880 --> 00:31:44,720 Speaker 1: not fitting into society back you couldn't conform. Yeah, Walter's 569 00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:47,320 Speaker 1: goal was less to alleviate discomfort and more to help 570 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:51,400 Speaker 1: these people return to life as productive members of capitalist society. Quote. 571 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:53,920 Speaker 1: I looked around me at the hundreds of patients and thought, 572 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:56,960 Speaker 1: what a waste of manpower and woman power. So again, 573 00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:04,400 Speaker 1: not particularly sympathetic to their suffering. He is very gender inclusive. Yeah. Yeah. 574 00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:07,760 Speaker 1: Towards this end, he experimented with differing oxygen levels and 575 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:09,960 Speaker 1: their impacts on the brain of manic people. He also 576 00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:13,680 Speaker 1: pioneered a new easier method of collecting spinal taps from 577 00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:16,920 Speaker 1: the lobotomist. Instead of recruiting help to secure patients in 578 00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:19,000 Speaker 1: a deep bend while sitting then inserting the needle of 579 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:21,840 Speaker 1: a collection syringe between the vertebra, Freeman employed what he 580 00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:25,040 Speaker 1: was fond of calling the jiffy spinal tap. Without assistance 581 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:27,840 Speaker 1: from other staff members. Freeman directed patients to sit backward 582 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:30,080 Speaker 1: on a chair and deeply bend their neck over the 583 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:32,880 Speaker 1: chair back, carefully navigating the opening at the base of 584 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:35,120 Speaker 1: this goal. He then pushed a needle into a reservoir 585 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:38,440 Speaker 1: of spinal fluid located just inside but perilously close to 586 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:40,480 Speaker 1: the base of the brain. Even a slight error in 587 00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:42,880 Speaker 1: the insertion of the needle could permanently injure the patient. 588 00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:46,800 Speaker 1: So Walt, he's just showing off, and this this risk 589 00:32:46,880 --> 00:32:49,840 Speaker 1: was worth because it allowed him to work alone without 590 00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:53,440 Speaker 1: close collaboration with colleagues. Um now a mature adult, Walter 591 00:32:53,560 --> 00:32:55,360 Speaker 1: was still very much a loner, and he preferred his 592 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:58,000 Speaker 1: own professional company to acting as part of a team, 593 00:32:58,080 --> 00:33:00,280 Speaker 1: even when that went meant a greater risk to the aation. 594 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:03,600 Speaker 1: Walter opened a private practice while working at St. Elizabeth's 595 00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:05,800 Speaker 1: to further his research, and also took a job as 596 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:09,120 Speaker 1: a professor of neurology at George Washington University. By the 597 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:12,120 Speaker 1: early nineteen thirties, he had a well earned reputation as 598 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:17,520 Speaker 1: a psychiatric pioneer. Now, Walter was largely responsible for the 599 00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:21,240 Speaker 1: introduction of several exciting new treatments, insulin shock therapy, which 600 00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:24,960 Speaker 1: plunged patients into insulin shock to try and correct schizophrenic symptoms. 601 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:29,680 Speaker 1: He also experimented with metrosol shock therapy and electro convulsive therapy. 602 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:32,280 Speaker 1: The essential goal of all these treatments was the same 603 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:35,080 Speaker 1: to slap sick people out of their issues by horribly 604 00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:40,240 Speaker 1: traumatizing their system. So he's that kind of doctor. He's like, Ah, 605 00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:42,080 Speaker 1: these people have a problem. We just need to funk 606 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:44,920 Speaker 1: them up enough that they they get their ship together. 607 00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:47,120 Speaker 1: The only time I know of something like this working 608 00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:49,480 Speaker 1: is in heat stroke, because you instantly need to be 609 00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:51,840 Speaker 1: put into an ice tub right away, Like we need 610 00:33:51,880 --> 00:33:55,600 Speaker 1: to shock you out of the thing you're in. But 611 00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:59,680 Speaker 1: the idea that we could take anything psychologically and essentially 612 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:03,640 Speaker 1: smack you out of it through one form of mild 613 00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:09,200 Speaker 1: torture or another is insane. Who did this ever work 614 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:11,520 Speaker 1: enough that somebody was like, I think this is the 615 00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:15,759 Speaker 1: way to do it, you know. Um, So what There's 616 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:17,160 Speaker 1: a couple of things going on here. One of them 617 00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:20,000 Speaker 1: is that electro convulsive therapy is still at a very 618 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:23,440 Speaker 1: small scale used today. There are certain people with certain 619 00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:26,640 Speaker 1: fairly rare problems that it can help. So I'm sure 620 00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:29,600 Speaker 1: there were some people who had very severe psychiatric distress 621 00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:32,840 Speaker 1: who were helped by the electro convulsive therapy a tiny 622 00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:34,960 Speaker 1: fraction of the total, and I'm sure there was a 623 00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:40,320 Speaker 1: larger number who were while they had issues, were also 624 00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:42,919 Speaker 1: able to realize like, oh my god, they're gonna keep 625 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:45,239 Speaker 1: torturing me if I don't pretend to be better, And 626 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:47,640 Speaker 1: so they would just like, okay, i'll be better. I won't. 627 00:34:47,640 --> 00:34:49,640 Speaker 1: I won't kind of I won't let you know I'm suffering. 