1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:04,560 Speaker 1: Attention, DC, Boston, Toronto and any place that can fly 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: to those cities. We're gonna be live on stage doing 3 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:11,280 Speaker 1: our thing again. I'm May fourth, fifth, and sixth this year. 4 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:13,319 Speaker 1: That's right, And I gotta say we've done this topic 5 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:16,040 Speaker 1: a few times already and it's a real banger and 6 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:17,799 Speaker 1: we can't wait to come to your city and have 7 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:21,079 Speaker 1: you see it with us. We're so excited and we 8 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:23,919 Speaker 1: just can't hide it. So go to link tree, slash 9 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 1: sysk and get your tickets today. Welcome to Stuff you 10 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:38,320 Speaker 1: should know, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey, and welcome to 11 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:40,920 Speaker 1: the podcast. I'm Josh and there's Chuck and Jerry's here too, 12 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 1: So this is stuff you should have. Old timey history edition, 13 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:49,839 Speaker 1: Quackery sub edition. Let's go. Yeah, we've covered a lot 14 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: of quacks over the years. It's kind of fun. I 15 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:55,760 Speaker 1: want to shout out the listener who wrote in about 16 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 1: this one. This is where the idea came from, because 17 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:01,280 Speaker 1: I had never heard of John our Brink, the famous 18 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:05,399 Speaker 1: quack of the nineteen twenties and thirties, but you know 19 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: who did, and I'm gonna say I'm gonna spell it first. 20 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: His name is Matt s. E. J n O W 21 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:15,039 Speaker 1: s Ki from Austin, Texas. And I wrote Matt back 22 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: and said, hey, man, we're gonna shout you out. Is 23 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: the N silent? I figured it was Sajowski and he 24 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: said the following, The N is not silent. The J 25 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:28,920 Speaker 1: is like an H and the W was like an F. 26 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 1: So then he phonetically spelled out as uh Senofski. Oh wow, 27 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: there ain't no F in this thing. But it's uh 28 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: Matt's sinofsky. Very nice. That's a that's a new one 29 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: on me. So way to go, Matt, for your life. Yes, 30 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: so Matt, Matt's in this idea of John R. Brinkley, 31 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: who was a very famous and wealthy quack in the 32 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 1: nineteen twenties and thirties who um Olivia helped us put 33 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: this together, which is a great I'm sorry to Libya 34 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: for having to do this. But he had this procedure 35 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: called the goat gland procedure, yeah, which we'll get into 36 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 1: in more detail later, but just as a way of 37 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:14,920 Speaker 1: setting it up, it's basically the practice of zeno transplantation. 38 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 1: And also Olivia wanted to shout out the book The 39 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:22,519 Speaker 1: Bizarre Career of John R. Brinkley by R. Alton Lee 40 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: from two thousand and two, a great book and seems 41 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 1: to be the book on John R. Brinkley. But Zeno 42 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 1: transplantation is sort of what he was dabbling in, and 43 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 1: that's how we're going to start this thing out. Yeah, 44 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: which is a thing. It's just using organs or tissue 45 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 1: or whatever body parts from other species in humans, right, 46 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:45,519 Speaker 1: So a pig heart trans zeno transplantation. And it's something 47 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: humans have been trying to crack for a little while 48 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: because we place such little value on animals that we 49 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:53,360 Speaker 1: are like, well, let's just harvest them for parts for ourselves. 50 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:56,840 Speaker 1: There's a lot of stuff that we've run into still 51 00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: run into, like a specialized, weird exotic infections that you 52 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: can get just utterly rejecting your body, rejecting the organ 53 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 1: or the tissue and actually getting mad at you for 54 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: even trying it. But it's still going on, and there's 55 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,119 Speaker 1: a long history of trying it that goes at least 56 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: back to the sixteen hundreds with a French physician named 57 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:22,520 Speaker 1: Jean Baptiste Denis, which is a great French name, and 58 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 1: he started using blood from animals for blood transfusions. Yeah, 59 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: and I think that was kind of the first first 60 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:33,880 Speaker 1: whirl at melding our two worlds our two bodies. And 61 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: they banned it for a while. It had mixed results, 62 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 1: and France said, now, you know, we shouldn't do this 63 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: for a while. Yeah, and this is this is seventeenth 64 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: century France yanally, so good for them. In the nineteenth 65 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: century they started messing around with skin grafts from different animals, 66 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,720 Speaker 1: and it seems like the reports were like success rates 67 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 1: were mixed. But now we think modern medicine says, you know, 68 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 1: what it probably was was more like it didn't work 69 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 1: like a graph but sort of like a skin like 70 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: a band aid, while your skin underneath repaired itself, right, 71 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 1: if it worked at all, That's probably what was going on. 72 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 1: And they said we should just make band aids, make 73 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 1: them out of pigeon skin exactly. So one of the 74 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: other things is kind of like tangential to that, but 75 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: very much involved, is the idea that different parts of 76 00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 1: different animals can give you, can can rejuvenate your vigor 77 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:34,599 Speaker 1: or give you sexual vitality, you know, like make you strong, 78 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:38,040 Speaker 1: like bowl kind of thing by eating bowls testicles. That's 79 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: the kind of the premise behind it, and it's not 80 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 1: technically zeno transplantation because you're not inserting it into your 81 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:47,920 Speaker 1: body through like surgery, but by ingesting it. It is 82 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: kind of close as far as that whole thing goes. 83 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:53,719 Speaker 1: I mean, you're really splitting hairs. If you're like, that's 84 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:57,239 Speaker 1: not zeno transplantation, why are you even bringing that up? Yeah, 85 00:04:57,279 --> 00:04:59,720 Speaker 1: and this, you know, this factors into the eventual goat 86 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:01,440 Speaker 1: glad procedure we're going to get to. That's why we 87 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: mentioned it. But that's why I brought it up. Yeah, 88 00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:07,279 Speaker 1: I mean, for since the ancient Romans, there have been 89 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:12,920 Speaker 1: generally men that you know, something happens to men when 90 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 1: they get older. That's why they have ed drugs these days, 91 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 1: because you know, virility goes down and maybe a rectile 92 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,919 Speaker 1: dysfunction happens. So this has always been the case, and 93 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,239 Speaker 1: even in ancient Rome they realized this when they got older, 94 00:05:25,279 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: it was sort of a downhill slope sexually speaking, and 95 00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:31,000 Speaker 1: so they would do things like drink hawks, seamen or 96 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 1: eat rabbit genitalia and literally just sort of like eating 97 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:38,480 Speaker 1: these things like you mentioned, eating bolt testicles or whatever 98 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,559 Speaker 1: has always been a thing. It seems like that hawks 99 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:46,960 Speaker 1: Seaman came out of nowhere, So apologies to anybody who 100 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 1: was eating breakfast right the good band name though, especially 101 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:54,680 Speaker 1: if you were eating cereal with milk. All right, there 102 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:59,040 Speaker 1: is a guy named Charles Eduard or sorry, Charles Eduard Brown, 103 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:04,600 Speaker 1: how do you say brown? And En Francais Brown Sicard. 