The Present Illness

Replay: The Professor Will See You Now (If they still have a job)

Replay: Academic freedom under attack; viral case of an Oklahoma pre-med student's targets her transgender professor; Erika Kirk's terrible NYT interview;  Our hosts investigate the alarming trend of politically-motivated complaints against university professors. From Indiana University to Texas A&M, faculty are experiencing acute cases of administrative panic when confronted with student outrage—often resulting in terminal employment outcomes. * Here’s more [https://www.koco.com/article/samantha-fulnecky-oklahoma-ou-student-essay-bible-grade-professor-religious-discrimination/69634277] about Samantha Fulnecky and the story at the University of Oklahoma * Here’s more [https://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2025/11/11/indiana-university-professor-removed-maga-white-supremacy-graphic-complaint-jim-banks-office/87166738007/] about the instructor (Jessica Adams) who was removed from teaching her class at Indiana University * Here’s more [https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/texas-m-fires-professor-gender-identity-lesson-literature-course-rcna230337] about the instructor (Melissa McCoul) who was fired at Texas A&M and the findings [https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/10/texas-am-mccoul-firing-academic-freedom-council/] of the faculty committee that reviewed what happened * Jennifer Freyd’s DARVO concept - Deny-Attack-Reverse Victim and Offender [https://www.jjfreyd.com/darvo] 💊Take Two and Call Me In The Morning 💊 * Here’s one of Haley Dortch’s videos [https://www.tiktok.com/@haleydortch/video/7571603978819996958]. You’re welcome! * Somebody, Somewhere [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/08/somebody-somewhere-streaming-binge-hbo] on HBO * How I escaped MAGA! Critical thinking woke me up. [https://youtu.be/vXQa7jW_QmY?si=RlIdzXtis9dzET3e] * Nurse Johnn on being unprofessiona [https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTraJvwWg/]l * Here’s Jeff Hiller’s book Actress of a Certain Age [https://bookshop.org/a/101513/9781668031858] Text us! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2541293/fan_mail/new] Thanks for listening to The Present Illness!  Follow us on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@thepresentillness/], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thepresentillness/], and YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ThePresentIllness/videos] @ThePresentIllness Credits * Production by Arghavan Salles & Alyssa Burgart * Editing by Alyssa Burgart * Music by Joseph Uphoff * Social Media by Arghavan Salles

Rich Folks Complain About Helicopters Carrying Sick Kids and Shingles Vaccine May Prevent Dementia

Seattle’s Laurelhurst community vs. Seattle Children’s Hospital; Shingles Vaccine may reduce dementia; Hantavirus scare; American dialects; Zaffron Bloom restaurant * NEJM article [https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2009040] on hantavirus (no paywall) Rich Folks Complain About Seattle Children’s Helicopters * Seattle Children’s-Laurelhurst helicopter situation explained [https://www.thestranger.com/news/laurelhurst-community-council-isnt-sure-helicopters-needed-to-land-sick-kids-at-the-hospital/] * Laurelhurst “old money” Seattle neighborhood [https://youtu.be/1AHuxOclXdY?t=417] * 1992 Complaint [https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19920604/1495462/noisy-neighbor----childrens-hospital-should-use-helipads-at-uw-harborview] about “noisy neighbor” * Satirical take on Laurelhurst [https://www.instagram.com/p/DX8ov8QmUvS/] * Helicopter landing data [https://www.seattlechildrens.org/about/facts-and-stats/helicopter-landing-reports/] * Seattle Children’s Statement on Helipad Agreement [https://www.seattlechildrens.org/media/press-releases/statement-on-helipad-agreement/] Shingles Vaccine and Dementia * The three research articles mentioned:  * Nature [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08800-x] * JAMA [https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2833335] * Cell [https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(25)01256-5?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867425012565%3Fshowall%3Dtrue] * Herpes Zoster explainer video [https://www.osmosis.org/learn/Herpes_zoster_infection_(shingles):_Clinical_sciences] (Osmosis) 💊Take Two and Call Me in the Morning💊 * Rick Aschmann’s North American English Dialect Map [https://aschmann.net/AmEng/#SmallMapUnitedStates] * Matt Forrest’s reel [https://www.instagram.com/reels/DXKrT_ZCdEA/] about the map * Zay [https://www.tiktok.com/@zaydupree] (linguist) on Tik Tok * Pop v Soda Map [https://popvssoda.com] * History of regional words [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/pop-soda-or-coke-a-linguist-explains-the-history-behind-the-various-names-for-the-drink] for carbonated beverages * New York Turk [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXsHrcdjuke/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==] visits Zaffron Bloom Text us! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2541293/fan_mail/new] Thanks for listening to The Present Illness!  Follow us on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@thepresentillness/], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thepresentillness/], and YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ThePresentIllness/videos] @ThePresentIllness Credits * Production by Arghavan Salles & Alyssa Burgart * Editing by Alyssa Burgart * Music by Joseph Uphoff * Social Media by Arghavan Salles