628 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:52,680 Speaker 1: Isn't that kind of like the mouse in the maze? 629 00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:55,359 Speaker 1: Oh I just got to stop this and so that 630 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:58,440 Speaker 1: that doesn't happen to me anymore. Yeah, but you're learning 631 00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:01,879 Speaker 1: through like not you're learning or just like have love 632 00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:05,120 Speaker 1: and dog type ship of like this just happens to 633 00:35:05,160 --> 00:35:07,440 Speaker 1: you every time. So you just learned to like stop 634 00:35:07,480 --> 00:35:11,200 Speaker 1: being loud, but nothing's changed. Yeah, that's a kind of 635 00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:13,360 Speaker 1: I think what goes on with a lot of these people. 636 00:35:13,440 --> 00:35:16,000 Speaker 1: It's a mix of the tiny amount who like legitimately 637 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:18,560 Speaker 1: do benefit from it because electric convulsive therapy can be 638 00:35:18,640 --> 00:35:21,520 Speaker 1: helpful and a larger number who were like, oh, this 639 00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:25,399 Speaker 1: is awful, I'll just stop complaining. Yes, I don't want 640 00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:29,640 Speaker 1: to go through this anymore. Um now. It was nineteen 641 00:35:29,719 --> 00:35:32,600 Speaker 1: thirty five when Walter Freeman first ran into the treatment 642 00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:34,759 Speaker 1: that would come to define his practice and the great 643 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:37,600 Speaker 1: bulk of his adult life. That year, he attended a 644 00:35:37,640 --> 00:35:40,600 Speaker 1: presentation in London by a researcher who had experimented with 645 00:35:40,680 --> 00:35:44,200 Speaker 1: damaging the frontal lobes of chimpanzees just to see what happened. 646 00:35:44,520 --> 00:35:46,600 Speaker 1: The results were more or less what you'd expect. These 647 00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:50,880 Speaker 1: brain damage chimps became quiet, listless, inactive. Freeman and a 648 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:54,840 Speaker 1: Portuguese neurologists us money is, we're both fascinated by this. 649 00:35:55,520 --> 00:35:57,840 Speaker 1: Mona is right away headed back home to Portugal to 650 00:35:57,920 --> 00:36:01,080 Speaker 1: experiment with severing the frontal lobes of human beings. The 651 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:04,000 Speaker 1: thinking was that if this procedure could calm chimpanzees down, 652 00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:06,560 Speaker 1: it might have the same effect on people suffering from 653 00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:09,560 Speaker 1: a mental illness that led to radical swings in personality 654 00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:13,840 Speaker 1: and mood, stuff like a bipolar disorders exactly, seizure disorders 655 00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:15,919 Speaker 1: and stuff, a whole bunch of different things, because again, 656 00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:18,400 Speaker 1: a lot of stuff that we now recognize our separate 657 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:21,359 Speaker 1: things were all lumped together back in that day. Um 658 00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:23,799 Speaker 1: So if you were like a schizophrenic, or if you 659 00:36:23,880 --> 00:36:26,200 Speaker 1: had a seizure disorder, or if you were bipolar, they 660 00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:29,120 Speaker 1: might just say, lump all those people together is the 661 00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:32,719 Speaker 1: same thing. You know. They weren't great at this yet. Uh. 662 00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:36,160 Speaker 1: In nineteen thirty six, Antonio Monez had perfected his treatment, 663 00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:39,200 Speaker 1: the leucotomy, which involved drilling two small holes in the 664 00:36:39,239 --> 00:36:41,520 Speaker 1: side of the head in order to sever connective tissue 665 00:36:41,560 --> 00:36:44,759 Speaker 1: that attached the frontal lobe to the rest of the brain. Now, 666 00:36:44,800 --> 00:36:48,600 Speaker 1: at the time, there were two main theories of psychiatric illness. 667 00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:51,080 Speaker 1: The first, which was pushed by guys like Freud, was 668 00:36:51,120 --> 00:36:54,520 Speaker 1: that psychiatric ailments were all basically the result of buried memories, 669 00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:57,799 Speaker 1: misplaced desires, past traumas, things that you could sit down 670 00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:00,400 Speaker 1: and work out with a psychotherapist over a small mountain 671 00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:04,040 Speaker 1: of cocaine and uncomfortable couch. The other theory was that 672 00:37:04,120 --> 00:37:07,120 Speaker 1: these illnesses were caused by emotional signals from the brain 673 00:37:07,239 --> 00:37:10,160 Speaker 1: that were so strong they simply overwhelmed a person. Now, 674 00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:14,800 Speaker 1: obviously neither theory is entirely right um, but the theory 675 00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:17,600 Speaker 1: that guys like Freeman would adopt, which was that you 676 00:37:17,640 --> 00:37:19,560 Speaker 1: know these it was a bunch of signals from the brain, 677 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:23,560 Speaker 1: was closer to right than Freud's theory because it explains 678 00:37:23,560 --> 00:37:27,000 Speaker 1: stuff like you know, um uh, seizure disorders or like 679 00:37:27,040 --> 00:37:30,240 Speaker 1: schizophrenia and stuff which are not You can't talk therapy 680 00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:32,759 Speaker 1: someone with schizophrenia out of having issues like it's a 681 00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:34,799 Speaker 1: problem with like signals their brain is sending and they 682 00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:38,440 Speaker 1: need some sorts of medication. I think sometimes surgery helps. 