104 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:09,920 Speaker 1: He injected himself with some serum that he squeezed from 105 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:13,160 Speaker 1: the testicles of dogs and the testicles of guinea pigs, 106 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:16,039 Speaker 1: and he said, by god, this is amazing. I feel 107 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:18,279 Speaker 1: thirty years younger and I'm seventy two. I feel like 108 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:21,560 Speaker 1: I'm clearly in my forties. And you guys got to 109 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:24,560 Speaker 1: try this, and it's spread pretty quickly. But then the 110 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:27,480 Speaker 1: other physicians are like, it's not making me feel anything 111 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:30,279 Speaker 1: at all except grossed out, So this is probably just 112 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:33,440 Speaker 1: a placebo effect that you were suffering from. They're like, still, 113 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:36,840 Speaker 1: let's get back to it. Let's keep trying. And then 114 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:39,599 Speaker 1: before Brinkley, not too long before, there was a pretty 115 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:44,839 Speaker 1: legit doctor named Sergei Vornov who was doing surgeries where 116 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:50,160 Speaker 1: he would use monkey testicles, as in transplant monkey testicles. 117 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:53,360 Speaker 1: And this was in France, again in Paris, and then 118 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:57,360 Speaker 1: eventually thyroid glands from like a chimpanzee trying to cure 119 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 1: thyroid deficiency. So again, this just idea of xeno transplantation 120 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 1: has been around for a long time before John Brinkley 121 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:09,880 Speaker 1: was born in the hills of North Carolina in eighteen 122 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:14,680 Speaker 1: eighty five. Yes, by the way, Sergei Vornov's work, I 123 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 1: think is what led to the monkey gland cocktail. Oh yeah, yeah, gin, 124 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:23,600 Speaker 1: orange juice, grenadine and absinthe. It's named monkey glander talking 125 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:27,320 Speaker 1: about that operation of getting monkey testicles implanted in you. 126 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 1: So they made a cocktail over it. That's probably a 127 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: safer approach. So Beta North Carolina, Beta North Carolina. It's 128 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: in the Appalachian Mountains. It's in Western North Carolina or WNC. 129 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:42,440 Speaker 1: And he was born into an odd family arrangement. His 130 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:45,080 Speaker 1: father was also named John, and he was a mountain 131 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:49,119 Speaker 1: doctor and Appalachian folk doctor basically. And he was married 132 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:53,800 Speaker 1: to a woman named Sally Mingus and they were happily 133 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:58,480 Speaker 1: married apparently until Sarah Candice Burnett, who was known as Candice, 134 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: who was Sally's niece, came to live with them and 135 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 1: very quickly got pregnant by John Senior. She was twenty four, 136 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 1: he was fifty seven, and that's where John Romulus Brinkley 137 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:13,679 Speaker 1: came from. Um and it just got hotter from there, right, yeah, 138 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:20,040 Speaker 1: So John Junior then his mom is what would that 139 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:23,360 Speaker 1: relation even be if it was, well, it wouldn't be 140 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:27,920 Speaker 1: any relation to him, really, Sally mingus Well, no, no, nos, 141 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:32,559 Speaker 1: his his his mom Sarah. That would be his mom. No, no, no. 142 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:36,920 Speaker 1: But what I was trying to pin another an extra relation, 143 00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:39,559 Speaker 1: if you know what I mean, But there wouldn't be one, 144 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:43,120 Speaker 1: because Sally wasn't even related to him, no, except by 145 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:47,440 Speaker 1: marriage to his father. Right. Oh, you're saying no, you're right, 146 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:49,440 Speaker 1: You're right. Yeah. No. I was about to be like, no, 147 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:51,679 Speaker 1: it's his cousin, but you're absolutely right. She's There were 148 00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 1: no like, yeah, no family shenanigans. But the long and 149 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,280 Speaker 1: short of it is is that his his real mom, Sarah, 150 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 1: died at twenty four. John Senior died not too long 151 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:04,680 Speaker 1: after that, and I believe by the time he was 152 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:06,760 Speaker 1: ten years old he was in being raised by Sally, 153 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:11,440 Speaker 1: who was his dad's wife. But no relation, right, Candice's aunt. Yeah, 154 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:15,000 Speaker 1: din't that odd? It is? And it's not. We made 155 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:18,680 Speaker 1: it more confusing than it is I don't think so. Okay, 156 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:21,960 Speaker 1: So actually he was like Brinkley. He was one of 157 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:24,839 Speaker 1: the great quacks of all time, like one of the 158 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:28,920 Speaker 1: greatest ever to live. And he showed kind of an 159 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:31,600 Speaker 1: early talent for quackery. He was a good student in school, 160 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:34,680 Speaker 1: but he left at sixteen, ran off and got married, 161 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: and he and his first wife, Sally, they had a 162 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,679 Speaker 1: medicine show, which is exactly what it sounds like. You're 163 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:44,840 Speaker 1: hawking tonics that you just completely made up out a 164 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:48,439 Speaker 1: whole cloth, but you're doing it by being super entertaining 165 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:51,520 Speaker 1: and that kind of like m Olivia helped us with this, 166 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:53,439 Speaker 1: like you said, and she, as she put it, it 167 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:56,560 Speaker 1: kind of set the stage for his later career. He 168 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 1: only did it for about a year or so before 169 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:00,600 Speaker 1: he went off and did some other ite or at work. 170 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 1: But apparently that was the bug that bit him all 171 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:06,440 Speaker 1: the way back then when he was like twenty early twenties, 172 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:09,600 Speaker 1: it was. And just to clear up the Sally who 173 00:10:09,679 --> 00:10:13,080 Speaker 1: was his wife, was not his lady who raised him, 174 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:16,040 Speaker 1: Sally who was not his mom. No, although that really 175 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:18,840 Speaker 1: would have completed the circle had it really would have. 176 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 1: And Libby also points out something that this was at 177 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 1: a time when the medical establishment was not super established yet, 178 00:10:27,559 --> 00:10:33,040 Speaker 1: so the mountain folk doctor was perhaps made way more 179 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:37,560 Speaker 1: trustworthy than this modern, learned doctor who went to fancy 180 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:41,000 Speaker 1: medical school and like, I don't want your your real 181 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:44,840 Speaker 1: you know, medicines. I want a blood letting or a 182 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:49,360 Speaker 1: purgative or some ither mectin or something. And it was 183 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:52,080 Speaker 1: definitely one of those situations where I was like, Wow, 184 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:55,840 Speaker 1: it's interesting how history can repeat itself all these years later. 185 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:57,600 Speaker 1: I was going to say, I'm so glad we've moved 186 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:01,560 Speaker 1: on from that after all these years. Exactly, it is crazy. 