The Present Illness

Society’s running a fever, and two sharp-witted physicians are on the case. Surgeon-scientist Arghavan Salles dives into social media’s wildest trends, while anesthesiologist-bioethicist Alyssa Burgart follows news and legal cases for their ethical twists. Together, they examine the cultural, political, and public health symptoms of our time with scalpel-sharp analysis, unflinching questions, and enough humor to keep us all going.

The Present Illness is a health podcast hosted by Alyssa Burgart & Arghavan Salles, with 49 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Alyssa Burgart & Arghavan Salles hosts The Present Illness, a health show with 49 episodes published.

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  Episode #49

  Measles and Misconduct

  Sep 4, 20261h 8mS1

  Measles ramps up in Pennsylvania; RFK Jr. interferes with public health reporting; Dan Arielly’s fraud expands - he’s never faced scrutiny like Jason Arday faced; Lindsay Clancy trial drags on; Fake NFL player arrested Daejon Love charged by DOJ One hour of Daejon Love videos A parody by KevOnStage A parody by Camo A parody by Been Dat A parody by Anthony Adams, a former NFL player A parody by comedian Michael Blackson Measles Pennsylvania Department of Health data and guidance RFK Jr asks for measles deaths not to be counted CDC Measles Data (Aug 30, 2026 excludes deaths in Penn) The Measles-Stricken Mother Who Lost Her Newborn Son Misconduct Data Colada has multiple posts dissecting Ariely’s research. Parts 138 and 139 are the ones on procrastination we discussed in detail in this episode. Part 98 is about the study on honesty. Ariely’s friendship with Epstein Arghavan has videos about all of these scandals (and the allegations against Francesca Gino) on her Work/Med Culture playlist on Tik Tok Other News: Gloria Steinem obituary Lawsuit against xAI/Grok 7th Circuit Court decision on AI-generated CSAM Latest on Lindsay Clancy trial deliberations Take Two and Call Me in the Morning Duck Tales a cappella Healing Together with Introspective Spaces The Joint Medical Program Text us! Thanks for listening to The Present Illness! Follow us on TikTok , Instagram , and YouTube @ThePresentIllness Credits Production by Arghavan Salles & Alyssa Burgart Editing by Alyssa Burgart Music by Joseph Uphoff Social Media by Arghavan Salles Don’t take medical advice from random people on a podcast. This show is for informational purposes, is meant to be fun, and is certainly not medical advice. Please, take your medical questions to a qualified professional. Nothing we say represents our employers or anyone else.

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  Episode #48

  Farewell Dolly plus AOC's Eggs

  Aug 28, 20261h 4mS1

  We mourn Dolly Parton. We discuss Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s egg freezing and what it means for reproductive justice in America. Plus, the baby born from the California-Texas surrogacy case. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Donate to support Imagination Library Top Movies with Dolly Parton AOC Egg Freezing One of AOC’s blogs on egg freezing Arghavan’s essay on egg freezing Fetal Personhood laws Arghavan’s substack essay with links to data on egg freezing Arghavan’s research on parental leave during residency Arghavan’s research on the costs of family building Arghavan’s research on barriers to family building Systematic review on outcomes with frozen eggs Alyssa’s essay series on The Retrievals podcast More Topics Background on the legal issues when a surrogate refused to have an abortion Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome Norwood Procedure WNBA update : Enes Kanter Freedom thrown out of game Canada/US trade war US threatens more sanctions against Iran Take Two and Call Me in the Morning Broadway à la Justin Bieber Purple Skeletons 99 Flock Balloons Text us! Thanks for listening to The Present Illness! Follow us on TikTok , Instagram , and YouTube @ThePresentIllness Credits Production by Arghavan Salles & Alyssa Burgart Editing by Alyssa Burgart Music by Joseph Uphoff Social Media by Arghavan Salles Don’t take medical advice from random people on a podcast. This show is for informational purposes, is meant to be fun, and is certainly not medical advice. Please, take your medical questions to a qualified professional. Nothing we say represents our employers or anyone else.