683 00:37:38,960 --> 00:37:43,120 Speaker 1: But like so, Freeman is on the right track. What 684 00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:45,880 Speaker 1: he and other scientists who like adopt this school of 685 00:37:45,920 --> 00:37:49,040 Speaker 1: thought are realizing is that you can't talk your way 686 00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:51,040 Speaker 1: through all of your mental problems, which is correct. There 687 00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:53,440 Speaker 1: are mental problems that have to be dealt with on 688 00:37:53,440 --> 00:37:56,239 Speaker 1: like more of a chemical physical level. So that's what 689 00:37:56,280 --> 00:37:58,279 Speaker 1: I say when I say he was he was right 690 00:37:58,360 --> 00:38:02,879 Speaker 1: about sort of what the issues were. Um but then 691 00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:05,839 Speaker 1: we get into what he decided the treatment should be, 692 00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:09,000 Speaker 1: which was not correct. But he was on the right 693 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:11,719 Speaker 1: track when he like figured out like what was going 694 00:38:11,760 --> 00:38:14,239 Speaker 1: on with people where he was closer to write than 695 00:38:14,280 --> 00:38:18,279 Speaker 1: a lot of mainstream doctors. So Maniza's leucotomy seemed to 696 00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:20,880 Speaker 1: provide relief to a number of patients. And I should 697 00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:24,000 Speaker 1: note that there are variants of this procedure we used today. 698 00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:27,400 Speaker 1: Patients suffering from some types of seizure disorders sometimes have 699 00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:30,120 Speaker 1: parts of the brain disconnected from one another to stop 700 00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:32,319 Speaker 1: or reduce the frequency of said seizures. We still do 701 00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:35,440 Speaker 1: use brain surgery. That's kind of an evolution of the 702 00:38:35,520 --> 00:38:38,279 Speaker 1: leucotomy to treat people today, and it can be very 703 00:38:38,360 --> 00:38:40,759 Speaker 1: helpful to again a very small number of people who 704 00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:44,000 Speaker 1: suffer with these disorders. Um. So Moniz was experimenting with 705 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:47,080 Speaker 1: real medicine and he was very responsible with the implications 706 00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:49,600 Speaker 1: of his treatment. When he received the Nobel Prize for 707 00:38:49,640 --> 00:38:52,239 Speaker 1: it in nineteen forty nine, he insisted the leucotomy was 708 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:54,560 Speaker 1: only to be used as a treatment of last resort 709 00:38:54,800 --> 00:38:58,000 Speaker 1: when absolutely nothing else could provide a patient with relief. 710 00:38:58,360 --> 00:39:00,960 Speaker 1: So Monez not gonna say is a bad guy. He's 711 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:03,000 Speaker 1: one of the early experimenters with what would come to 712 00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:05,360 Speaker 1: be known as a lobotomy. But he's he's doing it 713 00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:08,120 Speaker 1: because number one, he recognizes it does help in some cases, 714 00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:10,719 Speaker 1: and he's he's very clear about like, we only do 715 00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:12,759 Speaker 1: this if there's no other chance of them living a 716 00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:15,359 Speaker 1: normal life, or if we want to funk with a chimpanzee. 717 00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:19,120 Speaker 1: That was the other guy. Oh that's right, sorry, yeah, yeah, 718 00:39:19,200 --> 00:39:21,399 Speaker 1: yeah yeah. Moniz just watched that and was like, oh, ship, 719 00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:25,840 Speaker 1: this might best. Yeah. Now. Walter Freeman paid attention to 720 00:39:25,880 --> 00:39:28,400 Speaker 1: the work of Antonio Moniz, but he was not convinced 721 00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:30,799 Speaker 1: that the leucotomy ought to be a last resort for 722 00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:33,600 Speaker 1: suffering people. As the manager of an asylum, he was 723 00:39:33,640 --> 00:39:36,239 Speaker 1: deeply frustrated by how much time and manpower it took 724 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:40,920 Speaker 1: to subdue patients dealing with psychotic episodes, schizophrenic breaks, manic faces, etcetera. 725 00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:43,040 Speaker 1: The idea that all this could be calmed by the 726 00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:46,120 Speaker 1: just chopping up their brains was deeply appealing to him. 727 00:39:46,640 --> 00:39:50,080 Speaker 1: So start, yeah, yeah, that'll that'll make it. Wait my job. 728 00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:55,000 Speaker 1: So I'm sick of what if I just break them? 729 00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:59,600 Speaker 1: Line them up? So Freeman developed a modification of moniz 730 00:39:59,719 --> 00:40:02,520 Speaker 1: is pers Sieger and renamed it a lobotomy in much 731 00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:05,880 Speaker 1: the same way as Oreos modified the hydrox cookie, and 732 00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:09,360 Speaker 1: like Oreos, Freeman's procedure was destined to capture the vast 733 00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:12,480 Speaker 1: majority of the market share for such a product. Like Oreos, 734 00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:14,799 Speaker 1: you gotta get to that middle good stuff and get 735 00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:17,319 Speaker 1: that out. You got you gotta get that out now. 736 00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:19,560 Speaker 1: I'm gonna quote now from Jack L. High, who wrote 737 00:40:19,600 --> 00:40:22,520 Speaker 1: The Lobotomist and also wrote this piece for The Washington Post. 738 00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:26,680 Speaker 1: To him, the intoxicating thing about psycho surgery mon iss 739 00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:29,680 Speaker 1: coin term for psychiatric surgery, was its potential to sever 740 00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:32,480 Speaker 1: the links between the over excited emotions of an unhealthy 741 00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:35,200 Speaker 1: thalamus and the behavioral functions of the prefrontal lobes of 742 00:40:35,239 --> 00:40:37,640 Speaker 1: the brain. If it worked, the destruction of these nerve 743 00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:41,239 Speaker 1: fibers would prevent the thalamus from poisoning patients. Thinking he 744 00:40:41,280 --> 00:40:44,880 Speaker 1: absorbed the details of Moniss work, and with neurosurgeon Watts 745 00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:48,600 Speaker 1: became figuring out how to adapt the Portuguese physicians techniques. 