187 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:03,679 Speaker 1: I mean, that's exactly what's going on. It's like, oh, 188 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:06,679 Speaker 1: you're an expert. I don't trust you. I trust this 189 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:09,880 Speaker 1: guy who's trying to put a crystal in my anus. Well, 190 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:13,400 Speaker 1: there were a lot of weird similar similarities with his 191 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:15,320 Speaker 1: story and like modern times to me. But I don't 192 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:17,320 Speaker 1: want to delve into this too much. Okay, all right, 193 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:21,480 Speaker 1: but let's still into medical school, which is what Brinkley 194 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:25,200 Speaker 1: finally did at Bennett Medical College. It was what was 195 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:29,040 Speaker 1: called an eclectic medical school, a lot of botanical remedies 196 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:31,800 Speaker 1: and stuff like that, and it was back then it 197 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:35,920 Speaker 1: was a genuine branch of medical practice. But what he 198 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:38,439 Speaker 1: didn't know is that it was sort of like when 199 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 1: I went to my little NYU film school for two 200 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:44,200 Speaker 1: summers and they taught me how to edit film on 201 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:47,160 Speaker 1: the flatbed machine, and like six months later they threw 202 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:49,160 Speaker 1: that all in the trash and said, now we're digital. 203 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 1: He went to Eclectic Medical School, and very soon after 204 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 1: they were like, you know what, we don't really count 205 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:57,560 Speaker 1: that as medical school, and we're the AMA and we're 206 00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:02,280 Speaker 1: the deciders. Yeah. The Carnegie Foundation, I think, commissioned what 207 00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:05,040 Speaker 1: came to be known as the Flexner Report in nineteen ten, 208 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:08,880 Speaker 1: which basically do a thing on that we will someday. Sure. Yeah, 209 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:11,559 Speaker 1: but the Flexner Report basically said, we've just surveyed all 210 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:14,000 Speaker 1: of modern medicine in the United States and it is 211 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:17,720 Speaker 1: in sad shape. We basically suggest that you should follow 212 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:22,440 Speaker 1: the biomedical model and feverishly stamp out any competition to it. 213 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:25,600 Speaker 1: And that's kind of where the AMA went. Yeah, exactly. 214 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:30,480 Speaker 1: So Brinkley now has this degree from Bennett College. He 215 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:33,680 Speaker 1: it's not to say that it was a pure bunk 216 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:36,560 Speaker 1: degree or anything like that. He did go to lectures 217 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:41,320 Speaker 1: where there were real doctors. This one into chronologist Harry Hower. 218 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:45,800 Speaker 1: I'm sorry. Henry Hower was an indo chronologist who taught him, 219 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 1: and he's where he sort of got the idea for 220 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:52,680 Speaker 1: these glandular extracts, yeah, to heal the body. And I 221 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:54,400 Speaker 1: believe that's where Brinkley was kind of like, all right, 222 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:57,120 Speaker 1: let me put that in my hip pocket. Right. Harrower 223 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 1: was like, try this adreno chrome. It'll really mess you up. 224 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:05,520 Speaker 1: So Brinkley was not a good guy. We'll just go 225 00:13:05,559 --> 00:13:08,720 Speaker 1: ahead and spoil that. Yeah, this isn't one of those 226 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:10,840 Speaker 1: stories where it's like, oh, the guy took on the 227 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:14,359 Speaker 1: medical establishment, or the guy was like a David and Goliath, 228 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:17,679 Speaker 1: or you know, he persisted or persevered, or he was 229 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:20,319 Speaker 1: just like a rapscallion who was still lovable. He was 230 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:23,400 Speaker 1: a bad guy. And um, there's a really early example 231 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 1: of that where his marriage with Sally was on the 232 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:31,959 Speaker 1: rocks and um, she filed for divorce. So he took 233 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:35,040 Speaker 1: their daughter, Wanda, their first and only child at the time, 234 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:38,280 Speaker 1: to Canada and basically held her hostage there until Sally 235 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 1: agreed to reunite with him. Yeah. That's called kidnapping. Yeah, 236 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:46,360 Speaker 1: literal kid napping. Um, and that's a that's a good 237 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:48,400 Speaker 1: example of the kind of thing that he would do. 238 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:50,360 Speaker 1: And if you see pictures of this guy, he's got 239 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:56,120 Speaker 1: almost like a slight Casper milktoast continge to him. But 240 00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:59,560 Speaker 1: he was not at all Casper milktoast. He was. He 241 00:13:59,679 --> 00:14:02,160 Speaker 1: was as he was, not a good guy. You'll see, 242 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:05,040 Speaker 1: just just trust me. Yeah he got he's got a 243 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:07,840 Speaker 1: bad look in his eye, you can tell, but like 244 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:11,800 Speaker 1: he's got soft, soft, rounded face. Yeah he was. He 245 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:16,640 Speaker 1: was a softy. He also married his second wife, Minnie Talitha, 246 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:20,040 Speaker 1: when he was still married to Sally. I believe it 247 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 1: took a few years even where he had two wives 248 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:26,000 Speaker 1: before he got formally divorced. So not a good guy 249 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:28,720 Speaker 1: on the home front. He drops out of medical school 250 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:32,120 Speaker 1: he never finished, I believe, and then ended up I 251 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:35,320 Speaker 1: think he did end up finishing medical school, yeah, years 252 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:39,960 Speaker 1: later at the eclectic Medical College of Kansas City in 253 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:44,160 Speaker 1: nineteen fifteen. Didn't keep him from practicing doctoring in that 254 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:48,440 Speaker 1: sort of interim period, but he and his wife, his 255 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 1: second wife, Millie, I'm sorry. Minie found an ad in 256 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:55,000 Speaker 1: the paper in nineteen seventeen from Milford, Kansas that said, hey, 257 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:57,880 Speaker 1: we're a small town two thousand people. We need a 258 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:00,760 Speaker 1: doctor and someone to run our pharmacy. Many had her 259 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:03,360 Speaker 1: own little dubious medical degree at this point, and so 260 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:05,880 Speaker 1: they said, all right, we're gonna move to small town, 261 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:08,680 Speaker 1: Kansas and be the town doctors. And that's what they did. 262 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:11,640 Speaker 1: So they were the medical providers for this entire town. 263 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 1: I've seen two hundred people was the population at the time. 264 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:18,200 Speaker 1: I've seen two thousand, but I saw two hundred on 265 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:20,960 Speaker 1: like an old PBS documentary on this, so I'm going 266 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:25,600 Speaker 1: to go with that one. I am going low. So 267 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 1: the Brinkley's provided care like they weren't. They didn't just 268 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:34,520 Speaker 1: immediately start drifting the town. They actually did help see 269 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:39,600 Speaker 1: them through the nineteen eighteen flu epidemic. They were fine, 270 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:42,840 Speaker 1: like there was. People didn't have any real complaints about them. 271 00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:49,240 Speaker 1: And then, apparently just out of total happenstance, a farmer 272 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:52,960 Speaker 1: showed up at the practice. This farmer went unnamed, but 273 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:57,000 Speaker 1: this is supposedly the first goat gland patient, and it 274 00:15:57,080 --> 00:16:00,120 Speaker 1: was the farmer's idea to transplant coad. So remember other 275 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 1: people are trying this, it's not completely out of left field, 276 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:06,640 Speaker 1: but it was the farmer's idea and from different accounts, 277 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:13,359 Speaker 1: including one there's a documentary called Nuts with an exclamation 278 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:17,800 Speaker 1: point that says that the doctor or the farmer kind 279 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 1: of had to talk Brinkley into it, that he was 280 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:22,960 Speaker 1: revolted by the idea at first, and then the farmers like, 281 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:25,040 Speaker 1: i'll pay you, and he's like, okay, sure, let's do it. 282 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:28,240 Speaker 1: A you're gonna read the quote go ahead. So the 283 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:30,760 