Episodes

  • The 28 Lines that Changed Neurology: On Babinki's Reflex

    The 28 Lines that Changed Neurology: On Babinki's Reflex
    May 5 2026
    In this episode, we travel to late 19th-century Paris to meet a Polish-French neurologist who stood at the center of a medical revolution: a favorite student of the "Napoleon of the Salpêtrière" who was nearly cast out of medicine. He was a master of physical diagnosis and gave us the clinical reflex that differentiated a malady of the mind from a malady of the brain with the scratch of a key. We’ll dive into Joseph Babinski, how he transformed the world of neurology with a single paper only 28 lines long, and the eponym wars the ensued shortly after.

    Primary Sources & Further Reading: Babinski, J. (1896). Sur le réflexe cutané plantaire dans certaines affections organiques du système nerveux central. Comptes Rendus de la Société de Biologie, 48, 32-33.

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    18 mins
  • James Parkinson the Paleontologist

    James Parkinson the Paleontologist
    Apr 2 2026
    Before he was a household name in neurology, James Parkinson was a man of dangerous secrets and ancient stones. In this episode, we travel to 19th-century London to meet a surgeon who lived a triple life: a political radical nearly executed for a plot against the King, a world-renowned pioneer of paleontology, and a community doctor who identified a "shaking palsy" by simply watching his neighbors walk to the market.

    Primary Sources & Further Reading:
    • Parkinson, J. (1817). An Essay on the Shaking Palsy. Printed by Whittingham and Rowland for Sherwood, Neely, and Jones.
    • Old Hubert [Parkinson, J.]. (1794). Pearls Cast Before Swine: Or, A Christmas Present to the "Swinish Multitude." Being a Collection of Valuable Material from the Library of Old Hubert. Printed for D. I. Eaton.
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    22 mins
  • The 'L' is Not Silent: The Secret History of Guillain-Barré

    The 'L' is Not Silent: The Secret History of Guillain-Barré
    Feb 10 2026
    "We’ve been saying it wrong for a century."

    In this episode, we deconstruct the wartime discovery and the linguistic mystery of Guillain-Barré-Strohl Syndrome. From the trenches of the Somme to the lecture halls of the Salpêtrière, we explore how a name became a brand and who was left behind in the process.

    Primary Sources & Further Reading:
    • The Original 1916 Paper: Guillain G, Barré JA, Strohl A. Sur un syndrome de radiculo-névrite avec hyperalbuminose du liquide céphalo-rachidien sans réaction cellulaire. Bull Mem Soc Med Hop Paris. 1916; 40:1462-70.
    • On the Pronunciation: Rogoff, JB. Pronunciation of Guillain. JAMA. 1977; 237(22):2381.
    • The 1937 Retraction: Guillain, G. Radiculoneuritis with Acellular Hyperalbuminosis of the Cerebrospinal Fluid. International Congress of Neurology, Paris (1936).
    • The Legacy of Barré: Schächter, M. In Memoriam: Jean-Alexandre Barré (1880-1967). Revue d'Oto-Neuro-Ophtalmologie. 1967.
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    • Historyofneurology@gmail.com
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    18 mins