746 00:40:48,840 --> 00:40:51,560 Speaker 1: Freeman and Watts used brains from the hospital Morgue to 747 00:40:51,600 --> 00:40:54,200 Speaker 1: practice the coring of sections of the prefrontal lobes with 748 00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:56,640 Speaker 1: a lukatom, which is the device they'd used for that. 749 00:40:57,040 --> 00:40:59,160 Speaker 1: But the summer of nineteen thirty six, they were ready 750 00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:03,600 Speaker 1: for a live patient, a Miss Hammett from Topeka, Kansas. Now. 751 00:41:03,880 --> 00:41:07,200 Speaker 1: Ms Hammett was sixty three years old. She suffered from depression. 752 00:41:07,360 --> 00:41:11,400 Speaker 1: She had frequent hysterical fits and difficulties sleeping. Freeman talked 753 00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:13,799 Speaker 1: with her and concluded that a lobotomy was the only 754 00:41:13,800 --> 00:41:15,759 Speaker 1: way for her to avoid spending the rest of her 755 00:41:15,800 --> 00:41:18,840 Speaker 1: life in a mental hospital. Much of the impetus behind 756 00:41:18,880 --> 00:41:21,080 Speaker 1: this seems to have been her husband, who was tired 757 00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:23,480 Speaker 1: of dealing with a wife who needed help herself rather 758 00:41:23,520 --> 00:41:27,080 Speaker 1: than just preparing meals for him and staying quiet. Freeman 759 00:41:27,080 --> 00:41:29,880 Speaker 1: and his new partner Watts, schedule Miss Hammett for an 760 00:41:29,880 --> 00:41:35,239 Speaker 1: appointment on September nineteen thirty six. Now, the first lobotomy 761 00:41:35,320 --> 00:41:38,000 Speaker 1: did not start off well. Miss Hammett tried to back 762 00:41:38,040 --> 00:41:40,160 Speaker 1: out when she learned the procedure would require her to 763 00:41:40,200 --> 00:41:42,840 Speaker 1: shave her head. Many of her mental health issues focused 764 00:41:42,840 --> 00:41:45,040 Speaker 1: around an obsession with her thinning hair, so this was 765 00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:48,920 Speaker 1: obviously a matter of grave concern for her. WHOA, yeah, 766 00:41:49,120 --> 00:41:53,319 Speaker 1: we're doing the one thing she's already upset about. Oh yeah, yeah. 767 00:41:53,400 --> 00:41:55,600 Speaker 1: So Freeman and Watts assured her they would only have 768 00:41:55,680 --> 00:41:57,960 Speaker 1: to shave off a few small sections of her scalp. 769 00:41:58,160 --> 00:42:01,640 Speaker 1: This was a lie, obviously. Once they forcibly anesthetized her, 770 00:42:01,719 --> 00:42:04,560 Speaker 1: they shaved her bald. Freeman recorded that her last words 771 00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:07,640 Speaker 1: before going underwear, Who is that man? What does he 772 00:42:07,680 --> 00:42:09,440 Speaker 1: want here? What is he going to do to me? 773 00:42:09,760 --> 00:42:12,080 Speaker 1: Tell him to go away? Oh? I don't want to 774 00:42:12,120 --> 00:42:15,560 Speaker 1: see him. Yeah, Well that's how crazy people talk. So 775 00:42:15,520 --> 00:42:18,920 Speaker 1: still I don't think that. Oh yeah, that's him. Yeah, 776 00:42:18,960 --> 00:42:23,120 Speaker 1: I think she's very reasonable. That's my point. Once, once 777 00:42:23,160 --> 00:42:24,920 Speaker 1: you've been like labeled, we're going to do this to you, 778 00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:27,120 Speaker 1: no matter what you say, They're like, well you would 779 00:42:27,120 --> 00:42:29,800 Speaker 1: talk like that, You're a crazy You need her a 780 00:42:29,880 --> 00:42:34,360 Speaker 1: looney loony. With Freeman watching, Wat's drilled six holes a 781 00:42:34,440 --> 00:42:36,840 Speaker 1: top miss Hammett's skull and inserted a luca toom, a 782 00:42:36,920 --> 00:42:39,919 Speaker 1: device that essentially hold the brain into each hole, both 783 00:42:39,960 --> 00:42:42,640 Speaker 1: doctors worked together on leisuroning the brain, with Watts the 784 00:42:42,680 --> 00:42:45,920 Speaker 1: actual surgeon, managing the whole affair, and as odd as 785 00:42:45,960 --> 00:42:48,560 Speaker 1: it sounds, the lobotomy seems to have helped Miss Hammett, 786 00:42:48,600 --> 00:42:51,280 Speaker 1: At least she and her husband both reported that it helped. 787 00:42:51,600 --> 00:42:55,040 Speaker 1: Freeman wrote in his autobiography, she survived five years, according 788 00:42:55,080 --> 00:42:57,480 Speaker 1: to Mr Hammett, the happiest years of her life. As 789 00:42:57,520 --> 00:42:59,360 Speaker 1: she expressed it, she could go to the theater and 790 00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:01,600 Speaker 1: really enjoy the play without thinking of what her back 791 00:43:01,640 --> 00:43:04,480 Speaker 1: hair looked like or whether her shoes pinched. And it 792 00:43:04,600 --> 00:43:07,640 Speaker 1: is entirely possible that this is an accurate representation of 793 00:43:07,640 --> 00:43:11,200 Speaker 1: how Miss Hammett felt. Many of Dr Freeman's lobotomy patients 794 00:43:11,239 --> 00:43:14,399 Speaker 1: experienced relief from some of their symptoms. That said, even 795 00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:18,000 Speaker 1: the positive experiences with lobotomies are clouded by deeply disturbing 796 00:43:18,080 --> 00:43:21,480 Speaker 1: questions of consent and structures of oppression. They're saying speaking 797 00:43:21,480 --> 00:43:25,440 Speaker 1: of sorry, sorry, I just really they're saying it actually worked. Yeah, 798 00:43:25,480 --> 00:43:28,799 Speaker 1: she she experienced relief that was not wildly uncommon with 799 00:43:28,920 --> 00:43:32,040 Speaker 1: his patients. Yeah, but if she's worried about her shoes 800 00:43:32,080 --> 00:43:33,640 Speaker 1: and stuff, it's kind of sounds to me like, and 801 00:43:33,680 --> 00:43:36,080 Speaker 1: I know we're near a professional and so please take 802 00:43:36,080 --> 00:43:38,160 Speaker 1: this with the grain ofshal anyone who hears my voice 803 00:43:38,480 --> 00:43:40,880 Speaker 1: that maybe she suffers some some sort of like O. C. 804 00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:44,960 Speaker 1: D she was like worried about and so the lobotomy 805 00:43:45,040 --> 00:43:48,319 