1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Psychiatrists see us in our most vulnerable moments, all of 2 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:07,920 Speaker 1: our problems and dysfunctions laid bare to a stranger. We 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:10,080 Speaker 1: hope that they keep our secrets and help us solve 4 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: our problems. We place our inherent trust in them, But 5 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:16,040 Speaker 1: what if they used that knowledge against us for their 6 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:20,320 Speaker 1: own benefit. In a brand new podcast from Wondery and Bloomberg, 7 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:24,120 Speaker 1: The Shrink next Door, host Joanna Sarah takes you deep 8 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:27,000 Speaker 1: into what it looks like when a psychiatrist becomes something 9 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 1: much more. You'll hear of extravagant parties attended by movie stars, 10 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:34,120 Speaker 1: a lavish home in the Hamptons, and the man at 11 00:00:34,159 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: the center of it all. You're about to hear a 12 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: preview of The Shrink next Door, in which you'll meet 13 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 1: host Joanna Sarah and hear about a relationship that would 14 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 1: go on to affect two people's lives for twenty nine years. 15 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:51,479 Speaker 1: While you're listening, go subscribe to The Shrink next Door 16 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening now. There's also 17 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: a link in the episode notes that will take you 18 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:07,039 Speaker 1: there by any measure. Marty Markowitz was a success. He 19 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: had an Ivy League diploma, a law degree, his own business, 20 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: and plenty of money, but when he hit thirty eight, 21 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: he found himself feeling seriously overwhelmed. His Rabbi recommended a 22 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: therapist he knew who had an office on Manhattan's e Side. Well, 23 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 1: I go into his office, which was, you know, a 24 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:32,039 Speaker 1: modestly furnished office with a desk and a chair and 25 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: a couch. The therapist name was Dr Isaac Hirshkoff, but 26 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:39,839 Speaker 1: he told Marty to call him Ike. He was a young, 27 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 1: handsome man with a round face, a close crop beard, 28 00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:47,720 Speaker 1: and curly black hair. He was dressed casually in an 29 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 1: open collar shirt and shorts. I sat down right across 30 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 1: from him, and we looked at each other, and he said, okay, 31 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: why are you here. Marty had seen a therapist before, 32 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:00,520 Speaker 1: the kind you would listen while you lay down on 33 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 1: the couch and talk about your dreams. This therapist was different. 34 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:10,240 Speaker 1: His modus operandi was basically, I'm your pal, tell me 35 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:13,200 Speaker 1: what's bothering it, and let's take it from there. Marty 36 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,680 Speaker 1: spent the whole session laying out his problems. He told 37 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:20,079 Speaker 1: Ike how his father and mother had recently died, how 38 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: he had inherited the family business, how he was having 39 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:27,880 Speaker 1: a hard time dealing with his new responsibilities. When he finished, 40 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: Marty says, Ike looked at him and said, I'm gonna 41 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:36,519 Speaker 1: take you on as a patient, and I said, okay. Nice. 42 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:39,640 Speaker 1: Not only was I taking him on as a patient, 43 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: but he made Marty a promise. He said, don't worry, 44 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 1: I'll take care of everything. I was overwhelmed and to 45 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:51,959 Speaker 1: have someone say to me, don't worry, calm down, this 46 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: is nothing to get upset about. We're gonna straighten everything out, 47 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:58,919 Speaker 1: and we're gonna do it fast very comforting to me. 48 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: Marty wrote him a check. I think it was for 49 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:03,919 Speaker 1: a hundred and sixty dollars something like that. Back back 50 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:08,280 Speaker 1: in the day. It was June. Marty had come to 51 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 1: Ike because he needed help, But if he had known 52 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: what his new therapist had in store for him, he 53 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:19,320 Speaker 1: probably would have walked out the door and never come back. 54 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: From Wonderree and Bloomberg, I'm Joan No Sarah, a columnist 55 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 1: with Bloomberg Opinion, and this is the shrink. Next to 56 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 1: this is episode one, Welcome to the neighborhood. Every neighborhood 57 00:03:56,880 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: has its share of mysteries. We can live our and 58 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: tie our lives and barely know the people just one 59 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 1: door down. I have a summer house in Southampton, a 60 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: couple of hours outside of New York. This part of 61 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: the Hamptons is called the Bay Side. It's quiet, peaceful, 62 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 1: a place to escape from the city in the hot 63 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:22,479 Speaker 1: summer months. Sampson and Jackie Gillatt have a house on 64 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:25,480 Speaker 1: the same street as me. My name is Jacqueline Guillott 65 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:32,799 Speaker 1: and we're married thirty five years. We're married fifty two years. 