Speaker 1: farmer I think Brinkley had made a joke about the 284 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:34,280 Speaker 1: goats were so virile, and the farmer said, why he 285 00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:37,320 Speaker 1: didn't quote go ahead and put a pair of goat 286 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:40,800 Speaker 1: glands in me transplant them. Grabbed him on the way 287 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:45,200 Speaker 1: i'd grabbed a pound suite on an apple stray. I 288 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 1: don't know what any of that last part means. I 289 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:49,160 Speaker 1: think a pound sweet is a type of apple, and 290 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:53,480 Speaker 1: apple stray is like a wild apple sapling that's sprouting up, 291 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:55,360 Speaker 1: so you want to make work out of it. Look 292 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:58,280 Speaker 1: at you, Hey, I just totally made that up, and 293 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:00,760 Speaker 1: I'm sure we'll get tons of listener mail saying jos 294 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:04,200 Speaker 1: is so wrong, he couldn't be wronger. Actually, somehow an 295 00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:12,480 Speaker 1: apple stray is really offensive. Right, So Brinkley hesitated at first, 296 00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:15,640 Speaker 1: Like you mentioned, and then the farmer said, I'll even 297 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 1: bring you the testicles of the goat and put him 298 00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:20,960 Speaker 1: in my scrow to him, and that's what he did. 299 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:24,840 Speaker 1: And so what we don't know is this farmer's name, 300 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:28,360 Speaker 1: and so we don't really have a great idea of 301 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:31,439 Speaker 1: how this really went because it's not officially on record. 302 00:17:32,359 --> 00:17:34,680 Speaker 1: Doesn't really matter they I mean, sure it mattered to him. 303 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:37,480 Speaker 1: But the long and short of it is is that 304 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:41,200 Speaker 1: this procedure happened, and word got around, and all of 305 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:44,800 Speaker 1: a sudden a second patient stepped forward, mister William Stittsworth 306 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:49,159 Speaker 1: and said, hey, I would like this goat thing too, 307 00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:52,280 Speaker 1: And Brinkley said, I'll want up you. I'll put some 308 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:55,160 Speaker 1: goat testicles in you. I will put some goat ovaries 309 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:58,760 Speaker 1: in your wife. And then Livia wrote the best sentence 310 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:01,600 Speaker 1: she's ever written for us when she said, within a 311 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:04,919 Speaker 1: year the couple had a child who, almost unbelievably, they 312 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:10,960 Speaker 1: named Billy Billy the goat gland child. Oh wow, So 313 00:18:11,119 --> 00:18:15,040 Speaker 1: this was the start of something big. As Bert backrec 314 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:17,680 Speaker 1: put it, yea, how much money was it? He charged 315 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:20,600 Speaker 1: him seven fifty bucks just ten grand today, which if 316 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:23,720 Speaker 1: this were a legitimate surgery, ten grand's not that bad 317 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:27,159 Speaker 1: in today's money, right, a pretty good deal. But it 318 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: wasn't a legitimate surgery. It was a completely made up 319 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:35,320 Speaker 1: surgery where basically he would take the testicles a slice 320 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:37,760 Speaker 1: from a testicle of a young goat about three months old, 321 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:42,880 Speaker 1: specifically a Toggenberg goat, which were these tiny, cute, very 322 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:48,119 Speaker 1: clean kinds of goats that don't smell. I've seen or 323 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,680 Speaker 1: I heard or I smelled, and they would He would 324 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:54,639 Speaker 1: take these little slices of testicles, make an incision in 325 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:59,800 Speaker 1: your scrowed them, put the testicle goat testicle slice in there, 326 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:02,840 Speaker 1: so you back up ten fifteen minutes, you were done, 327 00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:05,719 Speaker 1: and that was it. He might as well put like 328 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:08,080 Speaker 1: a Tonka truck or something in your scrotum. Like there 329 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:12,840 Speaker 1: was nothing biologically happening to this except maybe increasing your 330 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:16,800 Speaker 1: risk of infection, yeah, and genetic chimerism, where all of 331 00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:20,520 Speaker 1: a sudden you had Toggenberg goat DNA mixed in with 332 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:23,520 Speaker 1: your own. Yeah. So it's not like he was when 333 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:28,560 Speaker 1: we said testicles. He wasn't surgically attaching testicles to blood 334 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:32,520 Speaker 1: vessels or anything like that. He told people that he 335 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:35,679 Speaker 1: was attaching blood vessels, but he would. I'm surprised he 336 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:39,040 Speaker 1: even bothered to put the slice testicle in there, to 337 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:46,080 Speaker 1: be honest, Well, he had some honor. He also had 338 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:50,520 Speaker 1: a pretty good eye for advertising. And maybe that's a 339 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:53,320 Speaker 1: good place to take a break. Oh yeah, all right, 340 00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:54,880 Speaker 1: we're gonna take a break, and we're gonna talk about 341 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:58,359 Speaker 1: how he sort of revolutionized PR in a way right 342 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:29,119 Speaker 1: after this stuff. You should know, all right, so we 343 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:32,720 Speaker 1: mentioned he's doing this goat gland procedure, Brinkley is he's 344 00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:37,080 Speaker 1: a quack. He hired an advertising consultant and then later 345 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:39,280 Speaker 1: on when hire a PR person, and these were this 346 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:41,520 Speaker 1: was sort of the beginnings of this kind of job 347 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:45,560 Speaker 1: in the United States, and started to get the word 348 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:49,040 Speaker 1: out in newspapers such that he got some pretty prominent 349 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:52,480 Speaker 1: patients in there, didn't he He did, And the one 350 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:54,720 Speaker 1: that really paid off the most was a guy named 351 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:58,879 Speaker 1: Harry Chandler. And thanks to his press, I mean, he 352 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:03,680 Speaker 1: got some crazy press throughout the country. His name became very, 353 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:07,240 Speaker 1: very famous, and people started traveling to Milford. And because 354 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:11,639 Speaker 1: of this this you know, renown, this publisher or owner 355 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:15,080 Speaker 1: actually of the Los Angeles Times put himself up as 356 00:21:15,119 --> 00:21:17,119 Speaker 1: a patient. And I've seen either he put himself up 357 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:19,880 Speaker 1: or one of his editors up as a patient and said, 358 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:23,400 Speaker 1: here's the deal. If this is successful, we will sing 359 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:26,400 Speaker 1: your praises forever in the Los Angeles Times, which will 360 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:29,440 Speaker 1: legitimize you in ways you can't even imagine. If it's 361 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:31,760 Speaker 1: not successful, we're going to ruin you. What do you 362 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: want to do? And he did it. He worked on 363 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:38,520 Speaker 1: either Harry Chandler or his editor, and it worked in 364 00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:42,840 Speaker 1: whatever way this could possibly work, and the LA Times 365 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:46,080 Speaker 1: started singing the praises of doctor Brinkley, and he went 366 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:51,200 Speaker 1: from kind of famous to a global superstars as far 367 00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:55,359 Speaker 1: as like a quack can get. Yeah. And also, Keyhan 368 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:58,560 Speaker 1: put a pin in this. Harry Chandler own Los Angeles' 369 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:02,199 Speaker 1: first radio station, KHJ, And this will all kind of 370 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:05,120 Speaker 1: come back into focus in a minute. But things really 371 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:10,080 Speaker 1: picked up. Brinkley built his own sixteen bed hospital in Milford, Kansas, 372 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:12,639 Speaker 1: a town of either two hundred or two thousand, but 373 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:16,240 Speaker 1: it was the population was rising at least by sixteen 374 00:22:16,359 --> 00:22:19,639 Speaker 1: because I get the feeling those beds were always full 375 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:26,440 