Telehealth Abortion under Attack, plus Bedside Betrayal in Canada Court’s Sloka Case

5th Circuit Mifepristone chaos heads to Supreme Court; Canadian judge let’s off doctor for SA; Clit art; Golden Tempo; and bee huts! Hunter Peterson [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DX4XeUWs74B/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==] tries to launch Spirit 2.0 Passengers stranded [https://people.com/spirit-airlines-passengers-recall-being-stranded-at-airports-after-airline-s-closure-11965179] after Spirit Airlines shut down Mifepristone * Fifth Circuit Decision Directs FDA to Restrict Mifepristone Access [https://www.guttmacher.org/news-release/2026/fifth-circuit-decision-directs-fda-restrict-mifepristone-access] * Supreme Court puts decision on hold, for now [https://www.npr.org/2026/05/07/nx-s1-5815294/abortion-pill-mifepristone-supreme-court-telemedicine] * “Nuclear option” used to normalize requiring only simple majority to confirm judges - 2013 by Democrats and 2017 by Republicans. * Personhood [https://bookshop.org/a/101513/9780300273045]: The New Civil War Over Reproduction by Mary Ziegler * Fetal personhood [https://msmagazine.com/2022/06/09/birth-control-contraception-roe-v-wade-overturned-fetal-personhood/] and access to contraception * Louisiana law [https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/03/03/louisiana-ivf-embryos-law-alabama/] considers an embryo created during IVF to be a “juridical person.” This has been in place since 1986. * More on Louisiana’s bills [https://lailluminator.com/2025/04/27/louisiana-ivf/] related to IVF * Louisiana legislator’s attempt [https://www.wwno.org/politics/2024-05-29/louisiana-lawmaker-shelves-ivf-protection-bill-leaving-questions-about-legal-challenges] to protect IVF shelved * Why Alabama’s bill [https://www.fertstert.org/news-do/alabama-law-created-more-problems-than-solutions-here-s-we-can-safeguard-access-ivf] was problematic * Fact check: Louisiana law has considered an embryo to be a “juridical person” since 1986, restricting access to IVF in the state. Patients must ship their embryos out of state, yet this is not as restrictive as the law proposed in Alabama in 2024 that specifically referred to embryos as children. Bedside Betrayal: Jeffrey Sloka Canadian physician * Jeffrey Sloka was found not guilty [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/livestory/jeffrey-sloka-sexual-assault-trial-ruling-decision-9.7175767] * Findings [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/former-kitchener-neurologist-jeffrey-sloka-1.5119732] of the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPSO) re: Sloka summarized * CPSO report [https://register.cpso.on.ca/File/download.aspx?Entity=cpso_alert&Attribute=cpso_alertdocument&Id=83b80121-f7f6-eb11-94ef-000d3a09e08c] 💊Take Two and Call Me in the Morning💊 * Sophia Wallace clitoris art [https://www.sophiawallace.art/] * Just Bee Hawai’i [https://www.justbeehawaii.com/] * Golden Tempo [https://www.today.com/news/sports/cherie-devaux-kentucky-derby-win-first-female-trainer-interview-rcna343420] wins Kentucky Derby * Watch Cherie Devaux [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DX22J5CoJ1G/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==] react to Golden Tempo’s win Text us! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2541293/fan_mail/new] Thanks for listening to The Present Illness!  Follow us on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@thepresentillness/], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thepresentillness/], and YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ThePresentIllness/videos] @ThePresentIllness Credits * Production by Arghavan Salles & Alyssa Burgart * Editing by Alyssa Burgart * Music by Joseph Uphoff * Social Media by Arghavan Salles

Surgeon Takes Out Liver by "Accident"?!