66 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 1: They've been coming here since the eighties. Most of the 67 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:41,159 Speaker 1: houses on our street are single story with wooden clapperd fronts. 68 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 1: Sampson and Jackie's house is no different, so lovely home. 69 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:48,200 Speaker 1: But there's one house on the street that stands out 70 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: for starters. It's just bigger than most of the other houses. 71 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 1: It's two stories instead of one, and it's the only 72 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: one on the street with a separate guesthouse out back. 73 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:02,919 Speaker 1: And then there's the way it looks. The house is spectacular, 74 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:07,400 Speaker 1: with windows and windows and windows. Everything about it is 75 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:12,480 Speaker 1: over the top. There's a pond with goldfish, lots of fish, 76 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:17,039 Speaker 1: and a waterfall to the pond too. It's bigger, bolder, 77 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:21,839 Speaker 1: brasher than anything else on the street. In two thousand 78 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 1: and ten, my wife Dawn and I bought the house 79 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:28,719 Speaker 1: next door. It wasn't long before a man popped over 80 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:31,720 Speaker 1: to our house to introduce himself. He was dressed like 81 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:35,839 Speaker 1: a maintenance man, green khaki pants, a long sleeve workshire 82 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: and a faded baseball cap. He welcomed us to the neighborhood, 83 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:42,760 Speaker 1: and then he handed us a folder of press clippings. 84 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 1: I literally just took them and said thank you. And 85 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: but he wanted us to have them, you know, he 86 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: really wanted Joe to have him. There were articles that 87 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: a psychiatrist, Dr Isaac Hirshkoff had written, and articles that 88 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:59,640 Speaker 1: had been written about him. In mid August, an invitation 89 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:03,080 Speaker 1: around five to a summer barbecue next door hosted by 90 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 1: Dr Hirshkoff Ike. This would be the last of three 91 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:10,159 Speaker 1: big summer parties he threw every year. I went alone. 92 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 1: To reach the front door, I had to cross a 93 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:16,800 Speaker 1: bridge over a fish pond. There were maybe forty or 94 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:20,440 Speaker 1: so guests hanging out in the backyard. I roamed about, 95 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:24,159 Speaker 1: stopping here and there to chat. I spotted the actor 96 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:26,800 Speaker 1: Richard Kind, just in time to see him do a 97 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: belly flop into the pool. There were a handful of 98 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: other people too, people I recognized as prominent New Yorkers, 99 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:38,480 Speaker 1: like Dr Ruth, the TV personality and sex expert. It 100 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 1: was a warm afternoon. I chatted with a few people, 101 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:45,480 Speaker 1: sipped on my glass of wine, and began to wander around. 102 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 1: At some point I found myself in the living room. 103 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:54,839 Speaker 1: There was a fake draft bust, Phoenician masks, plastic parrots 104 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:59,120 Speaker 1: hanging from the ceiling, even a giant gong. But what 105 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:04,119 Speaker 1: struck me most were the photographs. Lots and lots of photographs, 106 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 1: and in nearly every one of them there was Ike 107 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:11,080 Speaker 1: Hirshkoff with a different celebrity, Ike with Henry Kissinger, Ike 108 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:15,520 Speaker 1: with Ellie Wizzell, Ike with Brookshields, Ike with Gwyneth Paltrow, 109 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: even ike with O. J. Simpson. It was like one 110 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 1: of those diners where the walls are covered with pictures 111 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:26,640 Speaker 1: of celebrity patrons. At that moment, the man himself appeared. 