The podcast I chose is Dr. Death. This podcast is a true crime genre podcast based on the infamous neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch. Duntsch was a neurosurgeon practicing in hospitals in the Dallas-Fort Worth area who was convicted of gross malpractice after nearly 30+ of his patients were left severely injured and 2 died as a result of him operating on them. The podcast has an underlying agenda; which is to expose the faults of the health system in America and explore how exactly something like this could have happened when so many are trusting the system. As stated by the narrator “We’re at our most vulnerable when we go to our doctors. We trust the person at the other end of the scalpel. We trust the hospital. We trust the system.”
The podcast has a single narrator so far Laura Beil. The series starts off with demonstrating the incompetence and neglect patients felt at the hand of Dr. Duntsch. It is made severely compelling by using testimonials of a nurse who worked with Duntsch in the operating room and a practicing surgeon (Dr. Henderson) who was asked to be responsible for correcting the misdeeds done to two patients by Duntsch. The way these interviews paint Duntsch are horrifying. The narrator furthers the intrigue of the listener by explain in detail the emotions and convictions of the people she is interviewing. For instance she explains how Dr. Robert Henderson is described as a man who normally follows his own path and stays out of other people’s business but once he had seen the patients under Duntsch’s care and witnessed as he put it, the grave atrocity Duntsch committed, he was compelled to pursue retribution for these patients against Dr. Duntsch. There are also sound effects and music used during these times to deepen the feeling of the reader as to immerse them in the experience of the interviewer hearing these testimonials and feeling the betrayal committed by Duntsch. This was an interesting way to start the series because it gives the listener a chance to feel and experience how Duntsch grossly manipulated others using his position, which is trusted by so many in the health system, to gravely hurt people. For instance, one of the patients was left brain dead and the other was left paralyzed in the legs.
The feeling of disdain for Duntsch is furthered as the series progresses into explaining the emotional character of Duntsch. Interviews of old friends and acquaintances are used in this part, like the interview of the physician and nurse in the first episode. The interview paints a picture of Duntsch as an incompetent person who is unable to realize his short comings in almost everything he did. There is an interview of a fellow football player who knew Duntsch when he played and how he was always the one who would run the drill and mess it up completely but keep trying but never able to get it under control. Then they turn to a friend who had helped Duntsch for years as he was getting started in his practice. Jerry was a friend to Duntsch who was left completely paralyzed by the malpractice of Duntsch. The listener can feel the emotion of everyone interviewed for this podcast. The podcast relies heavily on interviews and testimonials about Duntsch as well as recapping of atrocities and life occurrences of his. The way they presented the first episode as a recap of just one of the hospitals he committed these heinous crimes set up the interest and investment of the listener as a way to show that this was a man who wanted to hurt people as presented further on in the podcast as presented through interviews. It brings to the mind of the listener, how is it possible that this man was board approved to begin practicing?
Hello Leo,
I thought you succeeded at summarizing this podcast in a simple yet descriptive way. Reading this blog post actually sparked my interest in this podcast! I am a pre-medical student and am intrigued by the concept of corruption and malpractice within healthcare. I found lots of similarities between my podcast “Cults” and yours surrounding the idea of manipulation from a position of power. While yours demonstrates the trusting relationship between a doctor and his patients, mine shows a similar relationship between a cult leader and his followers. Both are willing to put their whole hearted faith into their “leader.”
By painting the doctor as a horrific person through multiple interviews and testimonials, the listeners are partly scared into believing what the speakers have to say about the overarching theme concerning the faults within our healthcare system. Hearing personal stories involving the corrupt doctor serve as an emotional counterpart to the central purpose of the podcast. The interviews by affected parties builds an emotional connection to the podcast for the listeners leading to a stronger argument. Although, using testimonies from different people can also lead to the listeners sympathizing with the “villain” when different opinions and stories are expressed.
Lastly, the podcast includes sound effects and music that fits the mood of the topic. The intense and dreary music, also included in my podcast, contributes to engulfing the listener into the experiences of the patients and others affected. This serves an important purpose when trying to convince someone of your perspective. After listening to a couple of podcasts, the narrative choices including interviews, music, sound effects all contribute to keeping the audience engaged and supporting the central purpose of the narrative.
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