Speaker 1: just made her not really care about anything. So they're like, oh, 806 00:43:48,360 --> 00:43:51,279 Speaker 1: things are better. Well, yep, no, you just don't care 807 00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:54,799 Speaker 1: about anything. That's not I guess, I guess you're not 808 00:43:54,840 --> 00:43:56,560 Speaker 1: doing the thing you did. But I don't know if 809 00:43:56,560 --> 00:43:58,880 Speaker 1: that falls into category better. But but for them at 810 00:43:58,920 --> 00:44:01,240 Speaker 1: the time, they were saying that for them at the time, 811 00:44:02,280 --> 00:44:05,440 Speaker 1: this woman was complaining. Now the woman's not complaining. We 812 00:44:05,600 --> 00:44:08,960 Speaker 1: fixed her. It's a different Yeah, we're going to get 813 00:44:08,960 --> 00:44:11,120 Speaker 1: into that a little bit more and how problematic all 814 00:44:11,200 --> 00:44:13,160 Speaker 1: this was. But again, it's important you know that at 815 00:44:13,160 --> 00:44:15,920 Speaker 1: the time this looked to again the men who were 816 00:44:15,920 --> 00:44:18,759 Speaker 1: the only ones whose opinions mattered in this situation, as 817 00:44:18,800 --> 00:44:24,000 Speaker 1: if they were making people like Mrs Hammett better. Um, 818 00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:27,759 Speaker 1: now you know what will make you better, Daniel van Kirk. 819 00:44:28,840 --> 00:44:33,200 Speaker 1: The products and services that advertise on this show. Nice. Yeah, 820 00:44:33,440 --> 00:44:35,400 Speaker 1: can we go to them? Can I learn about him? 821 00:44:36,040 --> 00:44:48,520 Speaker 1: We can? Here's uh capitalism lobotomy. We're back now. Uh, 822 00:44:48,719 --> 00:44:52,879 Speaker 1: As I said before we rolled out the positive experiences 823 00:44:53,160 --> 00:44:55,319 Speaker 1: with lobotomies that you read about when you kind of 824 00:44:55,320 --> 00:44:59,719 Speaker 1: read about these early operations. Um, we're all clouded by 825 00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:03,080 Speaker 1: very disturbing questions of consent and also structures of oppression 826 00:45:03,120 --> 00:45:06,360 Speaker 1: that existed back then and still exist today. During my research, 827 00:45:06,400 --> 00:45:08,880 Speaker 1: I came across a story Corps interview with one of 828 00:45:08,880 --> 00:45:12,840 Speaker 1: Walter Freeman's patients, Patricia Mowen and her husband Patricia with 829 00:45:12,960 --> 00:45:15,160 Speaker 1: Her husband's name is Glynn. By the way, Patricia was 830 00:45:15,200 --> 00:45:17,799 Speaker 1: lobotomized in nineteen sixty two, and I'm going to read 831 00:45:17,840 --> 00:45:21,040 Speaker 1: the transcript of this husband and wife talking about her procedure. 832 00:45:21,080 --> 00:45:22,960 Speaker 1: And again, this is considered to be like one of 833 00:45:22,960 --> 00:45:26,239 Speaker 1: the stories of like a success. But I'll read this 834 00:45:26,320 --> 00:45:27,919 Speaker 1: to you and you tell me if you think there's 835 00:45:27,920 --> 00:45:30,320 Speaker 1: something fucked up going on here, but I will. Glenn Mowen, 836 00:45:30,840 --> 00:45:33,120 Speaker 1: my name is Glynn Owen. I am seventy nine years old. 837 00:45:33,120 --> 00:45:36,239 Speaker 1: I signed the release for Pat's lobotomy. Patricia Mowen, we 838 00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:38,279 Speaker 1: have not talked about it since I had the lobotomy. 839 00:45:38,320 --> 00:45:41,840 Speaker 1: I don't think ever. My husband is not a great communicator, Glenn. 840 00:45:42,040 --> 00:45:43,640 Speaker 1: I don't talk to her any more than I have 841 00:45:43,800 --> 00:45:47,160 Speaker 1: to Patricia. Glenn, be nice. Both laugh. We've been married 842 00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:49,400 Speaker 1: about thirteen years and it just started. I cried all 843 00:45:49,400 --> 00:45:52,080 Speaker 1: the time. I was just mentally no good, Glenn. One 844 00:45:52,160 --> 00:45:54,000 Speaker 1: night I came home and she said, well, I've done 845 00:45:54,000 --> 00:45:56,200 Speaker 1: it now. She'd taken a whole bottle of some kind 846 00:45:56,200 --> 00:46:00,000 Speaker 1: of pills. Patricia. That's when the doctor decided it was time. Glenn. 847 00:46:00,080 --> 00:46:01,959 Speaker 1: He told me this was the last resort. I didn't 848 00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:04,520 Speaker 1: know what else to do, Patricia. Dr Freeman said, you 849 00:46:04,560 --> 00:46:06,319 Speaker 1: can come out of this vegetable, or you can come 850 00:46:06,320 --> 00:46:08,440 Speaker 1: out dead. And I guess I was miserable enough that 851 00:46:08,480 --> 00:46:11,040 Speaker 1: I didn't care. Glenn. I was kind of worried because 852 00:46:11,040 --> 00:46:13,080 Speaker 1: of the operation of severing a nerve in the brain. 853 00:46:13,239 --> 00:46:15,719 Speaker 1: It sounded kind of wild to me, Patricia. He was 854 00:46:15,760 --> 00:46:18,160 Speaker 1: afraid he was going to lose his cook, Glenn, and 855 00:46:18,200 --> 00:46:21,000 Speaker 1: I don't like to cook. Patricia. I remember nothing after 856 00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:23,360 Speaker 1: I saw Dr Freeman. I don't remember going to the hospital, 857 00:46:23,440 --> 00:46:25,160 Speaker 1: or having it done, or how long I was there. 858 00:46:25,400 --> 00:46:28,040 Speaker 1: That's all gone, Glenn. We were coming back from San 859 00:46:28,120 --> 00:46:30,360 Speaker 1: Jose after the operation, and pat informed me that she 860 00:46:30,360 --> 00:46:32,279 Speaker 1: couldn't wait to get home because she wanted to file 861 00:46:32,320 --> 00:46:35,360 Speaker 1: for divorce. Patricia. I don't remember that at all. I 862 00:46:35,400 --> 00:46:37,759 Speaker 1: don't think I said it, Glenn. I think I just 863 00:46:37,800 --> 00:46:40,680 Speaker 1: went on driving and ignored the situation. Began to wonder myself, 864 00:46:40,680 --> 00:46:43,440 Speaker 1: how much good did this operation accomplish? Really, I can 865 00:46:43,480 --> 00:46:45,759 Speaker 1: see no changes in most areas, except she is much 866 00:46:45,800 --> 00:46:48,439 Speaker 1: easier to get along with Patricia. You didn't see any 867 00:46:48,520 --> 00:46:50,040 Speaker 1: change in the way I kept the house or the 868 00:46:50,080 --> 00:46:53,680 Speaker 1: way I Glenn. No, Patricia, I was more a free 869 00:46:53,719 --> 00:46:56,160 Speaker 1: person after I had it, just not so concerned about things. 870 00:46:56,239 --> 00:46:58,319 Speaker 1: I just went home and started living, I guess is 871 00:46:58,320 --> 00:46:59,719 Speaker 1: the best way I can say it. I was able 872 00:46:59,719 --> 00:47:01,600 Speaker 1: to get back to taking care of things and cooking 873 00:47:01,600 --> 00:47:04,400 Speaker 1: and shopping in that kind of thing. Glenn delighted it. 874 00:47:04,480 --> 00:47:09,440 Speaker 1: The way it's turned out, it's been a good life. WHOA, yeah, 875 00:47:09,480 --> 00:47:13,600 Speaker 1: that's there's a lot going on there. My favorite I 876 00:47:13,640 --> 00:47:16,560 Speaker 1: hope on Glenn's tombstone, who we know is definitely dead 877 00:47:16,560 --> 00:47:19,880 Speaker 1: by now. It says I ignored it and kept driving. 