Speaker 1: of men who wanted these Arkan assassin Arkanson arkans and 376 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:28,960 Speaker 1: goats which he kept out back. And you would walk 377 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,000 Speaker 1: you out there. You can say, you can even pick 378 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:33,960 Speaker 1: out your goat. Who I mean, did he was he 379 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:37,919 Speaker 1: killing these goats? I couldn't find any ink um what 380 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:41,959 Speaker 1: happened to I have to surmise that he did because 381 00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:44,679 Speaker 1: he would order forty or fifty him at a time, 382 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:47,480 Speaker 1: and once he took their testicles, there were worth nothing 383 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:49,840 Speaker 1: to him. Why would he keep them alive? So yeah, 384 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:52,760 Speaker 1: I think all these goats died. Yeah, that's the worst 385 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:55,680 Speaker 1: part of this whole thing. So pick out your goat, 386 00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:58,880 Speaker 1: will put these testicles in you, or at least part 387 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:01,679 Speaker 1: of them. And not only is it good for this, 388 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,320 Speaker 1: but sort of like with the medicine shows in the 389 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:09,600 Speaker 1: quackery of snake oil salesman, he's like he rattled off 390 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:12,160 Speaker 1: a list of other things that it would help, right, 391 00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:17,360 Speaker 1: like schizophrenia, diabetes, high blood pressure. Apparently he did a 392 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:21,720 Speaker 1: goat ovary procedure to treat a spinal tumor on a woman. 393 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:24,920 Speaker 1: Basically anything that could be wrong with you. He said, 394 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:28,520 Speaker 1: this goat glam procedure is going to help. Yeah. And 395 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:32,280 Speaker 1: then in addition, remember he was an eclectic medical practitioner, 396 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:35,359 Speaker 1: so he was into herbs and tonics and tinctures and 397 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:39,960 Speaker 1: stuff like that, and he sold patent medicines as well, 398 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:41,480 Speaker 1: at a time where you could make a lot of 399 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:45,600 Speaker 1: money selling patent medicine. So he had this thriving surgical 400 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:49,760 Speaker 1: practice that people would travel to Kansas to participate in. 401 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:52,280 Speaker 1: And then he was also selling patent medicines too, So 402 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:54,280 Speaker 1: he was doing pretty well for himself by this time, 403 00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:58,119 Speaker 1: this is the mid twenties. Yeah, and spoiler, by the 404 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:01,399 Speaker 1: end of this thing, he was a wealthy, wealthy, wealthy 405 00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:05,080 Speaker 1: human being. I saw between nineteen thirty three and thirty 406 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:09,080 Speaker 1: eight he made twelve million dollars and that I did 407 00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:12,480 Speaker 1: the old West egg converter. Of course, two hundred and 408 00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:15,920 Speaker 1: fifty six million dollars is what that's equal to today. 409 00:24:16,119 --> 00:24:19,280 Speaker 1: This guy was made that from a made up procedure 410 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:23,920 Speaker 1: that didn't do anything. Yeah, it's crazy. Yeah. And again 411 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,679 Speaker 1: one of the reasons why is because he ended up 412 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:30,600 Speaker 1: becoming kind of a media pioneer. He made his name 413 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:34,280 Speaker 1: in this goat gland operation, but he did a lot 414 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:36,720 Speaker 1: of innovative things. In the early nineteen twenties, he made 415 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:41,720 Speaker 1: a film called Rejuvenation through Gland Transplantation. You think big whop, 416 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:44,680 Speaker 1: it's a it's a movie that touts his practice. But 417 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:47,680 Speaker 1: this was nineteen twenty two that people weren't really using 418 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:49,960 Speaker 1: film for this stuff at the time, So he was 419 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:51,920 Speaker 1: one of the first, I guess it was one of 420 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:56,720 Speaker 1: the first kind of infomercials basically yeah, And so he 421 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:00,600 Speaker 1: bought a radio station, actually created a radio station, KFKB, 422 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,040 Speaker 1: Kansas first Kansas Best. It was the first radio station 423 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:06,480 Speaker 1: in Kansas and just the fourth in the United States. 424 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:09,080 Speaker 1: This is nineteen twenty three. And one of the things 425 00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:12,720 Speaker 1: he would do would be basically like you just described infomercials, 426 00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:17,480 Speaker 1: but on radio about his treatments, his patent medicines. He 427 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:19,639 Speaker 1: also had other stuff too, where he would have like 428 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:23,880 Speaker 1: in No Brother, where art Thou like the Sea Route 429 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:26,439 Speaker 1: was bringing Yes, it was bringing in like this country 430 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:28,359 Speaker 1: acts and recording him and playing him on the radio. 431 00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:32,520 Speaker 1: This is the exact same thing. And because it had 432 00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:36,399 Speaker 1: a fairly large reach for its size, people started picking 433 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:38,920 Speaker 1: up on this and gibing on it, and he would 434 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:42,240 Speaker 1: get something like three thousand letters a week, and based 435 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:44,920 Speaker 1: on these letters, he would diagnose people on his show 436 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:49,080 Speaker 1: The Medical Question Box. Right. Sorry, I was just thinking 437 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:52,000 Speaker 1: about Stephen Root in that movie out Over the top 438 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:56,680 Speaker 1: of his performance. Yeah, that's pretty good everything, okay, man, 439 00:25:56,800 --> 00:25:59,280 Speaker 1: it was really great. Yeah. So he would have his 440 00:25:59,359 --> 00:26:02,240 Speaker 1: medical question box segment and put a pin in this 441 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:05,560 Speaker 1: one too, because he would literally diagnose people on the air, 442 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:08,560 Speaker 1: had a network of pharmacists across the country where he 443 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,480 Speaker 1: would say, go to you know, if you're in Chicago, whatever, 444 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:13,960 Speaker 1: go to this doctor and get this drug or this 445 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:16,600 Speaker 1: tonic or whatever and start using it. Yep. And he 446 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:18,320 Speaker 1: would get a cut from it because it was his 447 00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:21,520 Speaker 1: patent medicine. And then the pharmacists would charge like way 448 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:24,040 Speaker 1: more than you would for other kinds of patent medicines 449 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:27,480 Speaker 1: because it was a Brinkley patent medicine, so you could. Right. 450 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:30,440 Speaker 1: So he's getting all this attention. He's making a big 451 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:35,800 Speaker 1: name for himself. He's got infomercials in via film, a radio, 452 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,159 Speaker 1: and he made a little bit too big of a 453 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:43,719 Speaker 1: fuss over himself. Because as he is, his star is rising. 454 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:50,480 Speaker 1: People start getting a little smarter about medicine. The AMA 455 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:54,520 Speaker 1: starts to sort of crack down a little more on quackery, 456 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:57,639 Speaker 1: and things are getting a little more legitimized. Right at 457 00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:02,280 Speaker 1: the time, this super illegit him at doctor has his 458 00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:06,440 Speaker 1: star rising, and in nineteen twenty three there were investigations 459 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:09,720 Speaker 1: into not just his college but all the kind of 460 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:14,400 Speaker 1: eclectic medical colleges. And he even was like they tried 461 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:17,960 Speaker 1: to arrest him for practicing medicine at one point. Yeah, 462 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:21,639 Speaker 1: when he went to California to treat Harry Chandler, the 463 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:26,280 Speaker 1: owner of the La Times. Afterwards, California tried to get him. So, 464 00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:28,520 Speaker 1: like he had the medical establishment, He had this this 465 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:30,879 Speaker 1: guy named Morris Fishbeine, the editor of the Journal of 466 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:34,680 Speaker 1: the American Medical Association, which was still very young at 467 00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:38,120 Speaker 1: the time, beating the drum to like, like, go get 468 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:40,800 Speaker 1: that guy. This guy is a quack. He's making tons 469 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:43,840 Speaker 1: of money off these really risky procedures that don't do anything. 