112 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: He greeted me like a long lost friend and said 113 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:32,320 Speaker 1: that my wife and I should come over soon for 114 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:37,760 Speaker 1: a drink, and then he was gone. Sure enough, a 115 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 1: few days after the summer party, the same maintenance man 116 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:44,040 Speaker 1: we've met before showed up at our door again. This 117 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:48,880 Speaker 1: time he brought an invitation for drinks. It was very formal, 118 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: as if he was reading from a script. I mean, 119 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 1: like Dr Hirshkoff would wants you to come over at 120 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: such a such a time, on such and such a day. 121 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:00,960 Speaker 1: The formality of it blew me away, and he was very, 122 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:05,240 Speaker 1: very exacting about how it had to go. So we 123 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:08,360 Speaker 1: went one of the strangest evenings I've ever had in 124 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:11,960 Speaker 1: the Hampton's, or anywhere else for that matter, but definitely 125 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: the Hampton's. It was pouring rain. We headed over umbrellas 126 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 1: in hand to get to the front door. We crossed 127 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 1: the bridge, we could see COI circling in the water below. 128 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:29,560 Speaker 1: Ike and his wife, Becky, welcomed us in and ushered 129 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:32,839 Speaker 1: us to a round kitchen table. There were snacks laid out, 130 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:37,640 Speaker 1: carrots and celery. I served white wine. So what I 131 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: remember is him talking incessantly about being a sex therapist 132 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:46,319 Speaker 1: and a celebrity therapist. And I can't remember the details, 133 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:48,560 Speaker 1: but that that it just really sticks in my mind 134 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:51,760 Speaker 1: that he kept going on and on about that. It 135 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 1: was more like a monologue than a dialogue. That's what 136 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:57,880 Speaker 1: I remember. What do you remember? I just remember thinking 137 00:08:58,679 --> 00:09:04,679 Speaker 1: these people are m I felt suffocated. I talked about 138 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:06,680 Speaker 1: his work. I've never say thing like it, but I 139 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:11,040 Speaker 1: remember thinking it was very brazen about the details of 140 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:13,880 Speaker 1: his life, considering we were strangers, and also considering what 141 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:18,079 Speaker 1: he does. He did talk about an NBA sports guys 142 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:22,960 Speaker 1: and somebody a Yankees player. I just thought he lacked 143 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:26,880 Speaker 1: a lot of discretion given his field. We listened politely 144 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:30,560 Speaker 1: as he went on and on. I just remember looking 145 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:34,520 Speaker 1: towards the door. Finally, after about an hour, I said 146 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:38,000 Speaker 1: we needed to get home, and we got up to leave, 147 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:44,200 Speaker 1: and it was very clear that I wanted a photograph, 148 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:49,120 Speaker 1: a photograph of me. I think he came out and said, well, 149 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:51,440 Speaker 1: we'd like to get a picture of you, and it 150 00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:55,400 Speaker 1: was just Joe. It wasn't Joe and I. So I 151 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 1: let I take my picture, hint it to his wall, 152 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 1: and then we left as fast as we could. I 153 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:07,840 Speaker 1: remember getting to her home, collapsing I'm a couch or something. 154 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:11,520 Speaker 1: Dawn told me she never wanted to go back. There 155 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:14,000 Speaker 1: was no sign of the maintenance man the night Dawn 156 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 1: and I went over, but I knew he was still around. 157 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 1: Sometimes we'd be on our deck and we'd see him 158 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:23,560 Speaker 1: outside working in the yard. When I returned to the 159 00:10:23,559 --> 00:10:27,200 Speaker 1: Hamptons the following summer, I noticed something strange at the 160 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:30,560 Speaker 1: house next door. I would see the maintenance man out 161 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:33,520 Speaker 1: on the property doing his usual work in the backyard, 162 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:38,840 Speaker 1: but Ike kursh Cough was gone. I would never see him, 163 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 1: or his wife, Becky, and the Hamptons again. There were 164 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:45,400 Speaker 1: no more summer parties. It was as if they had 165 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:50,800 Speaker 1: simply disappeared. And that's when I learned that everything I 166 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:54,720 Speaker 1: had thought i'd known about my neighbor was wrong. It's 167 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:59,360 Speaker 1: it's a wild story. That's the maintenance man, the guy 168 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:01,920 Speaker 1: who came to our door with the press clippings, the 169 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:06,880 Speaker 1: guy we saw working around the yard. That was Marty Marcuitz, 170 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 1: the same guy who had first gone to see Dr 171 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:21,440 Speaker 1: Isaac Hirstkoff as a patient nearly thirty years earlier. That 172 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:24,400 Speaker 1: was just a preview of the Shrink next Door. To 173 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:27,480 Speaker 1: listen to the rest, subscribe to The Shrink next Door 174 00:11:27,640 --> 00:11:30,800 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening right now.