Why people recommend it
Desperate Remedies is an investigative and historical study examining psychiatry's long and often troubled efforts to understand, treat, and cure mental illness. On the Lex Fridman Podcast episode #502 – Psychiatry, Insane Asylums, Mental Illness, ECT, Lobotomies, Freud & Jung, which aired on September 17, 2026, host Lex Fridman recommended the publication during the introduction of the show. Fridman highlighted the work alongside other publications by the same author, explicitly mentioning Andrew Scull's Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry's Turbulent Quest to Cure Mental Illness as a book he highly recommends to his audience. By drawing attention to this specific title, Fridman underscored the importance of examining the historical missteps, evolving theories, and radical treatments that medical professionals have historically employed in attempts to heal the human mind. The endorsement provided listeners with a foundational reading recommendation that complements broader discussions on the history of psychology, psychiatry, and medical ethics.
Who recommended it
- Lex Fridman Recommended
Lex Fridman — 1 mention
“and Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry's Turbulent Quest to Cure Mental Illness.”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
- A Beautiful Mind
- Asylum
- Fat and Blood
- Flowers for Algernon
- Madness in Civilization
- On Being Sane in Insane Places
Other mentions (2: passing, ad reads, own books)
“So when I first conceived the idea of writing Desperate Remedies, the book, it was back in 1981 and I was in London on a Guggenheim Fellowship at the Wellcome Institute.”
“Your own Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry's- - Yeah. Yeah - ... Turmoil in Quest to Cure Mental Illness.”