Pilot: Bubbles, Dancing, Masks, GoodSAM

Joining Kiri this week are medical historian Dr Lindsey Fitzharris with the story of the pioneering World War I surgeon who transformed wounded soldiers faces, comedian Darren Harriott and his love of dancing, biomedical engineer Professor Eleanor Stride with cancer curing micro bubbles, brain surgeon Professor Mark Wilson with the GoodSAM app that can summon a first-aider at the touch of a button, and the man who owes his life to it.

Award-winning comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean is joined by funny and fascinating comedians, doctors, scientists, and historians to celebrate medicine’s inspiring past, present and future.

In each programme, Kiri challenges her guests to make a case for what they think is 'the best medicine', and each of them champions anything from world-changing science to an obscure invention, an every-day treatment, an uplifting worldview, an unsung hero or a futuristic cure.

Whether it’s micro-robotic surgery, virtual reality syringes, Victorian clockwork surgical saws, more than a few ingenious cures for cancer, world-first lifesaving heart operations, epidurals, therapy, dancing, faith or laughter - it’s always something worth celebrating.

This episode was first broadcast as a pilot on BBC Radio 4 in July 2022.

Hosted by Kiri Pritchard-McLean

Featuring: Dr Lindsey Fitzharris, Darren Harriott, Professor Eleanor Stride and Professor Mark Wilson

Written by Jordan Gray, Rajiv Karia, Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Ben Rowse

Producer: Ben Worsfield

Assistant Producer: Tashi Radha

Executive Producer: Simon Nicholls

Theme tune composed by Andrew Jones

A Large Time production for BBC Radio 4