麻豆社

In The Human Subject, Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Julia Shaw investigate the threads connecting modern day medicine to its often brutal origins.

This is the story of patient B-19, a 24-year old who, in 1970, walks into a hospital in Louisiana troubled by the fact that the drugs he鈥檚 been abusing for the past three years are no longer having the desired effect. He claims he is 鈥渂ored by everything鈥� and is no longer getting a 鈥渒ick鈥� out of sex.

To Dr Robert Heath鈥檚 intrigue, B-19 has 鈥渘ever in his life experienced heterosexual relationships of any kind鈥�. Somewhere along the way, during the consultations, the conclusion is drawn that B-19 would be happier if he wasn鈥檛 gay. And so they set about a process that involves having lots of wires sticking out of his brain. Julia and Adam hear from science journalist and author, Lone Frank, author of The Pleasure Shock: The Rise of Deep Brain Stimulation and Its Forgotten Inventor.

Presenters: Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Julia Shaw
Producer: Simona Rata
Assistant Producer: Mansi Vithlani
Executive Producer: Jo Meek
Sound Design: Craig Edmondson
Commissioner: Dan Clarke

An Audio Always production for 麻豆社 Radio 4