Ep 184 The Gallbladder: Humor us

This Podcast Will Kill You

Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

Health & Fitness, Science

4.8 • 17.1K Ratings

🗓️ 12 August 2025

⏱️ 83 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For most of us, there probably hasn’t been a good reason for you to think about your gallbladder. Ever. Much of the time, it sits there, silently storing, concentrating, and, when needed, churning out bile every day. But occasionally, this unassuming organ will announce itself through waves of unceasing, excruciating pain brought on by a blockage of some sort. Why it does this to us, what we do about it, and how we can live a gallbladder-free life are just some of the things we cover in this episode. We’re also taking this opportunity to deep dive into the substance most closely associated with the gallbladder: bile. Bile plays an outsized role in the history of medicine, mostly through its role as one of the four humors in the humoral theory of disease. Are you of a choleric temperament or is your vibe more sanguine? Maybe melancholic or phlegmatic suits you better. Don’t know what the heck we’re talking about? Tune in to find out.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is exactly right.
0:07.2	Everyone thinks they'd never join a cult.
0:09.5	But it happens all the time to people just like you.
0:12.2	And people just like us.
0:13.5	I'm Lola Blanc.
0:14.6	And I'm Megan Elizabeth.
0:15.9	We're the hosts of Trust Me, a podcast about cults, manipulation, and the psychology of belief.
0:21.4	Each week, we talk to fellow survivors, former believers, and experts to understand why people get pulled in and how they get out.
0:28.1	Trust me, new episodes every Wednesday on exactly right. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
0:36.1	It started on a Sunday afternoon.
0:38.3	I was sitting on the couch working on my laptop when I suddenly got an upset stomach.
0:42.4	I had cramps, the nausea, but it quickly escalated.
0:46.5	Within a few minutes, I was crouched to my bathroom floor with a sharp pain just below my ribcage.
0:51.6	It felt like I was being repeatedly stabbed at my right side. The pain was
0:55.5	so intense that my diaphragm wasn't contracting. It felt like it was stuck in place. I crawled into
1:01.1	the next room where my husband was napping, and I tried to gently call to him so it was not to alarm him.
1:06.0	But I was having trouble breathing, so I just managed to stammer. I don't feel well. He startled
1:10.7	awake and was instantly worried. He said my lips stammer. I don't feel well. He startled awake and was
1:11.5	instantly worried. He said my lips were white. He was calling 911. No, I croaked. I just need water.
1:18.3	Bring me a glass of water. He hesitated, but acquiesced and went to the kitchen while I lay on the
1:22.8	floor trying to reason through what was happening. My symptoms didn't match appendicitis or a heart attack,
1:28.5	and since I was out of ideas, I figured it must not be anything serious, silence from the kitchen.
	...

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