Medical Media Mixer: The Perfect Cocktail

This week on Medical Media Mixer, we're diving into Grady Hendrix's beloved horror novel My Best Friend's Exorcism (2016) and its Amazon Prime Video film adaptation (2022) — a love story about female friendship set against the backdrop of 1988 South Carolina, demonic possession, and a tapeworm that crawls out of someone's mouth in the middle of school. (Yes, really.) The medical pivot point is impossible to ignore: the demon uses body image insecurity as a weapon, delivering a 'diet shake' laced with parasites. This week, we take that moment and run with it — covering the real science of GI parasitic infections including tapeworms, hookworm, pinworm, and amebiasis. We talk transmission, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and the very real (very horrifying) Victorian history of the tapeworm diet. Equal parts camp, friendship, and parasitology. This one crawls under your skin — in the best way.
 
Sources
My Best Friend's Exorcism — Wikipedia
My Best Friend's Exorcism (film) — Wikipedia
Tapeworms: Causes, Types, Symptoms, and Treatments — Medical News Today
Tapeworm Infection — Cleveland Clinic
Tapeworms in Humans — WebMD
Tapeworm — StatPearls / NCBI
Tapeworm Infection (Intestinal Cestodes) — Merck Manual
The Horrifying Legacy of the Victorian Tapeworm Diet — Atlas Obscura
Tapeworm Diet: Weight Loss, Risks and Side Effects — Healthline
Fad Diets and Weight Loss: From the 1800s to the 1930s — ZOE
Common Intestinal Parasites — American Family Physician (2023)
Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections — Lancet
Entamoeba Histolytica Infection — IDSA Guidelines
The Diagnosis and Treatment of Pinworm Infection — Deutsches Ärzteblatt
 
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This week, Tara and Nicole pour a Hypnosis (vodka, Hpnotiq, and Squirt) while diving into one of the strangest true-crime-meets-medicine stories out there: Florida high school principal Dr. George Kenney, who wasn't a licensed hypnotherapist but ran one-on-one hypnosis sessions with more than 70 students over five years — three of whom (Marcus Freeman, Wesley McKinley, and Brittany Palumbo) died within weeks of each other in 2011. The hosts break down what actually happened, what the SundanceTV docuseries Look Into My Eyes revealed, and then pivot to the clinical side: what legitimate, licensed clinical hypnosis actually looks like, what it can and can't do, and why "who's holding the reins" matters so much when it comes to a technique that alters consciousness.
Sources referenced in this episode:
Hypnosis cocktail recipe — Bevvy
Dr. George Kenney teen hypnosis deaths, explained — People
Peer-reviewed research on hypnosis and memory — PMC/NCBI
Hypnosis overview — Johns Hopkins Medicine
About Clinical Hypnosis — American Society of Clinical Hypnosis
Look Into My Eyes, Season 1 — Amazon
Episodes every Monday ⭐️ Subscribe, Rate and Review!🍸 Recipes drop on socials Discounts: 15% off Comfrt apparel Purple Carrot: 40% off your first boxClassPass: 2 weeks free15% off non-alcoholic spirits at The Zero Proof💳 Support us on Patreon | ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee Contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

What does Spielberg's 1975 blockbuster Jaws have in common with the real-life story of teenage surfing champion Bethany Hamilton? More than you'd think — and the medicine in between is worth every minute. In this episode, Tara and Nicole pair two very different shark stories to explore what actually happens to the human body during a shark attack, how trauma surgery has evolved over the past 50 years, and why the antibiotic you reach for in the ED could make or break a marine wound. We cover the epidemiology of shark attacks worldwide (yes, Florida leads the U.S. — surprise), the injury patterns surgeons see most often, the critical rule against closing marine wounds right away, the marine microbiome that makes these infections unlike any other bite wound, and the often-overlooked psychological toll on survivors and witnesses. Plus: how a surfboard leash tourniquet saved Bethany Hamilton's life, why Quint never stood a chance, and what 'You're gonna need a bigger antibiotic regimen' actually means in clinical practice.
 
 
 
Sources & References
 
Pop Culture & Cocktail
Jaws (1975) — Wikipedia
Soul Surfer (2011) — Wikipedia
Shark Attack Cocktail Recipe — Play Party Plan
 
