Hey, Prime Members! You can listen to Killer Sikie, add free on Amazon Music. Download the app today.

A listener note. This episode contains adult content and is not suitable for everyone. Please be advised.

The story of Pinocchio has always been fascinating to me. Wouldn't it be great if we could always know if someone is lying to us? And for it to be so obvious that you could tell just by looking at them?

For Pinocchio, his nose would always give him away, and yet he could not stop lying. It seemed to be in his nature.

Now, in the earlier versions of the story, Pinocchio was depicted as a wretched boy who had no redeeming qualities.

The original story was meant to be a tragedy. In it, Pinocchio's lies and misdeeds catch up with them and he is executed in a cruel and brutal way.

This was meant to serve as a warning to young children. Don't lie, or you will get caught and bad things will happen to you.

Disney, of course, softened the character and made him more innocent and likable. His character also suffered consequences, but unlike the original, his story had a happier ending.

But in the real world, people don't always learn from their lies and they don't always get caught.

As I listened to season 3 of Doctor Death on Wondery, I thought about Pinocchio and what would have happened to Doctor Palo Macchiarini if there had been some kind of warning sign for others?

Unlike the story, Macchiarini did not suffer. It was the victims of his lies that had to deal with all the destruction and fallout.

For several years, Doctor Macchiarini had the world fooled by his lies. He achieved fame and adulation thanks to his pioneering efforts in the world of stem cells and transplants.

His ambition to always be more and have more made his lies bigger and bigger. It was in his nature and he could not and would not stop.

His ruthless ambition and determination to be a world famous surgeon drove him to deceive others into believing he was a miracle man.

A doctor who could produce results no other surgeon could. How far would Doctor Macchiarini go to achieve this recognition?

Was his ambition so fierce that he would lie and cheat his way to scientific stardom and was his driver that fame so strong that he would do anything he could do achieve it?

Let's talk for just a moment about talk space, our presenting sponsor. It's hard to believe it's already September.

I know how easy it is to watch the passage of time and wish that you had accomplished certain things by now or that you were in a better place with certain relationships in your life.

Stop wishing and start taking steps to reach the goals you want to achieve for yourself. There's no better time to get the support you need than right now.

And working with the therapist is a great way to get started. Talk space makes it easy to connect with a licensed therapist online.

You'll get unlimited access to message with your therapist as soon as the day you sign up.

And you can even schedule live video calls with your therapist right from the app.

...