878 00:47:20,440 --> 00:47:23,080 Speaker 1: I ignored it and kept driving. That's probably how he 879 00:47:23,120 --> 00:47:25,040 Speaker 1: lived a lot of his life with her, until he 880 00:47:25,080 --> 00:47:27,120 Speaker 1: had to deal with her ass because she wouldn't do 881 00:47:27,160 --> 00:47:29,719 Speaker 1: the things she was supposed to and kept complaining about 882 00:47:29,719 --> 00:47:33,160 Speaker 1: wanting more pills. She wasn't happy cooking and shopping. So 883 00:47:33,239 --> 00:47:34,719 Speaker 1: we drilled a hole in the brain and then it 884 00:47:34,800 --> 00:47:36,719 Speaker 1: was fine. You know what, I'm also going to claim 885 00:47:36,760 --> 00:47:40,920 Speaker 1: ignorance here, my friend, I was under the assumption before 886 00:47:40,920 --> 00:47:43,359 Speaker 1: we started this that if you got a lobotomy, you 887 00:47:43,400 --> 00:47:46,120 Speaker 1: were just a shell of a person, that you were 888 00:47:46,160 --> 00:47:50,200 Speaker 1: a vegetable or you died. Like, uh, that happened a lot. 889 00:47:50,520 --> 00:47:53,120 Speaker 1: But but some people just kind of went into like 890 00:47:53,160 --> 00:47:55,399 Speaker 1: in a I don't know if you forks the right word, 891 00:47:55,400 --> 00:47:58,760 Speaker 1: but a like just a las a fair feeling towards 892 00:47:58,880 --> 00:48:01,760 Speaker 1: life after a lobotom Like they still were very cognitive, 893 00:48:01,800 --> 00:48:07,000 Speaker 1: they just didn't really have any argument nerves left. Yeah, 894 00:48:07,040 --> 00:48:10,000 Speaker 1: that's its separating the frontal lobe in the way that 895 00:48:10,040 --> 00:48:13,600 Speaker 1: they did kind of separates you from your concerns. In 896 00:48:13,640 --> 00:48:16,879 Speaker 1: some ways, it stopped people from feeling or thinking as much. 897 00:48:17,760 --> 00:48:21,680 Speaker 1: Very agreeable. Yeah, that was kind of the best case 898 00:48:21,719 --> 00:48:25,200 Speaker 1: scenario with some of these people. Um, but some they 899 00:48:25,480 --> 00:48:28,080 Speaker 1: did they detached too much or go too deep, and 900 00:48:28,160 --> 00:48:31,279 Speaker 1: that's when you get catatonic. Yeah, we'll get into that. 901 00:48:31,360 --> 00:48:34,080 Speaker 1: I mean, it's it wasn't an exact science, and they 902 00:48:34,080 --> 00:48:35,719 Speaker 1: won't be always good at it. That just blew me 903 00:48:35,760 --> 00:48:37,960 Speaker 1: away to hear that exchange, because I've been sitting here 904 00:48:37,960 --> 00:48:40,080 Speaker 1: the whole time thinking. Every lobotomy ends with just a 905 00:48:40,120 --> 00:48:44,440 Speaker 1: feeling of like, no, no, you're gone. A lot of 906 00:48:44,480 --> 00:48:47,120 Speaker 1: these people went on to live productive lives. A lot 907 00:48:47,160 --> 00:48:50,440 Speaker 1: of them were rendered catatonic. It kind of depended on 908 00:48:50,480 --> 00:48:54,000 Speaker 1: how the operation when, like the thing is, brains are weird. 909 00:48:54,920 --> 00:48:57,200 Speaker 1: I've known people who have been shot through the head 910 00:48:57,239 --> 00:49:01,400 Speaker 1: with rifles, um, and we're fine. Definitely not getting a 911 00:49:01,480 --> 00:49:04,160 Speaker 1: rifle in the studio then yeah, well, I mean they 912 00:49:04,200 --> 00:49:08,000 Speaker 1: would up fine, we could just It's just it's kind 913 00:49:08,000 --> 00:49:10,800 Speaker 1: of a crapshoot with brains. It's it's wild the amount 914 00:49:10,840 --> 00:49:13,920 Speaker 1: of things that they can go through, uh and suffer 915 00:49:14,040 --> 00:49:16,239 Speaker 1: no noticeable effects. And it's wild the number of things 916 00:49:16,280 --> 00:49:18,279 Speaker 1: that can happen to them that seem minor and just 917 00:49:18,360 --> 00:49:21,520 Speaker 1: change the person forever. Like it's a fucking crap shoot 918 00:49:22,040 --> 00:49:27,040 Speaker 1: at the look at the NFL exactly now. Mrs Hammett's 919 00:49:27,040 --> 00:49:29,520 Speaker 1: lobotomy in nineteen thirty six proved to be the beginning 920 00:49:29,520 --> 00:49:31,640 Speaker 1: of a decade's long career carving into the brains of 921 00:49:31,719 --> 00:49:34,200 Speaker 1: human beings. He and Watts were one of medicine's most 922 00:49:34,280 --> 00:49:37,560 Speaker 1: dynamic duos. Following that operation, they established an office at 923 00:49:37,560 --> 00:49:40,680 Speaker 1: a home in Washington, d C and gradually refined their technique, 924 00:49:40,760 --> 00:49:43,560 Speaker 1: replacing Moniz's luca toom with an object Jack l Hi 925 00:49:43,680 --> 00:49:47,120 Speaker 1: describes as resembling a butter knife. They also switched around 926 00:49:47,120 --> 00:49:49,040 Speaker 1: the positioning of the holes from which they cut into 927 00:49:49,040 --> 00:49:52,520 Speaker 1: the brain. When patient symptoms persisted, Watson Freeman would perform 928 00:49:52,600 --> 00:49:55,920 Speaker 1: multiple lobotomies and make deeper cuts into the brain. One patient, 929 00:49:56,000 --> 00:49:59,320 Speaker 1: a lawyer suffering from alcoholism, escaped the hospital after his 930 00:49:59,400 --> 00:50:02,359 Speaker 1: operation and was found drunk in a downtown bar. One 931 00:50:02,400 --> 00:50:04,840 Speaker 1: patient showed up after his surgery and threatened to murder 932 00:50:04,880 --> 00:50:08,759 Speaker 1: the doctors two poled guns when Freeman recommended they undergo lobotomies, 933 00:50:08,800 --> 00:50:11,680 Speaker 1: so it was not always a smooth process. From early on, 934 00:50:11,840 --> 00:50:15,640 Speaker 1: Freeman viewed proper pr as critical to gaining widespread adoption 935 00:50:15,680 --> 00:50:18,239 Speaker 1: for his new technique. He and Watts started setting up 936 00:50:18,239 --> 00:50:20,840 Speaker 1: a lobotomy booth at the annual A m A Convention 937 00:50:20,880 --> 00:50:24,040 Speaker 1: in nineteen thirty nine, crafting displays designed to draw the 938 00:50:24,080 --> 00:50:27,720 Speaker 1: attention of journalists rather than impressing other doctors. He later wrote, 939 00:50:27,840 --> 00:50:30,000 Speaker 1: I found the technique of getting noticed in the papers. 940 00:50:30,040 --> 00:50:31,680 Speaker 1: It was to arrive a day or two ahead of 941 00:50:31,680 --> 00:50:33,840 Speaker 1: the opening of the convention and installed the exhibit in 942 00:50:33,880 --> 00:50:36,680 Speaker 1: the most graphic manner, and then be alert for prowling newsmen. 