Peer-Reviewed Literature
1. Ricci JA et al. Shark Attack-Related Injuries: Epidemiology and Implications for Plastic Surgeons. JPRAS. 2016.
2. Ganske W et al. Shark-Related Injuries in the United States: A National Trauma Data Bank Analysis. The American Surgeon. 2021.
3. Lentz AK et al. Mortality and Management of 96 Shark Attacks and Development of a Shark Bite Severity Scoring System. The American Surgeon. 2010.
4. Gosselin C et al. Shark Bites in New Caledonia: A Retrospective Study of 22 Hospitalized Cases. Injury. 2025.
5. Ballas R et al. Clinical Features of 27 Shark Attack Cases on La Reunion Island. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2017.
6. Popa D, Van Hoesen K. A Shark Encounter: Delayed Primary Closure and Prophylactic Antibiotic Treatment. J Emergency Med. 2016.
7. Rtshiladze MA et al. The 2009 Sydney Shark Attacks: Case Series and Literature Review. ANZ J Surg. 2011.
8. Auerbach PS. Marine Envenomations. NEJM. 1991.
9. Unger NR et al. Antibiotic Susceptibilities of Bacteria Isolated Within the Oral Flora of Florida Blacktip Sharks. PLoS One. 2014.
10. Noonburg GE. Management of Extremity Trauma and Related Infections in the Aquatic Environment. JAAOS. 2005.
11. Appelbaum RD et al. Antibiotic Prophylaxis in Injury — AAST Critical Care Committee Clinical Consensus. Trauma Surg Acute Care Open. 2024.
12. Taylor J et al. Direct and Indirect Psychological Impacts of Shark-Bite Events. ANZ J Psychiatry. 2019.
13. Ryan LA et al. A Shark's Eye View: Testing the Mistaken Identity Theory. J Royal Soc Interface. 2021.
14. Lagabrielle E et al. Environmental and Anthropogenic Factors Affecting Shark-Human Interactions Around La Reunion. Scientific Reports. 2018.
15. Midway SR et al. Trends in Global Shark Attacks. PLoS One. 2019.
16. Tucker JP et al. Increased Shark Bite Survivability Revealed by Two Centuries of Australian Records. Scientific Reports. 2022.
17. Huveneers C et al. Shifts in the Incidence of Shark Bites and Efficacy of Beach-Focussed Mitigation in Australia. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 2024.
18. Tomberg RJ et al. Shark Related Injuries: A Case Series of Emergency Department Patients. Am J Emergency Med. 2018.
19. Taglioni F et al. Variability of Environmental, Contextual and Individual Factors in Human-Shark Interactions in New Caledonia, 1980-2022. Scientific Reports. 2025.
 
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Cyclosporiasis cases have surged past 3,000 across at least 31 states this summer, with Michigan alone reporting more than 1,500 cases since late June — roughly 25 times its typical annual total. In this episode of The Shot, Tara breaks down what's driving the surge, why cases are concentrated in southeast Michigan, and what's still unconfirmed about the source. She also covers the clinical picture clinicians need to recognize, the testing pitfall that causes cases to be missed and the current treatment protocol.
Links
CDC: Surveillance of Cyclosporiasis
TODAY.com: Cyclospora Cases Reported in at Least 25 States
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services: Outbreak of Cyclosporiasis Occurring in Michigan
The Lancet Infectious Diseases: Human Cyclosporiasis, Giangaspero & Gasser (2019)
Clinical Infectious Diseases: IDSA Guidelines for Infectious Diarrhea, Shane et al. (2017)
American Family Physician: Common Intestinal Parasites, Pyzocha & Cuda (2023)
Episodes every Monday ⭐️ Subscribe, Rate and Review!🍸 Recipes drop on socials Discounts: 15% off Comfrt apparel Purple Carrot: 40% off your first boxClassPass: 2 weeks free15% off non-alcoholic spirits at The Zero Proof💳 Support us on Patreon | ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee Contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

What do Kanye West, Mariah Carey, Carrie Fisher, Demi Lovato, and Brian Wilson all have in common? They’ve all lived — and created — with bipolar disorder. In this episode of Medical Media Mixer, Tara and Nicole pour the Bipolar Christy (a tart, jewel-toned vodka and pomegranate cocktail as mood-shifting as the condition itself) and dive deep into one of the most misunderstood mental health diagnoses of our time. They break down the clinical realities of bipolar I and II — mania, hypomania, depressive episodes, and everything in between — while exploring the complicated, often controversial relationship between bipolar disorder and creative genius. From Kanye’s documented four-month manic episode to Mariah Carey’s years of living in denial, to Carrie Fisher’s lifelong advocacy for mental health awareness, the stories of these artists humanize a condition that still carries enormous stigma. Tara and Nicole discuss what “mood episodes” actually look like clinically, how misdiagnosis remains a widespread problem, and what effective, evidence-based treatment looks like today — because recovery is possible, and productivity doesn’t require suffering.
Sources:
Bipolar Christy — Cocktail Recipe
Kanye West Details Bipolar Disorder 4-Month Manic Episode — E! Online
Kanye West Apologizes for Antisemitic Remarks, Blames Bipolar Disorder — People
Famous People With Bipolar Disorder — WebMD
Celebrities With Bipolar Disorder: Selena Gomez & Others — The Flow Space
Celebrities Share Self-Management Strategies for Bipolar Disorder — BP Hope
Bipolar Disorder Fact Sheet — World Health Organization
Bipolar Disorder — National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Episodes every Monday ⭐️ Subscribe, Rate and Review!🍸 Recipes drop on socials Discounts: 15% off Comfrt apparel Purple Carrot: 40% off your first boxClassPass: 2 weeks free15% off non-alcoholic spirits at The Zero Proof💳 Support us on Patreon | ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee Contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

