The A Body Made of Glass podcast is an audio companion to my book, A Body Made of Glass: A History of Hypochondria. Each of the ten episodes is an interview with a different person speaking to a different facet of this complex and multi-dimensional condition, touching on themes from medical bias to faith to infertility and more. You can listen in all the major podcast apps by searching “A Body Made of Glass” or via this link. Episodes are also embedded below as they are released.
1. Samira Shackle
On this first episode, host Caroline Crampton is interviewed by the author and journalist Samira Shackle, to introduce how this series about hypochondria came about. They discuss Caroline’s past as a cancer patient, all the ways in which hypochondria shows up in her life, and why she decided to write about it now after keeping much of this a secret for her entire writing career to date. Plus: some behind-the-scenes chat about how to write a book.
2. Ola Labib
Caroline Crampton is joined by stand-up comedian Ola Labib to talk about how her previous career as a hospital pharmacist impacted her own anxieties around health, as well as how faith plays a role in her thinking. Just a warning: we discuss some medical situations in detail, including those involving wounds.
3. Jonn Elledge
Caroline Crampton is joined by writer Jonn Elledge to talk about his past health anxieties, the gender stereotypes of hypochondria, and how medical bias affects patients.
4. Jen Gunter
Caroline Crampton is joined by gynaecologist and author Dr Jen Gunter to talk about gender bias in medicine, the spread of health misinformation online, and how to stay well-informed about your own body.
5. Moira Redmond
Caroline Crampton is joined by writer Moira Redmond to talk about the Chalet School books by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer and the way in which this school story series impacted our view of health and convalescence.
6. Kat Brown
Caroline Crampton is joined by journalist and author Kat Brown to talk about how infertility, ADHD and long-term illness can intersect with mental health.
- Phil Whitaker
Caroline Crampton is joined by Dr Phil Whitaker, a GP and a writer about healthcare, to discuss how doctors approach health anxiety.
- Alastair Santhouse
Caroline Crampton is joined by Dr Alastair Santhouse, a consultant psychiatrist and author, to talk about how health anxiety feeds into the evolving understanding of the connection between mind and body.