This week we are stepping inside some of the most notorious asylums of the past, places where those deemed “unwell” were hidden away, often forgotten, and too often mistreated. Institutions like Philadelphia State Hospital, Danvers State Hospital, and Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum were meant to provide care, but behind their walls, overcrowding, neglect, and harmful “treatments” became the reality for many patients.

We also examine the work of Nellie Bly, who risked her own safety by having herself committed to expose the conditions inside these institutions, bringing the public face to face with what was happening out of sight. These were not just places of treatment, but places of control, where fear, misunderstanding, and authority often dictated who was confined and how they were treated.

In episode 199, we confront the human cos ...