A Man-Made Heart

An ingenious medical device promises to eliminate the need for heart donors entirely. But when accusations of a stolen heart emerge, the simmering tension between Michael DeBakey and Denton Cooley boils over, playing out in courtrooms and headlines across the country.   For more information on the first cardiac surgeons, check out Dr. Gerald Imber's book "CARDIAC COWBOYS: The Heroic Invention of Heart Surgery," published by Post Hill Press in 2024.   Presented by: Chris PineWritten and Narrated by: Jamie Napoli  Executive Producers: Cristina Everett for iHeartPodcasts; Dub Cornett and Jason Ross for OSO Studios; Gerald Imber; Eric A. Rose, M.D.; John Mankiewicz; Joshua Paul Johnson; and Jamie Napoli Supervising Producer: James A. Smith Editing and Sound Design by: Joshua Paul Johnson Composer: David Mansfield Cover Artwork by: Alexander Smith Production Companies: iHeartPodcasts, OSO Studios, and 13th Lake Media Production Legal Services: Jacqueline Eckhouse & Mel Pudig, Sloss Eckhouse Dasti Haynes LawCo; and Lincoln Bandlow, Lincoln Bandlow Law  Additional Archival Materials Courtesy of: "The Twentieth Century" (CBS 1966); "Nova" (WGBH Boston & PBS 1988 & 1999); Vanderbilt University; American Academy of Achievement; "DeBakey" (Dr. Tony Herring and the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children 2016); Society for Vascular Surgery; "Meet the Press" (NBC 1966); Associated Press; "Michael E. DeBakey: Profiles in Science" (National Library of Medicine 2015); BBC; "The Heartmakers" (National Educational Television & Radio Center 1969); and the McGovern Historical Center of the Texas Medical Center Library     Additional Music & Stock Media Provided by: EdRecords / Pond5; EpicRecord / Pond5; eitanepsteinmusic / Pond5; Music Bed; Premium Beat; Storyblocks; Artlist; Envato Market; and Podcast Music This podcast was recorded under a SAG-AFTRA collective bargaining agreement. Copyright 2025, TTB, LLC. All rights reserved.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Om Podcasten

The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind?   Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies.   Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.