In Episode 78, Tara and Nicole use the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club as a lens to explore one of the most consequential medical crises in modern history: the HIV/AIDS pandemic. From the 1981 CDC reports of a mysterious illness decimating a community to the 2024 IAS-USA guidelines recommending single-pill daily ART, this episode traces the full arc — the science of HIV pathogenesis, the evolution of antiretroviral therapy, the lifesaving frameworks of PrEP, PEP, and U=U, and the patient activism that reshaped FDA drug approval forever. Ron Woodroof's buyers club was an act of desperation. The medicine that followed was a triumph.
Sources:
AIDS — The First 20 Years. Sepkowitz KA. NEJM. 2001 — https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM200106073442306
Response to the AIDS Pandemic. Piot P, Quinn TC. NEJM. 2013 — https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra1201533
Antiretroviral Therapy and Management of HIV Infection. Volberding PA, Deeks SG. Lancet. 2010 — https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60676-9
Development of ARV Therapy for AIDS. Yarchoan R, Broder S. NEJM. 1987 — https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM198702263160925
HIV Epidemiology, Prevention, Treatment, and Implementation Strategies. Mody A et al. Lancet. 2024 — https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01381-8
Global Burden of HIV/AIDS, 1990–2021. GBD 2021 HIV Collaborators. Lancet HIV. 2024 — https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-3018(24)00212-1
ARV Drugs for Treatment and Prevention — 2024 IAS-USA Recommendations. Gandhi RT et al. JAMA. 2025 — https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2024.24543
HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis: A Review. Riddell J et al. JAMA. 2018 — https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.1917
HIV Infection: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Treatment, and Prevention. Maartens G et al. Lancet. 2014 — https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60164-1
Molecular Biology of HIV Type 1 Infection. Greene WC. NEJM. 1991 — https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199101313240506
HIV/AIDS Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Prevention, and Treatment. Simon V et al. Lancet. 2006 — https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69157-5
Guidelines for ARV Agents in Pediatric HIV Infection. Hazra R et al. OARAC. 2024 — https://clinicalinfo.hiv.gov/en/guidelines/pediatric-arv
Recommendations for ARV Use During Pregnancy. Badell ML et al. OARAC. 2025 — https://clinicalinfo.hiv.gov/en/guidelines/perinatal
HIV Infection — Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Saag MS. NEJM. 2021 — https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMcp1915826
Guidelines for ARV Agents in Adults and Adolescents With HIV. Gulick RM et al. OARAC. 2024 — https://clinicalinfo.hiv.gov/en/guidelines/adult-and-adolescent-arv
ARV Drugs for Treatment and Prevention of HIV — 2022 IAS-USA Panel. Gandhi RT et al. JAMA. 2023 — https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.22246
HIV. Ghosn J et al. Lancet. 2018 — https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31311-4
FDA Orange Book — Approved Drug Products — https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/ob/index.cfm
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This week MMM hits the road for a Making Rounds episode, broadcasting live from Bellemara Distillery in Hillsborough, NJ — New Jersey's first single malt distillery, where every spirit is made grain-to-glass on-site. Sipping on their craft cocktails, Tara and Nicole dig into a stacked lineup: the Netflix dark comedy Sirens, where a sister's intervention unravels a cult-like world of wealth and control; the British psychological thriller Unchosen, exploring life inside a high-control religious community and the psychology of a dangerous awakening; the true crime documentary The Murder of Rachel Nickell, unpacking the controversial child-interview techniques used on Rachel's young son and the offender-profiling missteps that derailed the investigation for years; and a lighter palate cleanser with Jury Duty / Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat, looking at how a hidden-camera show finds and builds its real-life "heroes." Cheers to a packed episode, on location at Bellemara.
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SHOW NOTES
What happens when the algorithm becomes your therapist, your confidant, and your reality? In this episode, Tara and Nicole use Brilliant Minds Season 2, Episode 13 — "The Rabbit Hole" — as a launchpad into one of the most urgent and underexamined mental health crises of the AI era: chatbot psychosis. When a patient arrives at Dr. Wolf's neurology unit in a full mental health break driven by her relationship with an AI chatbot, the show mirrors something clinicians are actually seeing right now. Tara and Nicole break down the clinical picture of AI-induced delusional amplification, why these chatbots are uniquely dangerous for vulnerable users, what psychiatry is doing to catch up, and what all of us — clinicians and patients alike — need to understand about this moment.
Sources:
The Emerging Problem of AI Psychosis — Psychology Today
Chatbot Psychosis — Wikipedia
Psychiatrists Hope Chat Logs Can Reveal Secrets of AI Psychosis — UCSF
When the Chatbot Becomes the Crisis — Pennsylvania Association for Psychotherapy
Episode 253: AI Psychosis — Psychiatry Psychotherapy Podcast
Brilliant Minds Recap: "The Rabbit Hole" — Nerds That Geek
Ethereal Mind Cocktail — BarGPT
Episodes every Monday ⭐️ Subscribe, Rate and Review!🍸 Recipes drop on socials Discounts: 15% off Comfrt apparel Purple Carrot: 40% off your first boxClassPass: 2 weeks free15% off non-alcoholic spirits at The Zero Proof💳 Support us on Patreon | ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee Contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