943 00:50:37,080 --> 00:50:40,440 Speaker 1: Now jackal High notes that Freeman used handheld clackers to 944 00:50:40,480 --> 00:50:43,040 Speaker 1: get the attention of reporters with loud noises. He and 945 00:50:43,080 --> 00:50:46,360 Speaker 1: Watts even lobotomized a monkey in nineteen thirty nine. This 946 00:50:46,440 --> 00:50:50,319 Speaker 1: spectacular event dominated coverage of the convention. Freeman wrote that 947 00:50:50,480 --> 00:50:52,760 Speaker 1: night our monkey died, but Watson I made the headlines 948 00:50:52,800 --> 00:50:56,359 Speaker 1: even though we did not get an award, and so 949 00:50:56,640 --> 00:51:01,600 Speaker 1: so begins as press. I mean, that's what he's going 950 00:51:01,640 --> 00:51:04,479 Speaker 1: for here, that's what he's going for. Well, the monkey died, 951 00:51:04,560 --> 00:51:10,719 Speaker 1: but people seem to be interested. Now. Of the first 952 00:51:10,680 --> 00:51:13,360 Speaker 1: six twenty three surgeries Watson Freeman carried out had what 953 00:51:13,400 --> 00:51:18,600 Speaker 1: they described as good results, were fair, and were poor. 954 00:51:18,960 --> 00:51:22,880 Speaker 1: Three percent died during or immediately after the surgery, and 955 00:51:22,920 --> 00:51:25,760 Speaker 1: if you take Freeman's word for it, those are good results. 956 00:51:25,760 --> 00:51:28,400 Speaker 1: More than half of people had like a good result 957 00:51:28,440 --> 00:51:31,880 Speaker 1: of the operation, particularly considering these tended to be patients 958 00:51:31,880 --> 00:51:35,719 Speaker 1: who had exhausted conventional treatment options. However, Freeman never went 959 00:51:35,719 --> 00:51:38,760 Speaker 1: into detail about what he considered to be a good result, 960 00:51:38,880 --> 00:51:41,640 Speaker 1: nor did he update his results when patients relapsed which 961 00:51:41,640 --> 00:51:45,479 Speaker 1: was extremely common, with the result of that monkey died, 962 00:51:45,760 --> 00:51:50,920 Speaker 1: so he was he was because yeah yeah now. Nurses 963 00:51:50,920 --> 00:51:53,560 Speaker 1: reported that patients of the duo often needed to relearn 964 00:51:53,600 --> 00:51:57,320 Speaker 1: how to eat and handle other basic tasks. They soiled themselves, 965 00:51:57,360 --> 00:52:00,319 Speaker 1: flirted bizarrely with orderlies, and would sit staring off into 966 00:52:00,360 --> 00:52:03,600 Speaker 1: the distance for hours on end. Walter Freeman considered these 967 00:52:03,640 --> 00:52:07,560 Speaker 1: positive changes. The fact that lobotomy patients were dull, quiet, uncoordinated, 968 00:52:07,600 --> 00:52:10,760 Speaker 1: and lazy was he felt an improvement over manic episodes 969 00:52:10,800 --> 00:52:13,840 Speaker 1: and excessive activity. Many officials at mental hospitals felt the 970 00:52:13,880 --> 00:52:16,600 Speaker 1: same way. Freeman. Watt's patients were much easier to deal 971 00:52:16,640 --> 00:52:18,680 Speaker 1: with on a long term basis, since many of them 972 00:52:18,680 --> 00:52:22,840 Speaker 1: just sat around quietly. By Walter had started to experiment 973 00:52:22,880 --> 00:52:25,319 Speaker 1: with new methods of lobotomy. He was frustrated by the 974 00:52:25,320 --> 00:52:28,560 Speaker 1: fact that the procedure required a skilled neurosurgeon. That meant 975 00:52:28,600 --> 00:52:31,160 Speaker 1: he could only perform the operation when Watts was around, 976 00:52:31,200 --> 00:52:34,720 Speaker 1: which dramatically limited the number of people he could properly lobotomize. 977 00:52:35,040 --> 00:52:36,960 Speaker 1: This was a problem because he'd come to believe that 978 00:52:37,000 --> 00:52:39,920 Speaker 1: lobotomies worked best for patients in the early stages of 979 00:52:39,920 --> 00:52:42,840 Speaker 1: their illness. If people waited too long. He feared the 980 00:52:42,880 --> 00:52:46,960 Speaker 1: lobotomy might not really help. So he's like, we got 981 00:52:46,960 --> 00:52:48,719 Speaker 1: to get into this ship faster. This needs to be 982 00:52:48,760 --> 00:52:52,640 Speaker 1: like the first thing we're doing first. You're feeling down today, 983 00:52:52,760 --> 00:52:55,120 Speaker 1: sitting this chair and shave your head. I'll be right 984 00:52:55,160 --> 00:52:59,040 Speaker 1: there now. Walter started looking into the research of other doctors, 985 00:52:59,040 --> 00:53:01,240 Speaker 1: and he found in a town in surgeon named Tomorrow, 986 00:53:01,320 --> 00:53:04,640 Speaker 1: Fiamberti Armano had developed a new procedure for reaching the 987 00:53:04,680 --> 00:53:08,280 Speaker 1: brain without drilling careful holes in the skull. Instead, Armano 988 00:53:08,360 --> 00:53:10,239 Speaker 1: broke into the skull through a soft bone at the 989 00:53:10,280 --> 00:53:13,480 Speaker 1: rear of the ice socket. Working on corpses, Freeman developed 990 00:53:13,480 --> 00:53:15,759 Speaker 1: a method of accessing the frontal lobe of the brain 991 00:53:15,920 --> 00:53:18,480 Speaker 1: through the ice socket using an ice pick from his kitchen. 992 00:53:24,680 --> 00:53:27,800 Speaker 1: Working in secret so Watts wouldn't find out, Freeman started 993 00:53:27,840 --> 00:53:32,320 Speaker 1: performing solo lobotomies in January of ninety six. He operated 994 00:53:32,360 --> 00:53:34,520 Speaker 1: out of the office he and Watch shared, but during 995 00:53:34,520 --> 00:53:36,400 Speaker 1: hours when he knew his partner would not be in 996 00:53:36,440 --> 00:53:40,439 Speaker 1: the building, Freeman ice picked nine human brains in short order, 997 00:53:40,600 --> 00:53:43,920 Speaker 1: sending his patients home in a taxi cab. Next. According 998 00:53:43,960 --> 00:53:47,000 Speaker 1: to The Washington Post, Freeman later wrote that during his 999 00:53:47,080 --> 00:53:49,840 Speaker 1: tenth transorbital surgery, he called Watts to his office to 1000 00:53:49,880 --> 00:53:53,040 Speaker 1: assess the operation. Wats later claimed, however, that he entered 1001 00:53:53,080 --> 00:53:55,960 Speaker 1: Freeman's office unsummoned and found Freeman pushing an ice pick 1002 00:53:56,000 --> 00:53:59,239 Speaker 1: in the ice socket of an unconscious man. Freeman audaciously 1003 00:53:59,280 --> 00:54:01,680 Speaker 1: asked Wats hold the ice picks so Freeman could take 1004 00:54:01,719 --> 00:54:05,120 Speaker 1: a photograph. Whichever account is true, no one disputes the 1005 00:54:05,160 --> 00:54:07,640 Speaker 1: result of this encounter. Whatt's threatened to break off their 1006 00:54:07,640 --> 00:54:11,200 Speaker 1: partnership if Freeman persisted in performing lobotomies himself and treating 1007 00:54:11,360 --> 00:54:14,800 Speaker 1: them as office procedures done without surgical gloves or sterile draping. 1008 00:54:15,160 --> 00:54:17,440 Speaker 1: For the remainder of his association with Watts, Freeman did 1009 00:54:17,440 --> 00:54:23,200 Speaker 1: these operations outside the office, So that's cool now, Watson. 