Madhouse

#502 – Psychiatry, Insane Asylums, Mental Illness, ECT, Lobotomies, Freud & Jung

Lex Fridman Podcast, 17 September 2026. The author is the guest. The book comes up at 1 hr 53 min in.

Andrew Scull mentions that Madhouse once attracted Hollywood interest, but a producer complained it had a strong first and second act yet no third act—no happy ending. Scull explains there simply was none: the story was just grim. Lex identifies the full title as A Tragic Tale of Megalomania and Modern Medicine, which Scull confirms.

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