This week on Medical Media Mixer, we're pairing a sunrise in a glass with one of the most raw and courageous documentaries in recent memory. We're watching Introducing, Selma Blair (2021, Discovery+) — a film that follows actress Selma Blair through a years-long diagnostic odyssey, a harrowing stem cell transplant, and the daily reality of living with multiple sclerosis. Blair, best known for Legally Blonde and Cruel Intentions, went public with her MS diagnosis in 2018 after her symptoms were dismissed for years as stress and postpartum depression. This week, we break down what MS actually is, why it takes so long to diagnose — especially in women — and how a procedure that requires wiping out your entire immune system can be someone's best shot at a better life. We're sipping the Mountain Sunrise cocktail, a drink literally created to raise money for the National MS Society. Orange is the MS awareness ribbon color, and this drink earns its place on the table.
 
Sources & Further Reading
 
Jakimovski D, et al. Multiple Sclerosis. The Lancet. 2024.
McGinley MP, et al. Diagnosis and Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis: A Review. JAMA. 2021.
GBD 2016 MS Collaborators. Global Burden of Multiple Sclerosis 1990–2016. Lancet Neurology. 2019.
Brownlee WJ, et al. Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis: Progress and Challenges. The Lancet. 2017.
Faissner S, Gold R. Efficacy and Safety of MS Drugs Approved Since 2018. CNS Drugs. 2022.
Piehl F. Current and Emerging Disease-Modulatory Therapies for MS. Journal of Internal Medicine. 2021.
Sriwastava S, et al. Recent Advances in Progressive MS Treatment. Journal of Neuroimmunology. 2024.
Chataway J, et al. Clinical Trials for Progressive MS. Lancet Neurology. 2024.
Reich DS, et al. Multiple Sclerosis. New England Journal of Medicine. 2018.
Introducing, Selma Blair — Documentary (2021). Available on Discovery+.
Mountain Sunrise Cocktail Recipe — Created for MS Awareness. Phoenix Magazine, 2018.
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
Episodes every Monday ⭐️ Subscribe, Rate and Review!🍸 Recipes drop on socials Discounts: 15% off Comfrt apparel Purple Carrot: 40% off your first boxClassPass: 2 weeks free15% off non-alcoholic spirits at The Zero Proof💳 Support us on Patreon | ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee Contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

What does a mob boss in a bathrobe, a serial killer faking split personalities, and a bartender with a fabricated cocktail story all have in common? A great performance changes everything. In Episode 75, Tara and Nicole break down malingering and factitious disorder — two conditions where people fake, exaggerate, or manufacture illness — and why the distinction matters enormously in clinical and legal settings. Anchored by Primal Fear and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the episode explores real-world cases that read like fiction: Kenneth Bianchi's MPD charade exposed by forensic psychologist Dr. Martin Orne, and mob boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, who wandered Greenwich Village in a bathrobe for 30 years to dodge prosecution. Even the cocktail, the Seelbach, came with a completely invented origin story. This one has layers.
Sources:
Malingering — BBC Future
Malingering — Wikipedia
Malingering — StatPearls/NCBI
Malingering — Psychology Today
Factitious Disorder — Mayo Clinic
The Seelbach Cocktail's Fabricated Origin — Liquor.com
Primal Fear — Wikipedia
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest — Wikipedia
Hillside Strangler — Wikipedia
Vincent Gigante — Wikipedia
Seelbach Cocktail Recipe — Liquor.com
Episodes every Monday ⭐️ Subscribe, Rate and Review!🍸 Recipes drop on socials Discounts: 15% off Comfrt apparel Purple Carrot: 40% off your first boxClassPass: 2 weeks free15% off non-alcoholic spirits at The Zero Proof💳 Support us on Patreon | ☕️ Buy Me a Coffee Contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.