When a routine medical study makes patients swell up like sausages, the doctors running it struggle to understand what went wrong. They have to act fast – because if they can’t figure it out soon, the so-called “elephant men” could die.

Follow MrBallen's Medical Mysteries on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes publish for free every Tuesday. Prime members can binge episodes 49-56 early and ad-free on Amazon Music.

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A college student’s return to school is cut short when she starts acting erratically and has to be committed to a psychiatric hospital. As she continues to spiral out of control, her parents worry that their daughter will never be the same again.

Follow MrBallen's Medical Mysteries on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes publish for free every Tuesday. Prime members can binge episodes 49-56 early and ad-free on Amazon Music.

Wondery+ subscribers can listen ad-free--join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

At a time when we’re debating where policing is going, we’re going to tell you where the police came from. Guided by Peabody award-winning host Chenjerai Kumanyika, Empire City will provide the first accessible narrative history of the American police and its place in popular culture. Who are the police? And why were police departments created in the first place? To find answers, we’re going to tell the origin story of the largest police force in the world: The NYPD. We begin in the late 1800’s at a moment when the entire police force was on trial. It’s the biggest corruption scandal in the history of the NYPD, and it all plays out like a high stakes courtroom drama. What follows is the action-packed account of how the NYPD got to this point and what happened next. It involves Black abolitionists fighting slave patrols in the courts of Gotham; two rival police forces duking it out for power at City Hall; the origins of the true crime genre; and how the NYPD spread their tactics worldwide.

Listen to Empire City wherever you get your podcasts: Wondery.fm/Empire_City.

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A teenage girl comes down with unexplainable abdominal pain after spending a few days at a fair. Unbeknownst to her, the same thing is happening to hundreds of teenagers in a completely different state…and doctors can’t figure out what’s causing it.

Follow MrBallen's Medical Mysteries on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes publish for free every Tuesday. Prime members can binge episodes 41-48 early and ad-free on Amazon Music.

Wondery+ subscribers can listen ad-free--join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An avid runner is out for a routine jog when she suddenly feels dizzy and faints, dropping right in her tracks. Years later, it happens again and doctors warn that she has a serious problem. If she can’t stop it, she’s in danger of passing out and never waking up.

Follow MrBallen's Medical Mysteries on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes publish for free every Tuesday. Prime members can binge episodes 41-48 early and ad-free on Amazon Music.

Wondery+ subscribers can listen ad-free--join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A single mother is terrified when her little boy becomes violently sick and doctors can’t figure out why. Every test is negative, yet the child seems to be dying. But when the mother finally finds out what’s wrong with him, it’s even more tragic than she ever imagined.

Follow MrBallen's Medical Mysteries on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes publish for free every Tuesday. Prime members can binge episodes 41-48 early and ad-free on Amazon Music.

Wondery+ subscribers can listen ad-free--join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“The Buried Brain”

A young man barely survives being trapped in an avalanche while on a ski trip. Then, his recovery is derailed when he starts suffering from mysterious seizures. When his doctors find out what’s triggering them, they’re shocked and amazed.

“Killer Jetlag”

A young woman comes home from studying in Ghana, ready to enjoy a relaxing summer. But soon, she starts experiencing horrifying nightmares – and finds herself on the verge of death.

Follow MrBallen's Medical Mysteries on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes publish for free every Tuesday. Prime members can binge episodes 41-48 early and ad-free on Amazon Music.

Wondery+ subscribers can listen ad-free--join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A little girl falls prey to a disease so deadly and rare, the CDC fears it might be an act of bioterrorism. Investigators scramble to find the source, but the answer comes from somewhere nobody was expecting.

Follow MrBallen's Medical Mysteries on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes publish for free every Tuesday. Prime members can binge episodes 41-48 early and ad-free on Amazon Music.

Wondery+ subscribers can listen ad-free--join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.