Topic: Benjamin Rush

The narrative focuses on Caspar Wistar and Dr. Benjamin Rush, comparing Rush to modern figures like Anthony Fauci. Rush practiced "heroic medicine" or "depletion therapy," which involved extreme bloodletting and the use of "thunderclappers"—emetics made of mercury and jalapeno peppers. These practices were intended to reduce the body's vitality to prevent dramatic symptoms, often resulting in the drainage of multiple quarts of blood from patients.

The discussion compares the death tolls of 1793 to modern COVID-19 statistics, suggesting that medical malpractice—such as Rush's depletion therapy or modern ventilator use—contributes to mortality rates. Ross Ben highlights a "mystic legacy" in the Kensington section of Philadelphia; once the site where Rush advocated for universal purging, it is now the epicenter of the city's open-air heroin and opioid market.