Awake During Brain Surgery

The Box of Oddities

John Elliott and Kat Walls

True Crime, Society & Culture, Comedy

4.9 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 15 December 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Awake brain surgery sounds impossible—until you hear about musicians who play instruments while surgeons operate on their exposed brains. In this episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro explore the true medical phenomenon of awake craniotomy, including the astonishing case of a professional violinist who played during brain tumor removal to protect the neural pathways that control her music. Then, things take a historical turn as we dive into the bizarre wellness craze known as the Grape Cure, once promoted as a treatment for cancer, tuberculosis, and nearly everything else—despite zero scientific evidence. From neuroscience and identity to medical quackery and human absurdity, this episode asks: How do you protect the part of yourself that makes you who you are? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You've always been a very fashionable sort, and I love it when we're out in public and people compliment you on your apparel.
0:06.4	We were at Disney and somebody said, I love that t-shirt you're wearing.
0:10.4	And it just so happened. It was my new shirt from Soon to Be Mythical.
0:14.9	Describe it.
0:15.7	It's a shoe bill playing the drums and on the drum set it says death metal.
0:20.4	That's the thing about Soon to Be Mythical.
0:22.9	It's conservation-driven apparel.
0:25.1	So the Shoebell Stork is in need of our help as a species,
0:29.3	and that's why it's featured on Soon-to-Be Mythical's wear.
0:32.6	It's also conversation-driven apparel as well,
0:35.8	based on people's response that I've seen. It's a great
0:38.5	gift idea this holiday season. Up to 25% of proceeds will be donated to non-profit organizations
0:44.7	that assist with the conservation of endangered species. What could be better for people like you and me
0:50.5	that want to make a difference but also want to wear cool t-shirts? They also take advantage of a print-on-demand model to reduce waste and also decrease our carbon
0:59.6	footprint. We love these guys. The business goal is to become irrelevant by helping these
1:04.9	animals become so common that they're thriving and a t-shirt calling them soon to be mythical
1:10.3	makes absolutely no sense.
1:12.3	So join us in helping postpone the myth.
1:15.4	Visit postpone the myth.com. Use code oddities 10 and get 10% off your order. That's
1:22.6	postpone the myth.com code oddities 10 for 10% off.
1:28.8	We could be shirt buddies.
1:30.1	Who doesn't want to be shirt buddies with Kat?
	...

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