470 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:47,919 Speaker 1: And so he had like everybody who had anything to 471 00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:52,240 Speaker 1: do with the medical establishment now was after him. Basically, Yeah, 472 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:55,639 Speaker 1: I got the idea from this and other research that Fishbeine. 473 00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:59,240 Speaker 1: I don't think he was consumed with Brinkley, but I 474 00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:02,920 Speaker 1: think he really had it out for him as this 475 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:05,360 Speaker 1: top quack he was making tons of money. I think 476 00:28:05,359 --> 00:28:07,840 Speaker 1: he really wanted to take him down. He really did. 477 00:28:08,359 --> 00:28:11,879 Speaker 1: He wrote an editorial in nineteen thirty and he described 478 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:17,080 Speaker 1: Brinkley as a charlatan of the rankest sort, and he 479 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:21,120 Speaker 1: used his radio station to victimize people and to enrich himself. Yeah, 480 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:25,880 Speaker 1: and so they basically, the Kansas Medical Board had no 481 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:28,800 Speaker 1: choice but to go after him because the Journal of 482 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:31,760 Speaker 1: the American Medical Association is saying this guy is a 483 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:35,760 Speaker 1: prominent quack practicing in Kansas. So Kansas had to do something. 484 00:28:36,119 --> 00:28:40,560 Speaker 1: So apparently, in nineteen thirty they sent a contingency from 485 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:44,720 Speaker 1: the Kansas Medical Board to watch him perform a couple 486 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:47,880 Speaker 1: of surgeries, and Brinkley went along with it. He performed 487 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:51,320 Speaker 1: two surgeries for them. One of them later remarked that 488 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:55,360 Speaker 1: his surgical techniques were excellent, where his skills were excellent. 489 00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:57,720 Speaker 1: And then they went back to Kansas City and the 490 00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:00,680 Speaker 1: next day they revoked his medical license after seeing him 491 00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:03,920 Speaker 1: perform two surgeries. Yeah, they're like, you were a clearly 492 00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:07,920 Speaker 1: skilled surgeon who is out of his mind. Right, And 493 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:11,320 Speaker 1: I watched this nineteen eighty six PBS documentary on him, 494 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:14,880 Speaker 1: and in it they have many interviewed his wife, who 495 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:18,040 Speaker 1: is totally in on this as much as he is, 496 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 1: and she was recounting that story where they went back 497 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:23,280 Speaker 1: to Kansas City. The next day and they revoked his license, 498 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:25,680 Speaker 1: and she was telling the story and kind of like 499 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:29,800 Speaker 1: a homespun country heck kind of way, you know, But 500 00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:32,480 Speaker 1: she just thought it was pretty funny. That was that 501 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:36,680 Speaker 1: was my country laugh that I just did. And so 502 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:38,960 Speaker 1: like she was completely in on it. She was not 503 00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:41,360 Speaker 1: at all like being duped herself. She was she was 504 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:44,920 Speaker 1: totally in on this whole act. Yeah, so they that 505 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:48,920 Speaker 1: hospital stays open in Milford. Even though his licenses were revoked. 506 00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:51,360 Speaker 1: He had colleagues that were still doing the surgeries. He 507 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:54,400 Speaker 1: was getting his cut. Eventually, what's going to happen, of course, 508 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:55,880 Speaker 1: is some of those colleagues going to be like, well, 509 00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:58,000 Speaker 1: why am I I know how to do this thing? Now? 510 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:00,360 Speaker 1: Why am I paying this guy part of my money? 511 00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:02,840 Speaker 1: I'm gonna go open up my own shop. And that's 512 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:06,480 Speaker 1: what om Owensby did. He went one hundred miles away 513 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:09,560 Speaker 1: in wrote Rosalia, Kansas and said I'm gonna do it 514 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:12,959 Speaker 1: for six hundred bucks. And so Brinkley said, oh, yeah, 515 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:15,200 Speaker 1: I'm going to open up a sanatorium across the street 516 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:18,760 Speaker 1: from your place, and I'm just going to start injecting 517 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:21,600 Speaker 1: people with a secret serum that says does the same 518 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:23,440 Speaker 1: thing as a surgery, and I'm gonna do it for 519 00:30:23,480 --> 00:30:27,360 Speaker 1: two hundred bucks. Yes, And so Owensby is a good 520 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:29,800 Speaker 1: example of what he would do. He would alienate his 521 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:33,000 Speaker 1: colleagues because he would do things like bite their ear 522 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:35,520 Speaker 1: off when they tried to keep him from stabbing a patient. 523 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:38,800 Speaker 1: He would he went on huge drinking binges, and they 524 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:42,560 Speaker 1: would keep practicing while ruinously drunk, and would try to 525 00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:44,880 Speaker 1: kill people. He pulled a gun on some of his 526 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:47,640 Speaker 1: early patients in Milford to force them to pay a 527 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:51,320 Speaker 1: medical bill. He chased somebody else, another patient out of 528 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:53,680 Speaker 1: the hospital with a knife. So he had a terrible 529 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:57,320 Speaker 1: reputation for violence, especially locally and among some of the 530 00:30:57,400 --> 00:31:00,560 Speaker 1: colleagues that he worked with. So it's not really surprised 531 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:03,200 Speaker 1: that anybody went off and like did their own their 532 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:07,440 Speaker 1: own chicanery themselves to kind of compete with him. Yeah, 533 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:11,320 Speaker 1: so what happens, of course, as Brinkley says here, I am. 534 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:16,840 Speaker 1: I'm a successful, wealthy carnival barker and charlatan who is 535 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:20,120 Speaker 1: as good at duping people and who has all these 536 00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:25,280 Speaker 1: questionable ideas about modern medicine. And so I'm going to 537 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:28,480 Speaker 1: get into politics and run for governor because I think 538 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:31,800 Speaker 1: people will buy what I'm laying down and we'll take 539 00:31:31,840 --> 00:31:33,680 Speaker 1: a break and tell you how that went. Right after 540 00:31:33,760 --> 00:32:05,200 Speaker 1: this stuff, you should know, okay, Chuck, So if you're 541 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:09,000 Speaker 1: not practicing quack medicine, you should just get into politics. 542 00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:13,360 Speaker 1: It's virtually the same thing, right, sure, So not to 543 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:16,360 Speaker 1: get political or anything, but um so he ran for 544 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:20,920 Speaker 1: governor in nineteen thirty. And remember this guy is famous nationwide, 545 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:25,080 Speaker 1: if not internationally, and he actually he was a write 546 00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:29,240 Speaker 1: in candidate, so he if you he was a bad guy, 547 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:32,440 Speaker 1: but he had good politics. He ran on something that 548 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:35,960 Speaker 1: you could call proto New Deal platform, which he called 549 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:40,880 Speaker 1: sympathy for the masses, which was good pay for workers, 550 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:47,120 Speaker 1: pensions for people who like social security, basically free medical 551 00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:50,640 Speaker 1: care for the poor and indigent, and like, it was 552 00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:53,880 Speaker 1: not a bad platform at all, especially coming from a 553 00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:58,480 Speaker 1: really bad guy. So it's almost like he he was 554 00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:00,640 Speaker 1: a true believer in his own Paul politics. I think 555 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:02,720 Speaker 1: I don't know that he was necessarily doing it to 556 00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:04,840 Speaker 1: fleece the masses, although I'm sure he would have when 557 00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:08,840 