Surgeons need to know anatomy; Voting is good; SCOTUS conflicts of interest; pediatric society hosts unscientific panel on trans kids * SCOTUS decision [https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/04/in-major-voting-rights-act-case-supreme-court-strikes-down-redistricting-map-challenged-as-racia/] on the Voting Rights Act (Arghavan reacts [https://www.instagram.com/arghavansallesmd/p/DXxNGWQknMK/]) * Lawsuit against [https://cmarmitage.substack.com/p/the-chief-justice-and-his-wife-took] John Roberts due to conflict of interest [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/31/us/john-roberts-jane-sullivan-roberts.html] * Slow Burn [https://slate.com/podcasts/slow-burn/s8/becoming-justice-thomas] on Clarence Thomas Death during surgery: * Summary [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-doctor-indicted-allegedly-removing-patients-liver-instead-sple-rcna331696] of “accidental” liver removal * State medical board order suspending [https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25179953-shaknovskymedboard/] Shaknovsky’s license * Investigation [https://zarzaurlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AHCA-Report-1.pdf] into the hospital/interviews of Shaknovsky and staff * Arghavan’s video [https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTkguJ4kk/] going over the anatomy * Arghavan’s video [https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTkguGAF2/] going over the operative report Unscientific Conference Panel: * PAS hosts anti-trans panel [https://open.substack.com/pub/erininthemorn/p/trumps-hhs-report-co-author-is-headlining?r=78qwi&utm_medium=ios] * Protests [https://open.substack.com/pub/erininthemorn/p/trans-youth-and-doctors-joined-forces?r=78qwi&utm_medium=ios] * Scientific [https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(25)00246-0/abstract] take down of HHS report 💊Take Two and Call Me in the Morning💊 * Alyssa’s paper on conscientious objection [https://journals.lww.com/anesthesia-analgesia/fulltext/9900/refusals_to_provide_anesthesia_for_abortion_care_.1759.aspx] * Association for Surgical Education [https://www.surgicaleducation.com/] * Dr. Gardner [https://bsky.app/profile/arghavansallesmd.medsky.social/post/3mkn6ksprcs2z] on the stage with her baby Text us! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2541293/fan_mail/new] Thanks for listening to The Present Illness!  Follow us on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@thepresentillness/], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thepresentillness/], and YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ThePresentIllness/videos] @ThePresentIllness Credits * Production by Arghavan Salles & Alyssa Burgart * Editing by Alyssa Burgart * Music by Joseph Uphoff * Social Media by Arghavan Salles

Everybody Pees + Abuse Academy

Where’s the bathroom?; digital sexual violence; Buck v. Bell turns 99 [https://www.poppiesandpropofol.com/p/infamous-eugenics-sterilization-case]; RFK Jr’s hearings; Bhattacharya is actually fine with censorship [https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/cdc-blocks-publication-report-showing-covid-vaccine-efficacy]; RFK Jr: Trump Math [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/us/politics/rfk-jr-trump-impossible-drug-discounts.html], glyphosate [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJO7-I2TGBs], “re-parenting [https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/16/health/video/terri-sewell-presses-rfk-black-kids-adhd-howard-digvid],” wants to eliminate chronically ill people [https://www.patreon.com/posts/eugenicist-rfk-156210295] Everyone Just Needs to Pee * Trans Legislation Tracker [https://translegislation.com/] * Trans bathroom bills [https://transequality.org/issues/resources/transgender-people-and-bathroom-access] * Nex Benedict [https://www.hrc.org/news/honoring-nex-benedict-16-year-old-non-binary-high-school-student-who-tragically-died-after-school-beating] (he/him/they/them) * CA requires gender neutral [https://contracosta.news/2023/09/25/bill-mandates-all-single-user-restrooms-be-identified-as-all-gender/] bathrooms (Note: schools must have at least one such bathroom) * Tawana Williams [https://www.tawanawilliams.com/] * Refuge Restrooms [https://patreon.com/refugerestrooms?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan&utm_content=join_link] * InterAct’s guide to advocacy [https://interactadvocates.org/bathroom-bills-intersex-advocacy/] Digital Sexual Violence * CNN’s report [https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2026/03/world/expose-rape-assault-online-vis-intl/index.html] on the “rape academy” * Telegram [https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/02/02/women-telegram-rape-channel/] channel * Dominique Pelicot’s website relaunched [https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/gisele-pelicot-husband-dominique-website-relaunched-dnbdjkq9c] * Apple & Google help users [https://www.techtransparencyproject.org/articles/apple-and-google-are-steering-users-to-nudify-apps] find nudify apps [https://www.404media.co/google-search-includes-paid-promotion-of-nudify-apps/]. * Collien Fernandes’s husband spread deepfakes [https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/collien-fernandes-christian-ulmen-sexual-deepfake-allegations-9.7136770] of her * The Tea App [https://www.wired.com/story/the-tea-app-is-back-with-a-new-website/] was removed after a data breach after being targeted by hackers. 💊Take Two and Call Me in the Morning💊 * Merlin the Pig [https://www.tiktok.com/@mina.alali/video/7551509866251111711] * Margot’s Got Money Troubles (Book [https://bookshop.org/a/101513/9780063356597] & on AppleTV) Text us! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2541293/fan_mail/new] Thanks for listening to The Present Illness!  Follow us on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@thepresentillness/], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thepresentillness/], and YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ThePresentIllness/videos] @ThePresentIllness Credits * Production by Arghavan Salles & Alyssa Burgart * Editing by Alyssa Burgart * Music by Joseph Uphoff * Social Media by Arghavan Salles