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  Episode #47

  How Racism (Not Plagiarism) Killed Dr. Jason Arday

  Aug 21, 20261h 12mS1

  The flagrant racism in the recent death of Cambridge scholar, Dr. Jason Arday; Also, how new technology hasn’t stopped attempts at medical knowledge gatekeeping Note: Alex Vindman raised $16 million compared to the $1 million raised by Angie Nixon. Nixon won. Chocolate with viagra recalled Sourdough bread recalled Blueberries recalled (brand is GreenWise) Granola recalled Clear Eyes eye drops recalled List of recalled foods Jason Arday Peter Thiel-backed network targeted Jason Arday Fact check on Arday’s story Nathan Cofnas under investigation Nathan Cofnas says vigil for Jason Arday is about him Kate Manne: Gossipy Academics Helped Kill Jason Arday. Or, the anatomy of a pile-on History of lynching in the US 22 Black people found “dead under unusual or suspicious hanging circumstances across the country” since March 2025 GoFundMe for Jason Arday Sign a letter demanding an investigation of the handling of Jason Arday Open Evidence Doctors are quietly using this AI tool Open Evidence is the preferred LLM of countless physicians Other News Lindsay Clancy trial USS Lincoln deployment ends Who is Natalie Harp ? Take Two and Call Me in the Morning Video of a young woman doing kung fu Sterling Point Text us! Thanks for listening to The Present Illness! Follow us on TikTok , Instagram , and YouTube @ThePresentIllness Credits Production by Arghavan Salles & Alyssa Burgart Editing by Alyssa Burgart Music by Joseph Uphoff Social Media by Arghavan Salles Don’t take medical advice from random people on a podcast. This show is for informational purposes, is meant to be fun, and is certainly not medical advice. Please, take your medical questions to a qualified professional. Nothing we say represents our employers or anyone else.

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  Episode #46

  We'd like to jump to a new timeline, please

  Aug 14, 20261h 16mS1

  We cover the latest on Trump’s vaccine executive order and catch you up on some major abortion stories. AOC’s public egg-freezing shouldn’t feel radical . But in today’s US, it does. Executive Order on Vaccines Presidential executive order on vaccines Arghavan’s post that includes videos from the press conference Fact check of the press conference FDA head’s lies about Covid vaccines and kids Pregnancy Surveillance and Criminalization Pregnancy Justice new report on Pregnancy Criminalization Erika Schwartz on “abortion surveillance” Todd Blanche wants to make abortion illegal in every state Police use Flock cameras to stalk woman for abortion Ashley Brown denied healthcare after fetal demise Additional stories to know about: Dr. Fauci’s texts and the lie about the miscarriage rate for those vaccinated while pregnant Former NBA players declare for WNBA draft Conditions on the USS Lincoln Harvard antisemitism lawsuit dismissed Take Two and Call Me in the Morning Daddy and son bicycle ride Removing the toddler seat from the dad’s bike Review of Untamed Heart Revisiting 1999’s Dogma , how Harvey Weinstein kept it hard to watch Dogma 25th Anniversary preview Text us! Thanks for listening to The Present Illness! Follow us on TikTok , Instagram , and YouTube @ThePresentIllness Credits Production by Arghavan Salles & Alyssa Burgart Editing by Alyssa Burgart Music by Joseph Uphoff Social Media by Arghavan Salles Don’t take medical advice from random people on a podcast. This show is for informational purposes, is meant to be fun, and is certainly not medical advice. Please, take your medical questions to a qualified professional. Nothing we say represents our employers or anyone else.

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #45

  Fauci's Diary and RFK Jr's Misinformation Meltdown

  Aug 7, 202656 minS1

  Fauci’s diary entries, Rand Paul loses it when Fauci uses his Fifth Amendment right, RFK Jr melts down when Dana Bash asks him about measles; McConnell Watch Update The Clown Car of Public Health is at it again! Fact Check: The index measles case in the Chihuahua, Mexico outbreak was a child from Mexico who visited Gaines County Texas and brought measles back to his community, infecting his class (not a Gaines County resident who traveled to Mexico) Fauci Takes the Fifth: Rand Paul’s “unhinged obsession” with Fauci Rand Paul wants Fauci in jail Dr. Fauci’s lawyer removed from hearing RFK Jr’s Revisionist History: RFK Jr.’s Falsehood-Filled CNN Interview Gish Gallop debate for terrible arguments VH1 Pop Up Videos Arghavan’s video about her time in NYC (check out the comments) Arghavan’s video diaries from her time in NYC in the spring of 2020 More Medical News: Moderna’s mRNA Flu vaccine Mitch McConnell Watch update More than 50 relatives of military members deported 1.5 million egg cartons recalled due to salmonella Salmonella on jalapeno peppers at Chipotle and Qdoba Popular Information: Taxpayers spend about $2 billion on Medicaid benefits for Amazon and Walmart Take Two and Call Me in the Morning Cosplaying earth (@heyitatay on IG) Earth calls SpaceX Earth asks moon if moon landing was real Roast Chicken with a Side of Drama Text us! Thanks for listening to The Present Illness! Follow us on TikTok , Instagram , and YouTube @ThePresentIllness Credits Production by Arghavan Salles & Alyssa Burgart Editing by Alyssa Burgart Music by Joseph Uphoff Social Media by Arghavan Salles Don’t take medical advice from random people on a podcast. This show is for informational purposes, is meant to be fun, and is certainly not medical advice. Please, take your medical questions to a qualified professional. Nothing we say represents our employers or anyone else.

  ListenShow Notes

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