Speaker 1: he became governor. But he was running at a time 558 00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:13,200 Speaker 1: where again people distrusted the people in charge, whether it 559 00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:16,400 Speaker 1: was the experts at the AMA or the people who 560 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:20,440 Speaker 1: had been running Kansas and then Washington, and he was 561 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:25,080 Speaker 1: running as this everyman who who was not an expert, 562 00:33:25,320 --> 00:33:27,479 Speaker 1: hated experts just as much as the rest of you, 563 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:30,720 Speaker 1: had no experience, but was still a great leader. And 564 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:33,720 Speaker 1: so he got voted for. I think he got something 565 00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:36,640 Speaker 1: like one hundred and eighty three thousand votes out of 566 00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:40,960 Speaker 1: six hundred thousand. He came in third as a writing candidate. Yeah, 567 00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:43,080 Speaker 1: And apparently the writing part was a little hinky in 568 00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:48,920 Speaker 1: that the Kansas Attorney General didn't like him and made 569 00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:51,360 Speaker 1: it such where if the vote were to count, it 570 00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:55,960 Speaker 1: had to be written exactly as follows, capital J period, 571 00:33:56,400 --> 00:34:01,760 Speaker 1: capital R period, Brinkley, and if he wrote even I 572 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:04,160 Speaker 1: get the idea even if you just wrote JR. Without 573 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:09,200 Speaker 1: the periods, Yeah, that it wouldn't count. So people look 574 00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:12,480 Speaker 1: back and say, he may have even gotten another fifty 575 00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:16,640 Speaker 1: thousand votes that didn't count for him. Yet he did 576 00:34:16,640 --> 00:34:20,279 Speaker 1: not contest the election results, which is kind of surprising, 577 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:23,480 Speaker 1: and even ran again in nineteen thirty two, again coming 578 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:27,080 Speaker 1: in third place. And that's where it seems like his 579 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:30,440 Speaker 1: political career kind of wound up. Yeah, he said forget 580 00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:35,000 Speaker 1: it after that, So he lost his medical license. Remember, 581 00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:37,680 Speaker 1: the Kansas Medical Board said you're you're done with this 582 00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:42,400 Speaker 1: and because of his use of his radio station is 583 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:46,560 Speaker 1: diagnosing people over the airwaves, just based on letters they 584 00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:51,080 Speaker 1: wrote to him. The Federal Radio Commission, the predecessor to 585 00:34:51,160 --> 00:34:55,120 Speaker 1: the FCC, said you don't have a radio license any 586 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:58,799 Speaker 1: longer either. KFKB is no longer on the error. So 587 00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:01,280 Speaker 1: he did something that it was kind of a trend 588 00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:04,239 Speaker 1: around this time in the late twenties early thirties. He 589 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:08,200 Speaker 1: decamped to Mexico, just across the Rio Grand from Texas 590 00:35:08,520 --> 00:35:11,040 Speaker 1: and set up what were what was called the border 591 00:35:11,080 --> 00:35:15,760 Speaker 1: buster radio station, which was so powerful that it would 592 00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:20,240 Speaker 1: overwhelm local radio stations using the same frequency in other 593 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:22,600 Speaker 1: parts of the country. It was that it was like 594 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:26,560 Speaker 1: the loudest shout a radio station could do. And as 595 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:29,279 Speaker 1: a matter of fact, xcr A, which it was the 596 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:32,120 Speaker 1: radio station he founded, was for a time the most 597 00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:35,719 Speaker 1: powerful radio station in the entire world. Yeah, it was. 598 00:35:36,200 --> 00:35:39,240 Speaker 1: By nineteen thirty eight. It was a five hundred thousand 599 00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:44,240 Speaker 1: watch broadcast signal. And if you've got one hundred thousand 600 00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:47,160 Speaker 1: WAT radio station like that's I don't know, all the 601 00:35:47,239 --> 00:35:51,400 Speaker 1: exact numbers, but that's that's a big market radio station wattage. 602 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:55,000 Speaker 1: These days, right, the biggest most powerful radio station in 603 00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:58,880 Speaker 1: the world right now is four hundred and fifty thousand watts, 604 00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:03,120 Speaker 1: So that's that's less. Yes, it's a huge outlier. It's 605 00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:05,719 Speaker 1: some shy in eight hundreds is a religious station from 606 00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:09,359 Speaker 1: bon Air in the Caribbean. Interesting, but I saw Chuck 607 00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:13,880 Speaker 1: that UM they could actually boost XCRA to one million 608 00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:18,880 Speaker 1: watts from one point. So it was just crazy powerful 609 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:22,440 Speaker 1: and potent. And he was using this to to not 610 00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:26,840 Speaker 1: just further his own UM agenda, but he also helped 611 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:29,920 Speaker 1: country music, not just him, but some other like radio 612 00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:33,200 Speaker 1: stations around the country that were kind of rogue radio stations. 613 00:36:33,560 --> 00:36:36,160 Speaker 1: UM they would put what they called hillbilly music on 614 00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:41,080 Speaker 1: and would um would It kind of gave country music 615 00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:44,239 Speaker 1: like a foothole in the United States at the time. Yeah, 616 00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:48,000 Speaker 1: because radio, you know, like the radio of the East basically, 617 00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:51,240 Speaker 1: UM was a little more sophisticated. You know, they're playing 618 00:36:51,239 --> 00:36:54,680 Speaker 1: like jazz and like the you know, the the whatever, 619 00:36:55,480 --> 00:36:58,600 Speaker 1: you know, town singers and the choirs and things like 620 00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:01,800 Speaker 1: that in the symphony. But he started playing country music 621 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:06,360 Speaker 1: and was able to sort of break bands like a 622 00:37:06,560 --> 00:37:10,200 Speaker 1: you know, like a regular radio DJ would This quack 623 00:37:10,280 --> 00:37:15,600 Speaker 1: doctor who moved to Mexico to broadcast his medical quackery 624 00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:18,200 Speaker 1: all of a sudden is like one of the first 625 00:37:18,719 --> 00:37:20,560 Speaker 1: I guess DJs for lack of a better word, to 626 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:25,360 Speaker 1: play things like the Carter Family. Right, So he actually 627 00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:30,400 Speaker 1: stayed in Texas, right across the border from Acunia, Mexico, 628 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:33,960 Speaker 1: where his radio station was, and he set up shop again. 629 00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:36,799 Speaker 1: He's like, well, Kansas said I couldn't practice medicine, but 630 00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:39,920 Speaker 1: Texas hasn't said that yet. And you said that he 631 00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:45,040 Speaker 1: kind of he dropped the goat gland procedure. He did. 632 00:37:45,080 --> 00:37:47,719 Speaker 1: He replaced it with something else he called formula ten 633 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:51,920 Speaker 1: twenty and rather than increased shady at all. No, no, 634 00:37:52,120 --> 00:37:55,319 Speaker 1: I looked it up today. Formula ten twenty refers to 635 00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:59,400 Speaker 1: a mosquito spray, a pressure washer concentrate for a solution 636 00:37:59,480 --> 00:38:03,600 Speaker 1: for circulating cooling water. Yeah, not the kind of stuff 637 00:38:03,640 --> 00:38:06,600 Speaker 1: you'd want injected into you. And he sold it for 638 00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:09,760 Speaker 1: one hundred bucks for the six shot course that you needed. 639 00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:12,600 Speaker 1: And this was not for sexual virility. This was to 640 00:38:12,719 --> 00:38:15,880 Speaker 1: treat prostate glance, which I remember that was his first specialty. 