
Society’s running a fever, and two sharp-witted physicians are on the case. Surgeon-scientist Arghavan Salles dives into social media’s wildest trends, while anesthesiologist-bioethicist Alyssa Burgart follows news and legal cases for their ethical twists. Together, they examine the cultural, political, and public health symptoms of our time with scalpel-sharp analysis, unflinching questions, and ... more
| Publishes | Weekly | Episodes | 43 | Founded | 10 months ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | Health & FitnessSociety & CultureMedicine | |||

Too much public health news for two doctors to narrow it down. An update on cyclosporiasis, measles, raw milk, and Ebola, all with a side of Todd Blanche forgetting he’s not supposed to still be the president’s lawyer and Pete Hegseth’s begging for w... more
Explosive diarrhea? The Clown Car of the Apocalypse is at it again. ICE keeps killing people. Millions give up their health insurance because it’s too expensive.
• Update on potential cyclosporiasis source
• Public health cuts impacting outbreak
• ... more
Is Mitch McConnell dead or alive? Let's talk about out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and critical illness in older folks. Graham Platner drops out of Maine race in wake of credible sexual assault allegations. There were plenty of red flags.
Trump at N... more
The Supreme Court let America keep birthright citizenship for it’s birthday. Trump’s 250th Independence Day celebration is a flop. Surprise!
• Pew: Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology
• Gallup: Data on pride in being American
• What’s happen... more
People also subscribe to these shows.





Really enjoyed this last episode with Dr. Kaveh! Always fun to hear him and Arghavan chat
Drs Salles and Burgart are informative and funny and appropriately disgruntled/enraged. If you’re interested in the intersection of science, healthcare, and politics, check this one out.
The Doctor is in! The hosts help digest difficult issues and bring to light some of the lesser known health and political issues in modern day America.
The hosts grace us with insightful commentary, delightful banter and incisive wit. The Present Illness shines a light on what’s ailing us with just the right mix of seriousness, compassion and levity. A real treat to listen to!
The Present Illness brings together two physicians with diverse perspectives to talk about healthcare in our society in a way that is equally intelligent while also feeling like you are gossipping with your healthcare best friend. It is both informative and refreshing. Highly recommend listening!
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.
How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.
Apple Podcasts | #178 | |
Apple Podcasts | #217 |
Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
| Listeners per Episode | |
|---|---|
| Gender Skew | |
| Location | |
| Interests | |
| Professions | |
| Age Range | |
| Household Income | |
| Social Media Reach |
Two physician-hosts provide sharp, human-centered analysis of health policy, medicine, and politics, blending ethical critique with accessible science communication. Episodes thread together public health topics, medical ethics, and current events—often with humor and personal anecdotes—to illuminate how policy, media, and culture shape everyday health outcomes. Noteworthy is the duo's willingness to tackle controversial issues with rigor and wit, spotlighting accountability, equity, and citizen participation. This show is likely to appeal to listeners who want thoughtful, informed takes on how health systems intersect with society, law, and technology, delivered in an approachable, often provocative voice.
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for The Present Illness. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to The Present Illness and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for three million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for The Present Illness, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for The Present Illness, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers The Present Illness has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
These podcasts share a similar audience with The Present Illness:
1. The House of Pod
2. Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine
3. Cancel Me, Daddy
4. Citations Needed
5. Behind the Bastards
The Present Illness launched 10 months ago and published 43 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for The Present Illness from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of The Present Illness. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
Recent guests on The Present Illness include:
1. Jennifer Lincoln
2. Lara Jones
3. Kaveh Hoda
To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.