1010 00:54:23,239 --> 00:54:25,880 Speaker 1: Freeman would later fall out professionally over the issue of 1011 00:54:25,880 --> 00:54:29,520 Speaker 1: transorbital lobotomies. Although Watts retained a deep respect for his partner, 1012 00:54:29,560 --> 00:54:32,000 Speaker 1: he couldn't get over his belief that brain surgery ought 1013 00:54:32,000 --> 00:54:34,520 Speaker 1: to only be carried out by a competent brain surgeon, 1014 00:54:34,760 --> 00:54:38,920 Speaker 1: not random guys with an ice pick. Controversial what a 1015 00:54:39,080 --> 00:54:43,279 Speaker 1: crazy stance, and Freedman was like, you are far out there. No, 1016 00:54:43,560 --> 00:54:46,719 Speaker 1: have you seen this ice pick? Children should be able 1017 00:54:46,800 --> 00:54:49,879 Speaker 1: to fix cars, and non brain surgeons should be able 1018 00:54:49,880 --> 00:54:54,080 Speaker 1: to put ice picks through people's eyes. I believe that now. 1019 00:54:54,160 --> 00:54:56,040 Speaker 1: A book the two men authored on the subject of 1020 00:54:56,040 --> 00:54:59,759 Speaker 1: lobotomies includes this paragraph. The authors regret to announce that 1021 00:54:59,760 --> 00:55:01,560 Speaker 1: they have been unable to reach an agreement on the 1022 00:55:01,560 --> 00:55:04,640 Speaker 1: subject of transorbital lobotomy. Freeman believes that he has proved 1023 00:55:04,640 --> 00:55:06,880 Speaker 1: the method to be simple, quick, effective, and safe to 1024 00:55:07,000 --> 00:55:10,360 Speaker 1: entrust to the psychiatrist. Watts believes that any procedure involving 1025 00:55:10,360 --> 00:55:12,680 Speaker 1: cutting off the brain tissue is a major operation and 1026 00:55:12,680 --> 00:55:15,840 Speaker 1: should remain in the hands of a neurological surgeon. This 1027 00:55:15,880 --> 00:55:17,880 Speaker 1: is when you're in a relationship with somebody and you're like, 1028 00:55:17,960 --> 00:55:21,120 Speaker 1: I don't even know why we're fighting about this. Yeah, 1029 00:55:21,280 --> 00:55:23,480 Speaker 1: why we've been fighting about this? I've just I've just 1030 00:55:23,600 --> 00:55:27,360 Speaker 1: ice pick, and some motherfucker's like, why are you angry? Right, 1031 00:55:27,560 --> 00:55:33,320 Speaker 1: we shouldn't be having this fight. Yeah. This book, psycho 1032 00:55:33,360 --> 00:55:36,200 Speaker 1: Surgery and the Treatment of Mental Disorders and Intractable Pain, 1033 00:55:36,360 --> 00:55:38,680 Speaker 1: made an enormous splash in the world of medicine when 1034 00:55:38,680 --> 00:55:41,360 Speaker 1: it was first published in nineteen fifty the Tomb featured 1035 00:55:41,440 --> 00:55:44,200 Speaker 1: language not often used in works of medicine, like the 1036 00:55:44,320 --> 00:55:47,160 Speaker 1: term scrawny frayed cats used to refer to a group 1037 00:55:47,200 --> 00:55:50,320 Speaker 1: of patients. This lurd pros, along with the gaush marketing 1038 00:55:50,360 --> 00:55:53,439 Speaker 1: technique used by Freeman, who attract the press, alienated many 1039 00:55:53,480 --> 00:55:56,880 Speaker 1: mainstream medical professionals, but the book was popular and cemented 1040 00:55:56,920 --> 00:55:59,720 Speaker 1: Freeman's status is a radical physician working on the cutting, 1041 00:56:00,080 --> 00:56:03,480 Speaker 1: perhaps poking edge of medical science. On the eve of 1042 00:56:03,480 --> 00:56:05,960 Speaker 1: his fifty second birthday, he wrote, I have a feeling 1043 00:56:05,960 --> 00:56:09,120 Speaker 1: of competence and assurance that is almost grandiose. Maybe it 1044 00:56:09,160 --> 00:56:11,440 Speaker 1: comes from superb health, and maybe from the fruition of 1045 00:56:11,520 --> 00:56:14,120 Speaker 1: dreams that have proved within my grasp. But anyhow, I'm 1046 00:56:14,160 --> 00:56:18,080 Speaker 1: sitting on top of the world. So that's good. He's happy. 1047 00:56:18,560 --> 00:56:20,960 Speaker 1: What do you want? In our next episode, We're going 1048 00:56:21,040 --> 00:56:23,479 Speaker 1: to talk about the second phase of Walter Freeman's career. 1049 00:56:23,640 --> 00:56:25,920 Speaker 1: We're also going to discuss the most famous patient he 1050 00:56:26,000 --> 00:56:29,480 Speaker 1: and Watts ever operated on, the poster victim of lobotomy 1051 00:56:29,520 --> 00:56:33,719 Speaker 1: and sister to President John F. Kennedy, Rosemary Kennedy. But 1052 00:56:34,040 --> 00:56:36,719 Speaker 1: right now, Daniel van Kirk, it's time for you to 1053 00:56:36,840 --> 00:56:39,759 Speaker 1: plug some plug doubles. I want to let everybody know 1054 00:56:39,800 --> 00:56:42,680 Speaker 1: I have my first comedy album coming out. It's on 1055 00:56:43,280 --> 00:56:46,319 Speaker 1: It's on Blonde Medicine. That's the label, and it will 1056 00:56:46,360 --> 00:56:50,480 Speaker 1: drop on November fift Friday, November. It's called Thanks Diane. 1057 00:56:50,560 --> 00:56:53,280 Speaker 1: I recorded it in Los Angeles at the UCB Theater 1058 00:56:53,800 --> 00:56:57,239 Speaker 1: and uh, if this is before when you're hearing this, 1059 00:56:57,320 --> 00:56:59,000 Speaker 1: you can go to Daniel van Kirk dot com and 1060 00:56:59,080 --> 00:57:01,880 Speaker 1: pre order, or us go to the iTunes Store app 1061 00:57:02,360 --> 00:57:05,160 Speaker 1: on your phone, specifically the iTunes Store app, and you'll 1062 00:57:05,160 --> 00:57:07,480 Speaker 1: be able to pre order there. But on eleven fifteen 1063 00:57:07,600 --> 00:57:10,160 Speaker 1: or any time there after, you can get it anywhere 1064 00:57:10,320 --> 00:57:13,160 Speaker 1: that you get your music or listen to such things. 1065 00:57:13,320 --> 00:57:15,480 Speaker 1: I should say music, but it feels like it's also 1066 00:57:15,560 --> 00:57:18,560 Speaker 1: for comedy, but it's called Thanks Diane. And go to 1067 00:57:18,640 --> 00:57:20,880 Speaker 1: Daniel van Kirk for all my tour dates as well 1068 00:57:20,920 --> 00:57:23,440 Speaker 1: as my own podcast, pen Pals or Dumb People Tone 1069 00:57:23,760 --> 00:57:26,200 Speaker 1: and I'm Robert Evans uh and you can find me 1070 00:57:26,280 --> 00:57:29,360 Speaker 1: here on the podcast you're currently listening to, so please 1071 00:57:29,440 --> 00:57:32,800 Speaker 1: keep listening to this podcast. You can find our sources 1072 00:57:32,800 --> 00:57:34,880 Speaker 1: on behind the Bastards dot com. You can find us 1073 00:57:35,280 --> 00:57:37,480 Speaker 1: on Twitter and Instagram and at bastards pod. You can 1074 00:57:37,520 --> 00:57:41,000 Speaker 1: find me on Twitter at I right. Okay, Uh, you 1075 00:57:41,040 --> 00:57:44,360 Speaker 1: can also find a lobotomy if you show up at 1076 00:57:44,400 --> 00:57:46,720 Speaker 1: my door and pay me forty five dollars. I have 1077 00:57:46,800 --> 00:57:50,080 Speaker 1: an ice pick, so you cannot be doing these. Brain 1078 00:57:50,120 --> 00:57:53,600 Speaker 1: surgeons need to do these. I feel like anyone can 1079 00:57:53,640 --> 00:57:56,840 Speaker 1: do these if they have an ice pick. Having this argument, 1080 00:57:57,440 --> 00:58:01,480 Speaker 1: I I feel like Daniel, Daniel, I respect your opinion 1081 00:58:01,520 --> 00:58:04,000 Speaker 1: on this, but I disagree with it well, and I 1082 00:58:04,040 --> 00:58:07,160 Speaker 1: respect your expertise, but I think you need to wear gloves. 1083 00:58:07,880 --> 00:58:14,160 Speaker 1: Oh gloves you mean cowards hands. All right, that's the 1084 00:58:14,440 --> 00:58:17,080 Speaker 1: fucking episode. Buy a T shirt on t public and 1085 00:58:17,680 --> 00:58:23,880 Speaker 1: go off into the world and perform unlicensed lobotomies or not. Nope, Sophie, 1086 00:58:23,960 --> 00:58:25,880 Speaker 1: we're pro lobotomy now or not.