641 00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:19,000 Speaker 1: He kind of came back full circle and started focusing 642 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:22,279 Speaker 1: on the prostate instead of sexual virility. And that was 643 00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:26,000 Speaker 1: the first pillar of his downfall. He moved from sexual 644 00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:30,600 Speaker 1: virility to the prostate. Just keep that in mind. Yeah, 645 00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:34,000 Speaker 1: And the reason why that was his first downfall was 646 00:38:34,040 --> 00:38:38,640 Speaker 1: because his old nemesis, Fishbine gets wind that Brinkley's career 647 00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:42,520 Speaker 1: is kicked back in in Texas and said, well, you 648 00:38:42,560 --> 00:38:46,360 Speaker 1: know what, the problem that I had with the previous 649 00:38:46,400 --> 00:38:49,000 Speaker 1: operation was I couldn't get the enough men to come 650 00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:52,560 Speaker 1: forward because they were embarrassed that they got this operation 651 00:38:52,600 --> 00:38:55,640 Speaker 1: to begin with. So I didn't have this roster of 652 00:38:56,960 --> 00:38:59,520 Speaker 1: people that were like wanted to sue him maybe into 653 00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:02,799 Speaker 1: oblivion in But now that he's working on something less embarrassing, 654 00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:06,600 Speaker 1: I do have people that'll come forward. Yes. By this time, 655 00:39:06,640 --> 00:39:09,560 Speaker 1: I think in nineteen thirty eight, Brinkley had moved from 656 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:14,400 Speaker 1: Texas to Arkansas. Apparently he'd get medicaled up pretty easily 657 00:39:14,400 --> 00:39:17,840 Speaker 1: in Arkansas at the time, and fish Mind published an 658 00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:23,680 Speaker 1: article in the AMA magazine and what is it Hygia? Yeah, 659 00:39:23,719 --> 00:39:26,960 Speaker 1: it's a terrible name. It's a terrible name, where he 660 00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:31,799 Speaker 1: again was denouncing Brinkley. Brinkley sued for libel, and that 661 00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:35,160 Speaker 1: was a big mistake because at this trial he had to, 662 00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:38,760 Speaker 1: like under oath, basically admit that the goat gland surgery 663 00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:42,120 Speaker 1: was bunk. That was suing Fishbeine was the second pillar 664 00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:45,239 Speaker 1: to his downfall, and like, that was such a bad move. 665 00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:48,040 Speaker 1: And I don't know if he felt either indignant and 666 00:39:48,200 --> 00:39:51,200 Speaker 1: lost his head about it, I think, or he felt 667 00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:53,120 Speaker 1: like he had to defend himself or else he was 668 00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:56,160 Speaker 1: basically tacitly agreeing that he was a charlatan or quack. 669 00:39:56,280 --> 00:39:59,000 Speaker 1: I don't know, sort of the hubris of their wealthy too. 670 00:39:59,040 --> 00:40:01,440 Speaker 1: You know, I could see that because again he's got 671 00:40:01,480 --> 00:40:03,440 Speaker 1: a quarter of a billion dollars at the time. I 672 00:40:03,440 --> 00:40:06,120 Speaker 1: could see him just thinking that he's unlike anyone else. 673 00:40:06,880 --> 00:40:11,040 Speaker 1: So yeah, it probably was hubris. So on the stand 674 00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:13,400 Speaker 1: he admitted that, yes, he knew that the goat clanned 675 00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:17,320 Speaker 1: operation didn't work. And he lost that case and he 676 00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:20,560 Speaker 1: took it to the Court of Appeals and the appellate 677 00:40:20,560 --> 00:40:25,000 Speaker 1: court said this quote he was indeed a charlatan and 678 00:40:25,160 --> 00:40:28,840 Speaker 1: a quack in the ordinary, well understood meaning of those words, 679 00:40:28,960 --> 00:40:31,759 Speaker 1: like you well know what that means. So Therefore, Fishbine 680 00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:34,479 Speaker 1: could not have been engaged in libel because the court 681 00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:37,200 Speaker 1: found that he actually was a quack, He actually was 682 00:40:37,239 --> 00:40:39,920 Speaker 1: a charlatan. So now not only was the editor of 683 00:40:39,960 --> 00:40:42,320 Speaker 1: the journal of the American Medical Association saying he was 684 00:40:42,360 --> 00:40:46,560 Speaker 1: a quack, an appellate court in I think Texas said 685 00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:51,440 Speaker 1: the same thing. So he fell pretty hard, pretty quickly 686 00:40:51,480 --> 00:40:54,520 Speaker 1: from that moment on he did. Now, this opened him 687 00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:57,920 Speaker 1: up for malpractice suits. I believe three million bucks and 688 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:03,279 Speaker 1: damages back then as about sixty plus million today. He 689 00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:06,120 Speaker 1: had his radio station still until the Mexican government came 690 00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:13,319 Speaker 1: along and confiscated XCRA again for you know, just radio malpractice, 691 00:41:13,360 --> 00:41:18,920 Speaker 1: I guess. And he started to suffer health problems when 692 00:41:18,920 --> 00:41:21,160 Speaker 1: he lost our radio station. That was a big emotional 693 00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:24,920 Speaker 1: blow to him. He suffered what's called a coronary occlusion, 694 00:41:25,520 --> 00:41:28,799 Speaker 1: big time heart trouble. He didn't rest like the real 695 00:41:28,840 --> 00:41:31,880 Speaker 1: doctor said he should. He got a blood clot that 696 00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:36,160 Speaker 1: went to his leg. That leg was amputated, and then 697 00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:40,080 Speaker 1: his family fell into bankruptcy in the nineteen forties, right, Yeah, 698 00:41:40,160 --> 00:41:42,360 Speaker 1: from all the lawsuits that he was having to defend 699 00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:46,400 Speaker 1: them pay off. Then finally in Little Rock, Arkansas, a 700 00:41:46,480 --> 00:41:49,680 Speaker 1: grand jury indicted him from mail fraud along with many 701 00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:54,320 Speaker 1: and then six other members of his medical practice, and 702 00:41:54,680 --> 00:41:58,319 Speaker 1: he never made it to trial. He died before it 703 00:41:58,400 --> 00:42:01,160 Speaker 1: could come to trial. He died on twenty six, nineteen 704 00:42:01,239 --> 00:42:04,359 Speaker 1: forty two, So he's never actually convicted of anything as 705 00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:06,120 Speaker 1: far as I can tell. He just lost a civil 706 00:42:06,120 --> 00:42:08,719 Speaker 1: case and then was definitely about to be convicted of 707 00:42:08,760 --> 00:42:11,279 Speaker 1: mail fraud, but he died before he could be Yeah, 708 00:42:12,040 --> 00:42:15,759 Speaker 1: what is that fifty seven years old? Yeah? Not that 709 00:42:15,960 --> 00:42:18,800 Speaker 1: not that old, Yeah, not that old. And that is 710 00:42:19,040 --> 00:42:23,520 Speaker 1: uh yeah, that's John Brinkley story. Yep. Could be a movie, 711 00:42:23,560 --> 00:42:25,400 Speaker 1: but I feel like movies like this don't do well. 712 00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:27,400 Speaker 1: So they didn't even make him anymore. Noo. He's not 713 00:42:27,480 --> 00:42:29,960 Speaker 1: at all sympathetic, and if you made him sympathetic, you 714 00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:32,920 Speaker 1: would be using a lot of license. Well, I think 715 00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:35,360 Speaker 1: it might have to be told through the lens of fishbine. 716 00:42:36,360 --> 00:42:39,760 Speaker 1: Oh I guess so, I guess so sure? The dogged 717 00:42:39,960 --> 00:42:45,080 Speaker 1: Pursuer of Truth Yeah, played by Sam Rockwell. Yeah, although 718 00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:47,840 Speaker 1: Brockwell seems like he could have been Brinkley. Oh he 719 00:42:47,840 --> 00:42:49,839 Speaker 1: could do either one. Why don't you just make him both? 720 00:42:49,880 --> 00:42:56,680 Speaker 1: Pay him one pay one salary to hard. Yes. Okay, Well, 721 00:42:56,680 --> 00:42:59,440 Speaker 1: since we came up with the great um structure to 722 00:42:59,520 --> 00:43:01,480 Speaker 1: a movie on this, I say it's time for a 723 00:43:01,480 --> 00:43:06,040 Speaker 1: listener man. All right, hey guys, a longtime listener. I 724 00:43:06,080 --> 00:43:08,000 Speaker 1: recently moved to Nashville for work, so I was excited 725 00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:09,960 Speaker 1: when the Grand ol Opry episode came out. This is 726 00:43:10,160 --> 00:43:12,799 Speaker 1: an old one. Attended my first show at the Rieman 727 00:43:12,840 --> 00:43:15,640 Speaker 1: just a few weeks ago and really enjoyed the episode. 728 00:43:15,640 --> 00:43:17,480 Speaker 1: But I got a promotional email from the Riemen with 729 00:43:17,520 --> 00:43:20,840 Speaker 1: a feature called celebrating the Women of the Rieman's History, 730 00:43:21,600 --> 00:43:23,680 Speaker 1: and I want to tell you about Lula sed Naff, 731 00:43:24,120 --> 00:43:26,560 Speaker 1: who was responsible for bringing the Grand ol Opry to 732 00:43:26,640 --> 00:43:29,279 Speaker 1: the Rheman Theater. She was definitely making her own way 733 00:43:29,320 --> 00:43:32,880 Speaker 1: in a man's world, often going by lc Naff, and 734 00:43:33,040 --> 00:43:36,280 Speaker 1: her gargantuan contributions to the music scene in Nashville seemed 735 00:43:36,280 --> 00:43:38,759 Speaker 1: to be all but forgotten. She was working as a 736 00:43:38,760 --> 00:43:41,520 Speaker 1: bookkeeper for an agency that booked performances at the Riemen. 737 00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:44,680 Speaker 1: When the agency dissolved. The widow Lula needed a way 738 00:43:44,680 --> 00:43:47,399 Speaker 1: to continue to provide for a daughter an aging mother, 739 00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:50,239 Speaker 1: so she convinced the Rieman's board to let her rent 740 00:43:50,280 --> 00:43:53,680 Speaker 1: the space and put on the events. Lula recalled herself 741 00:43:53,719 --> 00:43:57,680 Speaker 1: an unreconstructed rebel and was known for being difficult, but 742 00:43:57,719 --> 00:44:00,480 Speaker 1: the Rieman's Museum curator says she got the building out 743 00:44:00,480 --> 00:44:04,920 Speaker 1: of debt, brought a powerful variety to the building state, 744 00:44:05,480 --> 00:44:09,200 Speaker 1: and defended the public's right to see whatever entertainment they desired. 745 00:44:09,200 --> 00:44:12,080 Speaker 1: When she challenged the Board of sensors attempt to block 746 00:44:12,160 --> 00:44:15,400 Speaker 1: a performance, it seemed like a real rock star and 747 00:44:15,520 --> 00:44:19,719 Speaker 1: that is great additional information from Katie. Thanks a lot, 748 00:44:19,760 --> 00:44:23,399 Speaker 1: Katie appreciate that. We definitely I don't recall her name 749 00:44:23,440 --> 00:44:25,520 Speaker 1: at all, do you. I don't think so, But Lula 750 00:44:25,600 --> 00:44:28,440 Speaker 1: sounds like she might deserve her own episode or a 751 00:44:28,520 --> 00:44:33,160 Speaker 1: movie starring Sam Rockwell that's right. Well, if you want 752 00:44:33,160 --> 00:44:36,439 Speaker 1: to get in touch with this, like Katie, right, yep, 753 00:44:37,239 --> 00:44:40,280 Speaker 1: did you can email us? Thanks by the way, Katie 754 00:44:40,880 --> 00:44:48,919 Speaker 1: at Stuff podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. Stuff You Should 755 00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:52,120 Speaker 1: Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts my 756 00:44:52,160 --> 00:44:55,920 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 757 00:44:55,960 --> 00:44:57,400 Speaker 1: you listening to your favorite shows